wallpapering on to wet plaster

[LeighC]

hi im new,

got a query. I left my friend in charge of my house yesterday whilst some plastering was done. She is moving in with us temporarily and is decorating our spare room. One of the walls was plastered & when i got home found she had wallpapered over the top of it all ready.

Is this a bad thing??? What do i do if it is??

thanks

 

[Richard C]

I left my friend in charge of my house yesterday whilst some plastering was done. She is moving in with us temporarily and is decorating our spare room. One of the walls was plastered & when i got home found she had wallpapered over the top of it all ready.

Is this a bad thing???

Yes; assuming it’s a skim, it should have been left at least 2 weeks & preferably 4 to dry out. A full base coat & finish re-plaster job should be left at least 6 months before papering over.

What do i do if it is??

Remove it or you’ll grow one hell of a mould farm under there, it’ll stink & the paper will probably fall off anyway.

 

[LeighC]

yeh was just skim about 3-4mm thick. was just a repair patch. Walls were really dry and they said plastered had dried really quickly (which sounds to me like they hadn't pva'd it correctly

if i get the wall paper off will it need re-skimming??

 

[Richard C]

yeh was just skim about 3-4mm thick. was just a repair patch. Walls were really dry and they said plastered had dried really quickly (which sounds to me like they hadn't pva'd it correctly

Possibly but not necessarily; plaster can appear dry (light pink or grey) the next day but it will still contain residual moisture; did it look like this or was the colour very much darker? If it’s just a patch, how big is the patch?

if i get the wall paper off will it need re-skimming??

Hopefully not; but if the plaster comes off with the paper, you’ll know weather or not they prepped it properly!

 

[LeighC]

the patch where she's wallpapered over the top of fresh plaster is approx 50cm wide & from floor to ceiling.

The rest of plastering is whole walls. Alot of it is cracked (looks like someones broken a pot vase and stuck it to the wall in some places)

It was very pink on majority of it...there are some patchey areas where it still dark (where it still drying)

 

[Richard C]

the patch where she's wallpapered over the top of fresh plaster is approx 50cm wide & from floor to ceiling.

OK that’s a bit of a large patch, I would still advise you remove the paper.

The rest of plastering is whole walls. Alot of it is cracked (looks like someones broken a pot vase and stuck it to the wall in some places). It was very pink on majority of it...there are some patchey areas where it still dark (where it still drying)

The patches are normal when plaster is drying out but the finish shouldn’t be cracking & it certainly shouldn’t look like someone has broken a pot vase & stuck it to the wall ! it should be flat, perfectly smooth but not overly polished & like glass. I don’t like to criticise without seeing it but it sounds like your plasterers may not have done a very good job I’m afraid.

 

[LeighC]

that's what i was thinking too. Im no plasterer but ive had plastering done in other rooms in that house before and it never looked like this does. Some of it is perfectly fine but you cant miss these patches that are all cracked. Plasterer is a mates family friend - she said he'd done plastering for her and he was really good, really tidy!!
Just a sample of what i came home to yesterday - plaster all over my grass & the pavement in the front garden, plaster trodden in to my brand new bathroom floor tiles, obviously the paper on top of the new plaster, plaster cover my back garden (at least 2cm thick in places!!), plaster splattered up the back wall of the house and all over my windows and my outside hose pipe running!!
Im fuming...this guy is supposedly coming back tomorrow to 'finish off'

thanks for you help really is appreciated

 

[Richard C]

– plaster all over my grass & the pavement in the front garden, plaster trodden in to my brand new bathroom floor tiles, obviously the paper on top of the new plaster, plaster cover my back garden (at least 2cm thick in places!!), plaster splattered up the back wall of the house and all over my windows and my outside hose pipe running!!
Im fuming...this guy is supposedly coming back tomorrow to 'finish off'

thanks for you help really is appreciated

I am a plasterer (amongst other things) & if it’s cracking up as it’s drying, something is wrong. Leaving a mess like that is not just clumsy & untidy it’s also disrespectful; a decent plasterer will not make much mess, will waste very little by throwing it around your garden & over the house & I hope your not on a water meter! If he’s coming back tomorrow to “finish off” you need to tackle him about the mess he’s left & decide weather or not your satisfied with the quality of the work he’s done; post some pics. if you want a 2nd opinion. If your not 100% satisfied don’t pay him until you are, if at all!

 

[LeighC]

will try get some pics of it tonight - will defo be speaking to him about mess - problem being i gave my friend the money for the plastering yesterday as he was suppose to do it all in one day and told her to pay him when he'd finished it all - dosey c*w paid him yesterday before he left and before i got home!!

 

[Maryland]

I too have recently had some plaster work done. It is an excellent job and they left everything very clean and tidy.
Today however I noticed lots very fine spots of plaster on the window, which I am sure they did not see it as it is very fine and I only noticed it when I was cleaning the window today, and felt it gritty and now I can see it of course - it is now irritating the life out of me
I have tried hot soapy water, also white spirit to no avail.

Can anyone tell me what will remove it please.

Many thanks

 

[Richard C]

Today however I noticed lots very fine spots of plaster on the window, Can anyone tell me what will remove it please.

I use an old fashioned, single edge razor blade but a Stanley knife blade will do it or even a new small scraper; just scrape the dots off, not the whole window!

Best to make your own post rather than hijack someone elses

 

[Maryland]

I use an old fashioned, single edge razor blade but a Stanley knife blade will do it or even a new small scraper; just scrape the dots off, not the whole window!:

Thanks for the advice Richard, my husband did suggest this but I was horrified at the thought and ran to the internet However I am grateful for the second opinion, and he will probably be pleased to be backed up (he can do it )

Best to make your own post rather than hijack someone elses

Oops! Thanks for the tip. I am new to this site and didn't realise the protocol. I thought that as LeighC had plaster on the window too, that the info was compatible and that Leigh would benefit too. I belong to another chat site and everyone jumps in and out of each others posts all the time, so it didn't occur to me not to do it.

Many apologies to LeighC.

Thanks again to Richard C