To be upset regarding new home.

[2023NewStart1]

We’re in the process of moving into new home and I am shocked at the state of the walls. Not sure if we’ve been lucky before (3rd home move in 20 years) or if this is normal so posting here. The house looked beautiful and we thought it was ready to move in as it was exceptionally immaculate but now that the owners furniture and belongings have gone we realised how much it’s going to cost to paint. Every single room including the bathrooms has hundreds of nails dug into the walls! Even the decorator was shocked and said they seemed to have loved their pictures, we hung up a few pictures over the years and never nailed them in but used command picture strips. Only thing that was nailed in was a heavy mirror.

my mum was really shocked too, every single room needs to be painted and it’s going to cost a lot as we don’t know the names of paints used and trying to match up is going to be a nightmare. Mum very helpfully told me I should complain to the estate agent! I’m obviously not going to as the sale has happened and EA won’t really care.

any advice on what we can do or just anyone to sympathise? I haven’t told anyone in RL as it seems like a non problem but it’s really upsetting me as me we can’t move furniture in till decorating has been done. Every single room needs decorating now. It’s going to delay our move as all decorators are busy during this time

There were polystyrene tiles in a home my family member bought on most the ceilings (painted ones too so nice and safe 😂) they started to remove them turns out he had nailed every single one to the ceiling not just four WAY MORE the ceiling looked like the dude out of hellraiser (I think that's who I'm thinking off head full of pins guy?) Anyway that house was fun

I'm surprised you and your mother are surprised. Btw there wouldn't be any point knowing the paint names as paint changes over time. There's also a reason manufacturers say you must use the same batch numbers to ensure continuity, or does that surprise you too?

If cost is a problem I have recently found Wilkos own brand paint is far superior to Dulux and a lot cheaper. They also sell cheap paintbrushes and filler. Also not employing a decorator and doing it yourself is even cheaper! But thanks for the giggle regarding the estate agent complaint 😂

I would ask the estate agent to speak with the previous owners and just see if they have any spare pots of paint leftover (they may have taken these with them) or what the names of the paint colours are - that may save you time!

Do you mean they just hammered a small nail into the wall for every picture? They didn't use a rawl plug and proper picture hook? Scumbags!! 😄There's something to be said for picture rails in old houses. Sticky command strips are fairly new in the world of DIY aren't they? Not sure I'd trust them with some bigger heavier frames though.

I would get repainting - makes it all clean and fresh, any colour you like but probably two coats of the 'one coat' stuff. Use a roller not a brush. The problem is getting a smooth finish with filling the holes and a reskim might be best.

There is no reason not to just move in. Furniture can be moved away from walls when you are ready to paint each room. You may want to change room colors anyway. It’s normal to just live with imperfect walls from time to time.

My sister bought a disaster of a house.
When she moved in, she found a huge wardrobe size piece of plaster missing in the lounge that had been covered by a large cabinet in front of it.
The vendors had taken their bedroom furniture with them obviously, but the carpets had been laid upto and around the furniture, so there were wardrobe and drawers size and shaped holes in the carpets.
The bath pipe wasn't coupled up, so the first time she had a bath and pulled the plug out, the water gushed down into the floorboards and caused the kitchen ceiling to come crashing down.

In one room of our house there were dozens and dozens of pictures and each one was hung from a screw and wall plug! The plugs were left. It looked like someone had sprayed the room with a machine gun.

It was less tedious filling them in than expected and the wall is perfectly smooth now.

I thought it was zhuzh!

Just move in and get settled, then tackle it a room at a time.

I wouldn't want to redecorate until I'd lived there for a bit, had a chance to understand how the light moves around the rooms, morning to evening, and through the seasons.

I've literally no idea. I just guessed tbh. And it didn't try and autocorrect.

We used this in a similar situation, v good

The only times I’ve hung pictures with command strips were when I was renting, and in a flat so damp I had to have the walls tanked. Surely you saw the gallery walls on viewing? Odd expectation that they were hung with expensive strips Vs cheap nails.

I’ve never bought anywhere where I’d want to match the paint either – always want to decorate! Just take it a room at a time:

Irritating but it's just a coat of paint. As PP has said you can do a room at a time yourself if you don't want the expense of getting decorators. When we bought our house it was covered in old fashioned wallpaper. When we removed the wallpaper it took off half the plaster underneath - unbeknownst to us it was in a terrible state, wallpaper hides a multitude of sins. We ended up having to get the whole house replastered a week before our baby was due (we were living in a rented house at the time/before moving in - the LL let us stay an extra month thank goodness or we would have been homeless!).

The previous owners may have a list of paint colours. I have a Google doc with mine listed. If I ever sell, I'll share it with the buyers but only if they are reasonable and don't ask hundreds of ridiculous questions during the sale process 😂

New paint won't match paint that's been on the wall a few years - it will have faded.

They are both good!

@AreOttersJustWetCats Depends on the paint. Light colours seem fine. I regularly touch up the walls which were painted 7 years ago and you can't see the patches once dry.

That would piss me off too, OP.

Not everyone is good at decorating or has the time and inclination and decent painters and decorators are like gold dust round here.

It's depressing to move into a house and it look a bit shit. As you said, OP a couple of nails - fine - but hundreds - weird.

But not sure if you have any comeback but you could check with your solicitor.

If that's all that needs doing then you're very lucky.

Third move for us and each new house has needed tons of expensive works done...

Who on earth would attempt to match existing paint colours?

And 'hundreds' of nails? Are you sure OP? Sounds like a new-build might have been a better option for you.

I would assume that there were pictures on the wall when the OP viewed it. Most people would know full well that they'd be held up with nails. The only people I've known who don't use nails are renters (because they're not allowed to).

Of course you can move in furniture and live there before decorating.

Once you're in and settled, remove the nails and fill the holes. Straightforward DIY job.

Repainting plastered walls doesn't mean you have to match the previous paint; choose your own colour.

Either you can DIY emulsion; or for speed just hire a professional decorator.

Sorry but I think YABU unless it's was advertised as a newly decorated house or you bought a brand new build I'd expect to re decorate or even refurbish it all.

I can’t imagine being shocked that a house wasn’t passed on in pristine, ready to live in condition if it isn’t a new-build. You should see some of the wrecks we’ve had to deal with, and we’re not renovators. I hate it, every time, but its normal.

You’re overreacting.

Polyfilla and get painting.
Complaining to the EA is ridiculous, sorry, you bought it without examining walls. I have never moved into somewhere and not had to use some polyfilla and some paint, not always done immediately, but how could their pictures exactly match yours?