To skim or not to skim?

[str]

I plan to board over a cupboard to the same level as the surrounding walls.

Once I stud out the opening and fix the plasterboard, do I need to get it skimmed or can I fill the joints and sand to get decent finish? The walls will be papered with lining paper afterwards.

If I go down the route of not having it skimmed, do I have the white or grey side out?

If I have the boards skimmed, how much of a recess from the wall finish should I leave, 5mm?

Cheers

 

[Richard C]

Skim or you will definitely notice the difference & fill & sand won’t stop it cracking. Forget the lining paper, it’s a bodge & god awful stuff. Either way, it will almost certainly crack around the frame due to differential expansion; if you want to hide the cupboard with an invisible join that won’t crack, I can tell you how to do it but it’s a lot more involved than you might think.

 

[str]

Don't keep it a secret then!

Don't mind a bit extra work to get it right. I do have another doorway which has been infilled and skimmed and it's cracked round where the door used to be, so would prefer to avoid this happening here.

 

[Richard C]

Assuming the doorway is in a block wall not a stud partition. The best way to reduce the chance of future cracking around the original opening is to remove the plaster back to blocks all around the opening by around 200mm, fit studs to the door opening so the p/board ends up level with or just below the face of the original plaster & fix suitably sized lump of p/board so it actually overlaps the blocks all around; use dot & dab mix on the wall & screws into the stud work. You may have to fiddle with the stud levels & p/board thickness you use depending on the depth of the original plaster. Fill any gaps between the p/board & original plaster with Bonding plaster, tape the join well & then skim over to bring out level with the original wall. It’s then best to re-skim the whole wall rather than blending in which will inevitably be noticeable & may be difficult to achieve if you’re inexperienced.