should I skim?

Hi,

Just bought my first house and now encountering what must be standard problems...I stripped the wallpaper in the living room, and mostly the plaster looks pretty even and smooth. However, there are a few uneven and patchy areas on the chimney breast and the alcoves. I had a go at putting up some heavy lining paper from Wickes with the intention of painting over it but unfortunately it looked awful - the lumps and bumps showed through very clearly.

So, my questions are- would reskimming solve the problem of my lumpy plaster so that I could just paint the walls without having to line them? If I were to rekim is there any preparation I should conduct prior to having a plasterer out?

Hopeful thanks in advance of any replies...

Phil

Reply to
PIP1
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Yes, if it's done better than the original. No otherwise.

Remove all electrical accessories (after isolating the relevant circuits, obviously), and coil the cables in the back boxes so they do not stick out past the wall surface. This enables the plasterer to sweep his trowel right across and gives you a much better result than if he has to steer around accessories or protruding wires. When I skim, I cut a tight fitting cardboard square or rectangle and push it into the front of the box. This helps keep the plaster and PVA out of the box. I've never seen a plasterer to this though. Finding the box afterwards can be difficult if you don't know exactly where it is and it's been skimmed right across. Remove the cardboard before the plaster sets completely.

This is also a good time to think what extra sockets, switches, wall lights, etc you want to fit before the reskim.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

It sounds like the whole house might be suspect as regards plastering. First thing we need to know are the walls plasterboard or old mortar walls. chances are its the old stuff. think carefully or it could develop into a very big job. I mean if there is a bulge you might have to remove it and if its a dip in the wall that could indicate patching and more removals.

A woodchip paper over that wall and paint it could hide that lot. Put a few pictures over the flaws when finished. It can develop into a big and messy job if the bad stuff is more extensive as you tackle it.

Reply to
noelogara

In message , Andrew Gabriel writes

Huh? I've had a number of rooms skimmed now, no cardboard and no difficulty finding the back boxes... I really can't see how on earth they'd get 'lost'?

Maybe your good intentions (cardboard in the boxes) suggest to the plasterer that you want the holes covered? I dunno?

For me, the last thing of the day (if & when the plasterer's labourer forgets) is to go round the edges of the sockets & switches with a stanley knife, but it literally is no more than a "clean up the edge".

Back to the OP's point though, yes a good skim followed by quality/careful painting - you'll have a class finish.

Around our way (darn sarf - North Essex) reckon on 200quid per room for a good quality skim.

Hth Someone

Reply to
somebody

I am the plasterer in this case. I prefer to use the cardboard as you then get a back box with no plaster or PVA in it.

Likewise. Be careful not to nick the cable with the blade.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

Never tried the cardboard trick myself, or used the purpose-made plastic items that I thik Screwfix et al sell for this purpose; however I've certainly experienced the problem of "WTF was that light switch" after having walls plastered by a pro.

David

Reply to
Lobster

How old is the house? What general condition do you judge it to be in relative to its age? (scale

1-10). How much bodgeing has been done in the past? How long are you intending to stay there? (then add 5 years ;-)

Modify the other answers based on the answers to these questions.

-- Mike W

Reply to
VisionSet

Thanks for your replies folks. I'm going for the skim option - fingers crossed for a class finish.

Phil

Reply to
PIP1

In message , snipped-for-privacy@philip24.fsnet.co.uk writes

Good on yer :-)

A few thoughts....

As other posters have said, the flatter/clearer your walls are (ie no sockets, pipes, screws/nails in walls etc) the better the final finish will be. Plastering can also be a messy job, definately remove or atleast cover anything and everything you don't want plastered :-)

Once the plaster has all dried (about a week usually) you'll want to start painting. There is plenty of good advice on here about painting fresh plaster. I've had a fair few rooms skimmed now and I find 50% matt emulsion/50% water for the first coat. This takes the 'suck' out of the plaster and seals it before 'real' paint etc. It looks crap but it is needed. Don't even think about using PVA :-) This first coat is sometimes called the 'piss' coat ('cos the paint has the consistency of piss).

You're now ready to paint for real. You've just paid good money to have it skimmed so take care with the painting. Finished/dried paint has a 'thickness' to it. Each coat/roller/brush stroke adds to the thickness of the layer on the wall. When you paint bear that in mind. It is easy to have a wall all one colour, it is not so easy not to have ridges and bumps and roller lines left behind. Try to maintain a consistent amount of paint, per roller, per area covered - 'stretching' the paint out across these areas is where your class finish is created. I'm guessing here, but pass a very critical eye over your existing woodwork, doors, ceilings, walls etc etc and you may actually see what I'm babbling on about!

The best advice I can give to a novice (big assumption there) is to put a small amount of paint on the roller and try to spread every single roller of paint as far as it will possibly go. Expect to put on more coats and forget all the 'one coat' crap on the advertising. Lots of thin coats will give you a good finish, one thick coat will look like she-ite. Once you've done it a few times, you'll get a feel for the balance between how much paint on the roller and how far to try and stretch it.

Personally, on fresh plaster, one piss coat and two proper coats does me fine. Oh and I get comments saying how good the finish looks (from pro's too:-)

Hth Someone

Reply to
somebody

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