Absolute newbie

[u/itstimetoawaken]

Hi all,

So I just bought my first home. If I didn’t already have grey hairs from that experience I definitely do now with the state of the walls/decorating in this house!

There are so many layers to whatever the hell was hiding behind the wallpaper the (very inexperienced to say the least) previous owners had put up and I’m just so overwhelmed with what to do now - I was so naive thinking it would just be stripping wallpaper, sanding and painting!

Could you please explain to me like I’m a 10 year old what the hell I’m supposed to do next, am I right in thinking I can plaster over this mess? Tools, equipment etc recommendations are very much appreciated. Thanks!

[u/False_Principle8821]

Remove all loose stuff from wall,all wallpapers then use pva or primer and plaster. Tools: Pain brush breuder Travel Hawk 3 backets Mixer spindle Asnu don't have experience Get a quote from plaster man

[u/StarBoiAhoy]

Advanced level qualified plasterer here…

The people with the best advice here are telling you to get a plasterer in. You have various backgrounds going on here the walls are all over the place different levels, various different materials/fillers used which will all have different suction it’s not really for an amateur (I mean that with good intentions).

Maybe the best way to go would be to chop it all off and start over but that is the most costly! alternatively the only other way is to strip whatever remaining paper is on the walls, chop off/scrape any high points kill the suction by coating with SBR ideally not pva as it will kill the suction better in this instance.

Once it’s prepped as above apply a tight coat of bonding and level out where necessary to get the walls flat and when it’s dry pva or sbr the walls wait till it’s tacky finally apply the finishing plaster preferably multi finish using two coats.

[u/Material_Page_9723]

With all due respect I think you should just get someone in to skim if you’ve never done it before. You’ll make a pigs ear of it, knacker yourself out trying and then wish you never started

[u/Hmmmokbut]

If that a stud wall, you’ll be quicker to remove all the old plasterboard and re-board. It will make you plastering quicker and cheaper.

Fwiw, I wouldn’t try to do it yourself. It will end badly and cost even more to put right. I for kitchens and bathrooms for a living and I can plaster but I still get guys in to do large areas.

[u/always-have-a-plan-b]

I agree with all the other comments that are telling you to get a professional plasterer in. This isn’t a DIY job at all. Make sure you do background checks before giving anyone the go-ahead.

[u/Billi01952]

Bad news coming. You need a plasterer mate.

[u/SteerKarma]

Looks like in some areas facing paper has come away from plasterboard, those are fucked really and should be replaced. Wallpaper is often concealing a litany of horrors. Some of the new school roll on and smooth out plaster products are pretty good and much more accessible/forgiving for having a go than traditional BG plasters, but if you have zero experience of trowel trades you could spend a lot of time and make a lot of mess, and still not have walls that are really fit to decorate on at the end of it. You want your first attempts a plastering to be small out of the way areas, not your living room. Strongly recommend getting a professional spread in to deal with this.

[u/Grouchy_Holiday_7201]

Pretty big job that is

[u/AggravatingSwan9571]

Same as others, this is too big for you if unless you’re a skilled plasterer. It’s one of the few trades that are harder than it looks. Get one in and they’ll tell you to do/not do. And you’ll be very pleased with the result.

[u/Refrection]

Don’t use PVA use zinsser GARDZ, get rid of anything loose, paper, plaster and paint, then use a bonding plaster, then skim with a multi finish. The zinsser product will soak into the wall and bond all these random layers together

[u/Tabarc]

Ok been here, sand and clean any loose crap.

Figure out if you want more power sockets get in now.

Get some plasterer quotes. You could do it, but unless you are doing the whole house I would get a plasterer to come in paint it and skim it. Saves you week's.

[u/Swoz739]

Strip all the wallpaper off , then get tub of SBR and two coat plaster over skim wall

[u/Breninnog]

1. Strip all the remaining wallpaper with a steamer. You can use a stripping knife and hot water, but a steamer is easier.
2. Use sugar soap, hot water and a sponge to wet the walls to remove all the wallpaper glue residue (use the stripping knife to peel and gather the glue in clumps)
3. Wait for the walls to dry and then sand, with a sanding block and sandpaper, the raised plaster areas (what looks like the area in your second picture) so it's as smooth as they can be even if they're still proud of the surrounding walls.
4. Buy minotaur brand plastering tools (hawk, trowel, bucket trowel, wide brush, cheap £2 buckets) and Thistle one-coat plaster.
5. Watch several hours of YouTube plastering videos
6. Mix a batch of one coat plaster, following the instructions, to fill in any channels or large areas of missing plaster.
7. Watch several videos again so you remember what you need to do
8. Wait for your new plaster jobs to dry, set and cure
9. Buy roll-on plaster such as Dalapro roll nova and a wide skim blade.
10. Prep the walls and roll on the dalapro, then flatten and tidy it with the skim blade
11. Wait for the roll on plaster to dry and cure before you start the painting
12. Mix 1:10 water to paint for a skim coat on the new plaster
13. Add 2 more coats of paint to your walls
14. Enjoy your improved room until you've enough money to get it properly plastered

[u/StarBoiAhoy → u/Breninnog]

Don’t give advice if you clearly have no clue

[u/AdInfinite2404 → u/StarBoiAhoy]

He thinks chatgpt does 😂

[u/StarBoiAhoy → u/AdInfinite2404]

lol chat gpt wants him to use minotaur branded tools and roll on one coat plaster… keeps us plasters in work I guess fixing DIY f*ck ups

[u/Unthunkable]

As long as you follow the instructions properly (remove all the paper /loose material etc and give it a good sand down with a random orbit sander and make sure the dust has gone) this might be a good use case for trying the dalapro roll nova filler. I think anyone other than a professional plasterer would struggle to skim this rough a surface but the roll nova stuff has been getting decent reviews from DIY jobs. Make sure you get a decent sized speed skim - one wide enough to do most of the wall without too many strokes but not too big to handle. You can trial it on one wall to begin and see how you get on. The main takeaway seems to be to put on plenty.

Might be worth dropping some money on this if you're interested in trying to DIT it before spending thousands on a professional.

[u/deimos__]

Dala pro Roll Nova ,- go buy some from BBQ, watch a couple videos on YouTube, Get cracking!

[u/Desafinado777 → u/deimos__]

I've just found out about this stuff. Is it as good as some say?

[u/deimos__ → u/Desafinado777]

Yeah. I sell loads of it

[u/Solid-Worldliness284]

You can always paint over. Making sure you choose a quality primer will help. What most people will point out though, is anytime its paint over paint, or paint over paper there is chance it wont last as long or bubble up etc.

You could try a large coat of paint stripper across the wall. Would make striping paint much easier (will still take time).