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Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Property/DIY

Plasterer or Decorator?

17 replies

LadyKooKoo · 15/05/2013 09:31

The walls in our house are pretty patchy but we are planning on painting them, not wall papering. In people's experience, would it look better/be more cost effective to have them skimmed and paint directly on or have them lined and paint the lining paper?

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AliceWChild · 15/05/2013 09:37

Skimmed and painted is much better finish. Don't know cost wise but logically paint is cheaper than paper, but plastering might cost more than papering. Is really messy and dusty though. We have one room where we papered over bumps and it is obvious we have. All others are skimmed and painted.

AnythingNotEverything · 15/05/2013 09:42

You'll get a much better finish if you have them skimmed. We've had a couple of rooms done recently and it's not been as expensive as we thought.

You have to wait a few weeks before you can paint though as the plaster has to dry.

LadyKooKoo · 15/05/2013 09:50

Yep, you are probably right. Guess I will get some plasterers in to quote.

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lovesmileandlaugh · 15/05/2013 09:54

How long do you have to wait to paint?

I'm having my hall, stairs and landing stripped of the blown vinyl paper and skimmed (old Victorian terraced house), it is costing £600 if you want an idea of cost!

bootsycollins · 15/05/2013 09:55

Where in the world are you?

LadyKooKoo · 15/05/2013 10:41

£600? Seems expensive to me but saying that I have no recent point of reference! We have stripped the wall paper ourselves so are part way there.

We are not far from Birmingham.

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bootsycollins · 15/05/2013 11:08

I ask because I just happened to know an excellent plasterer and decorator man but he's north west based

MinimalistMommi · 15/05/2013 11:15

Plastering and then painting will give so much a better finish then lining paper.

hardbeingme · 15/05/2013 11:45

plastering gives a better finish imo, have you had quotes? our walls are awful, we got the front room plastered but when we did the bedroom thought we'd save time and money and get a decorator to paper (lining paper and wallpaper in our case) he was twice the price of the plasterer! and we would've still had to do something with the awful ceiling.
you'll probably always see the joins in the lining paper as well even if you put a dozen coats on.

Sausagedog27 · 15/05/2013 12:07

How old is the house? Lining paper can be better in older houses which move. We had our living room skimmed in our old house- the plaster developed hairline cracks not long after, just because of general movement etc.

AnythingNotEverything · 15/05/2013 12:13

Depending on the temperature you have to wait 2-3 weeks to paint, and your first coat should be watered down paint to seal it.

LadyKooKoo · 15/05/2013 12:59

House is late 1920s.

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AllBellyandBoobs · 15/05/2013 13:53

bootsycollins I don't suppose your guy is Merseyside based is he?

PigletJohn · 15/05/2013 18:45

new plaster can be painted (see below) as soon as it is dry and has gone pale pink. Skim is thin so will be quick, especailly if you open the windows (fresh air dries it, not heat).

You should mist it with a non-vinly matt such as Dulux Trade Supermatt. White is cheaper than colours. Thin the first one or two coats with water so it soaks in and seals the surface. Never never never put PVA glue on any surface you hope one day to paint.

The white will highlight to your eye ant remaining blemishes that you need to fill or smooth and re-prime. It would be better to wait a month or so before applying your finish coat in colour by some fashionable maker, especially if it is a vinyl silk, but I wopuld be much less concerned about a skim drying out than a float and set on a new wall, which may be built with wet bricks and take many months to dry. Any brown patches are wet and not ready to paint.

LittleMilla · 16/05/2013 20:40

Our plasterer charges £100 a day and is able to do a room 3mx4m (pretty much) in that time. He's a fast worker though and also did a whole room + celing once on an extended day so £150 all in.

We're in Bristol.

Hope that helps...

melli80 · 23/11/2013 08:50

Hi LittleMilla

We've just bought a place in Bristol and need some plastering done. Would you recommend/would you give us the details of the plasterer you use? Thanks

Mandy21 · 23/11/2013 20:00

We're in NW, just paid £450 for lounge (walls and ceiling) to be skimmed, we had done all the prep ourselves. Its 15' x 14' with fireplace / bay window. Took him 2 days. We've just done the mist coat (plastering was done last week of Oct). It is silky smooth though and the finish (so far) is great.

We would have needed to have the ceiling done anyway, it was in an awful state when we took the blown vinyl paper off. The walls probably would have been ok, but its the room we relax in and I know it would have bugged me if I'd been sitting there looking at a join in the lining paper

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