lining paper vs skimming - old house

[emma_middlebrook]

Hi

Repainting a basement level bedroom of an 1820s terraced house ...

On the walls there are a pattern of thin cracks in the render. One other consideration is that there are currently large channels of badly finished, exposed plaster after some work by an electrician.

Have been talking to a few people:

One opinion is that the walls should be lined and then painted over the lining paper: they suggested this because 'old houses move and the cracks will reappear'.

Another person prefers reskimming the wall and simply painting over (his opinion was that the house would have settled and as the cracks have not enlarged over the last 2 years then lining is unnecessary and a better job would be done without).

So, lining vs no-lining - is it just a personal preference between the two? To me, lining sounds like a way to do a quicker job and not have to worry so much about the existing state of the wall but I don't like the idea of the possibility of vertical lines in the wall every metre if done badly. Any implications of lining for future maintenance/repainting/appearance?

Cheers

Emma

[adder1969]

My experience is that over time "cracks" appear between the strips of lining paper.

[Chris Bacon]

Are there any damp problems at all?

What's it rendered with, do you know? Has it been plastered, if so with what (or what does it look like)?

If cracks are going to re-appear, then they'll break the lining paper anyway (unless it does not adhere well)!

Has it been plastered (converted from cellar?) recently?

If you line it, you will still have to prepare well.

Not particularly. It's susceptible to being damaged by furniture etc. rubbing on it though.

It would be nice to have more info., but, on the face of it, I'd make good any noticeable damage with filler, then wipe very runny filler over the whole lot with a squeegee, and paint it.

[Chris Bacon]

This could be due to damp, or poor adhesion, or stretching the paper as it's hung, or a combination!

[The Natural Philosopher]

Skim for a decent finish, lining paper for a quick'n'dirty one.

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Slap scrim tape all over each wall then skim it with plaster.

[Richard Faulkner]

In message , "emma [e-mail]" writes

Been there... Done that... Skim every time!

[emma_middlebrook]

Not obvious ones or anything anyone has spotted.

It is plastered but other than that, I'm not knowledgeable enough to say with what kind.

That's what I thought which is why I started being concerned about the two approaches.

No, I think the conversion is early 1980s.

That's interesting because maybe the two approaches aren't about time and skill level then?

I may not have provided you with any more info' but thanks for your comments.

As you can probably guess, I'm not attempting the job myself as it's quite important to get it right.

Emma

[TheOldFellow]

I was taught to hang lining paper with overlap, not butt, joints. These are then sanded down. You can never find the joins later, and they never open up.

R.

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Heh!

[Chris Bacon]

To a degree... lining paper will cover up minor imperfections, such as sanding marks and hairline cracks, but anything more (lumps, bumps and dips) will show through quite plainly.

[Guy King]

The message from "emma [e-mail]" contains these words:

I've always done lining horizontally.

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Lying down on the job again. Tsk

[Stuart Noble]

That's never worked for me but maybe my technique was wrong. Perhaps you could elaborate?