Wallrock fibreliner

[GMM]

I got some of the above at the weekend from Toolsatan in what I thought would be a futile attempt to cover up a wall in quite poor condition. I had tried painting over the existing (ancient) wallpaper, but it just lifted as the paint went on and I had to strip it, revealing some seriously'end-of-life' lime plaster. It's basically a heavy, 'non-woven', paste the wall, lining paper. I filled everything I could see before hanging it but, of course, it's only once you put the paste on the wall that you really see that you missed 90% of the dings and dents, so I remained sceptical. I haven't papered a wall for about 20 years, so I was surprised when it went up easily, using the recommended adhesive (20 quid - ouch-, but for a big tub, so plenty left for next time). I'd never used 'paste the wall' paper before, but it was way simpler than pasting the paper. This stuff didn't have much 'slip' but it doesn't stretch significantly either. I left it 2 days for the adhesive to go off, banged it over with a coat of paint tonight and it's looking not bad. Not as good as if the wall had been skimmed, but I'm sure most people staying in the room overnight won't look at it quite as critically as I do. If I'd papered over it with something textured instead of painting, it would probably look even better. So, a positive (well 4/5) recommendation if, like me, you have to sort a dodgy wall in a hurry. (Obviously, no connection etc etc.)

That said, I really should learn how to skim properly, as that would have made a better job, but there wasn't time to get my plasterer in.

[Robin]

I've used Walrock a good deal for similar reasons, including on ceilings (where its resistance to tearing means even an incompetent like me can get it up in one piece). And the 1m wide rolls speed things up. Cuts v nicely with knife too. And FWIW has stayed up with Solvite paste-the-wall which (with the wall/ceiling well sized first) seemed to me to offer better slip than the Walrock readymix .

[tony sayer]

Just got a roll of that on your recommendation. If its not as good as made out will you please take the blame;)...

cheers.....

[Robin]

Gulp. Err.....yes, naturally. But I am just going outside and may be some time.

PS I've hung precious little paper in my life but FWLIW when using Walrock on seriously wonky walls it seemed to me easier if I pasted wall and paper so as to get more slip. And it doesn't stretch like ordinary lining paper so it may be necessary to cut fillets if there are serious bumps. (That was with walls they don't just need skimming but stripping back to the brick and I weren't going there.) I hope though someone with more experience/nous will be along with better advice.

[GMM]

I was tempted to try a diferent paste but reluctant to c*ck it up if it didn't work out as I've been working against the clock on this room. Useful to know for teh future - however far into the future it will b before the bloody great tub of stuff I bought runs out...;-)

[Andy Burns]

Any clues to the level of dodgyness it can cope with?

[GMM]

The wall I used it on was crumbly-ish original lime plaster that lost quite a few lumps when I stripped the existing paper and had been clearly been savaged in the past by scrapers etc. Fairly typical of an old house that hasn't been looked after in its 150 years or so.

Although I filled what I could find, I missed most of the shallow craters. There was something about the light in this location that meant most of the issues were invisible before pasting the wall revealed them. When they became apparent, I wondered if I should continue as there didn't seem enough 'flat' for the liner to stick properly, but time was against me so I carried on.

I'd say maybe 2/3 of the wall was the intended flat surface, the rest being small hollows, a few (~2 - 5) mm deep. Maybe craters are less of a problem than high points though, and I sanded (a foam block and a wall pole sander) the whole area beforehand to take off any bits of filler, paper, etc. I also treated some of the more crumbly areas with PVA to stabilise them.

It seems quite mechanically strong, so should hold the friable parts in place and because it doesn't stretch when it gets wet from the paste, it bridges the dips and hollows rather than bellying into them like paper does.

You can almost lose the edges when hanging, by butting up nice and closely, but there are a couple of points where I didn't put enough paste on the wall at the edges so had to go back and fiddle some under it. Of course, as dictated by Sod's Law, this was only clear after painting...

It's only been up a week, so maybe time will tell something different (!)

[Robin]

That pretty well sums up my experience. But just a couple or 3 additional comments:

I've not tested this scientifically but I *think* there's a choice between using a vinyl smoother which leaves the Walrock to "bridge" hollows or a traditional brush or sponge so it follows the wall a bit more.

I liked it because it made it easier to deal with 3D walls. It (usually) cuts neatly with a snap knife even when "wet" so you can overlap and trim. Or gaps where you can't get it butted can of course be filled with lightweight filler/sanded. It's tougher than traditional lining paper so stands up to it v well.

Oh, and it has markedly different finishes back and front so if you are painting pick the one you like and be consistent. I noticed in time - just!

[GMM]

I had read that and had a go with a wide rubber grout spreader first and then a brush. I couldn't see any difference, so carried on with the brush as it was easier. I ddin't press any harder than was needed to ensure everything was stuck and it looks pretty flat to me now. Subjective sample size of one, so still not scientific (!)

I didn't notice in time, but now you mention it, I just checked and it seems the inside of the spiral is noticably smoother. I hung it with the outside out (ie as 'normal' paper) as I read on the pack that you could hang either way and it seemed that way would be less likely to detach at the top and bottom. That said, I'm quite happy with the matt finish I got with one coat of paint (Johnstone's Jonmat). I'll try it the other way next time and see how they compare.

[Andy Burns]

Thanks both for your comments, I've requested some free samples of fibreliner, and fibreliner premium, is the proper adhesive particularly thick?

[GMM]

It's fairly thick but, as Robin said earlier, it's probably fine to use solvite or something. It didn't seem too special to me, but I'm not a regular wallpaper hanger. The only reason I bought it was because I was on a bit of a schedule and didn't have any time to experiment.

What I did like was the paste the wall approach: You can put the roll on the floor and pull the loose end up to the ceiling, press to the wall and then trim top and bottom, saving any cutting off the job (and, therefore, mistakes). As Robin said, a snap-off knife cuts it very well. I snapped to a new end for each strip.

[Robin]

The one time I used it I felt it was pretty thin (nowhere near as thick as the premium Solvite when mixed for heavy paper) and splashed around a lot. And lacked slip.

But I may well be biased because at that time it was sold for use straight from the container without mixing. So I did. And the Wallrock wouldn't stick to the wall. I wasted 2 or 3 lengths before I realised you do have to stir the bloody stuff. I could only think no German users are as stupid as me :( But that didn't stop me telling the importers what I thought of the wording on the container.

[Andy Burns]

They've arrived, there's quite a difference between the finish of them, the Premium would probably give a finish similar to a nicely polished plaster skim, compared to fresh plasterboard for the Standard.