Skim coat plaster

I bought a fixer that was built in 1927. The walls are plaster that have several layers of wallpaper and paint. There is evidence of lead paint and do not want to take out walls and put in drywall. I would like to skim coat the walls, sand and paint. The problem is that in some places the paint is very loose on the underlying wallpaper. I have scaped some of the paint off. Any suggestions?

Reply to
joeblow
Loading thread data ...

I don't think I would try skim coating over wallpaper.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Buy a good respirator and tear out the plaster. Painted wallpaper is ugly, and the plaster walls will only get worse. Go back to the bank and get a construction loan. Get bids from a few contractors first. You may not have the patience to do the work yourself.

Reply to
TakenEvent

Panelling?????

You could sheettock over the old wall. You have extend the boxes, etc. Probably a good idea if you have unstable walls with lead paint on it.

Reply to
Pat

I agree on this one. First, leaving the existing material in place has many advantages both in terms of the scale of the project, and in soundproofing the home; plaster walls make the house much quieter. However, if the top layer of paint is loose, skimcoating may not be a good idea since the skimcoat can only stick as well as what it's stuck to, if you get my drift. You can get 1/4 inch thick sheetrock and put that over the walls, that will make a nice smooth wall but you have to adjust the electrical boxes (switches and outlets -- of course in a house that old there is probably one outlet per room!) and think about how it will work at door and window frames. Alternatively, you can scrape stuff off until you get down to the plaster (or some sound, well-attached layer) and then skimcoat. -- H

Reply to
Heathcliff

I'm gonna piggyback onto this discussion because I'm planning to skim-coat my bathroom walls to match the rest of the house.

I've torn out all the walls and the floor, replaced the tub, and now I'm ready to put the walls and the subfloor back. The rest of the house has plaster over gypsum-board lath for the walls.

I'm planning to use 1/2" concrete backer-board (Wonderboard?) for the walls and then skimcoat the sections that I don't tile. Does this sound reasonable? The bathroom is so tiny, I don't think the small sheet size will be a big problem (just a nuisance because I'll have to do a lot of cutting to get the joints to land on the studs.) I will tape the joints with fiberglass mesh.

Do I skim it with a 45-minute setting-type joint compound, or is there a special plaster I buy for skimming? I know plaster of paris sets too fast to be workable.

Thanks, Bob

Reply to
zxcvbob

I suggest coating the concrete backerboard with a plaster bonding agent, and then using Diamond brand skim coat plaster.

Cheers, Wayne

Reply to
Wayne Whitney

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.