Redecorating after removing wallpaper

[Andrei26989]

Hi,

I started decorating my house a few days ago and in one of the rooms i had wallpaper on the walls and popcorn ceilling.

I removed the wallpaper and after cleaning it and sanding it its not looking to good and i am trying to skim the wall to get a better finish however the filler/flaster is not sticking to the wall. Is there a secret ?

In regards to the ceilling i believe there have been applied a fair few coats of paint on the popcorn style and now i am really struggling to remove it. Tried the steamer put its not really penetraiting through the paint, tried paint stripper but its quite expensive and still not very succesfull. Any other ideas?
Thanks

 

[oldbutnotdead]

PVA for the walls, plasterboard over the ceiling (or if you want to make a right mess drop the old ceiling). Good luck with skimming

 

[limakilo]

I'm not an expert, but I can talk to you about plastering from a DIY point of view.

Personally, I'm terrible at DIY, but I managed knock a wall down, put up a stud wall up, all I to do was plaster it. I knew I was putting paper on the wall, so I thought I would try and plaster (mainly to learn, so I can maintain my own house as much as possible). Watched dozens of videos, got all the gear, stood looking at it all for about an hour and then got on with it.

I later watched a plasterer do our kitchen walls. He skimmed them perfectly in a short amount of time. If I said it took a morning, that would do him no justice. So how long did it take me to do a wall maybe 1/8 the size? 2 and a half to 3 hours. And it was not acceptable from a professional stand point (I quickly papered it in case he saw it and asked who done it).

I spent ages going over it but each mark I got rid of, I made a new one. You can see marks in parts on the paper through the wall, only minor and fortunately its heavily patterned and decorated.

If you're going to do a large area on your first go, please keep in mind it will still have visible marks, even if you paper it. You may find it unbearable, depending on the room. If its a living room, get a plasterer to do it. The difference between a good plasterer and a bad one has to be looked for, but the difference between a bad plasterer and a DIY first attempt is stark, in my experience.

 

[rob_j20]

Hi,

I started decorating my house a few days ago and in one of the rooms i had wallpaper on the walls and popcorn ceilling.

I removed the wallpaper and after cleaning it and sanding it its not looking to good and i am trying to skim the wall to get a better finish however the filler/flaster is not sticking to the wall. Is there a secret ?

In regards to the ceilling i believe there have been applied a fair few coats of paint on the popcorn style and now i am really struggling to remove it. Tried the steamer put its not really penetraiting through the paint, tried paint stripper but its quite expensive and still not very succesfull. Any other ideas?
Thanks

We have a horrible textured finish on our ceilings, i use a belt sander to take the worst off then skim it.
Use a really coarse belt in the sander, and it makes a great key for the plaster.

 

[Andrei26989]

Any suggestions on the plaster brands and types?

 

[rob_j20]

I used Thistle Multifinish i think.

 

[Newboy]

We have a horrible textured finish on our ceilings, i use a belt sander to take the worst off then skim it.
Use a really coarse belt in the sander, and it makes a great key for the plaster.

That's probably the worst thing you can do to a textured coating.

Older textured coatings can contain asbestos fibres and the last thing you should do is abrade them.

 

[Andrei26989]

So once i strip all the wallpaper off shall i apply a couple of coats of thistle multifinish and than paint ?

 

[Doggit]

You need to pva the wall and the edges first, 3:1, and then put on your first coat, let it firm up a bit, then put on a second coat. It's possible that Limakilo has a steel edge trowel that had sharp corners, and that's what gave the marks as he troweled it up.

 

[Andrei26989]

Just finished sanding it all and i think its kinda ready for a coat of paint. Shall i PVA the walls before i paint them to get rid of the dust or just wash them down? Or any other suggestions ?

 

[chortle]

If you use neat PVA then paint won't stick to the the wall once it's dry.
Use diluted emulsion paint. you'll need a couple of coats.
I've seen others use diluted PVA on new plaster though.
It's just something I don't do personally.

 

[Robbie uk]

Don't use Pva at all. just mist coat it with a thinned down coat of contract matt emulsion. when dry move on to full, un thinned coats of your chosen finish.