Lining paper sadness - Piglet John?

[TinyGarden]

We're having lining paper sadness and wondered if PigletJohn might be kind enough to view the state of it and offer advice on how sad it really is / whether it's salvageable. (Or whether we need to ask the painter to start again - costly option, and likely to annoy the painter too ).

There are hairline cracks in the paint in places, as well as the lining paper lifting. (I should add the room doesn't have damp issues.)

Any thoughts on prognosis for likelihood of it being rescued gratefully received!

[TinyGarden]

@AnotherBoredOne

Has your painter seen it?

I sent him photos and he's agreed to come round and look at it tonight. So just figuring out what I should say to him and how to prevent this happening again.

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

He shouldn't have papered over a freshly plastered wall. It needs a week or more to dry out properly.

You need to ask him what he is able to do to make good the massive state he has left it in.

Personally, I'd ask him to refund the work. You will then need to book and pay for someone to rectify and redo. It's a terrible job.

If he has plastered well (which I doubt, given the job he has done of the papering) then you shouldn't need lining paper over it. The wall should be smooth.

Paint directly onto plaster. Especially if it's been plastered within the last 10 years!

[HardAsSnails]

TinyGarden it's not rocket science, with lining paper that's being painted you don't fully butt the joins, you fill them with a fine filler and then sand to create a seamless join.

[PigletJohn]

I'd tell him the seams have lifted and ask him to fix them. Let him try once.

If he can't fix it neatly in one attempt, give up because he is not competent.

Cut your losses and ask around for personal recommendations from someone you know and trust, who will let you examine their wallpaper with a magnifying glass.

it would be nice to think you could make a deduction from the payment.

Good local decorators are often booked up a year in advance.

[TinyGarden]

Thank you all for the advice, this is really helpful.

@PigletJohn - I know it's difficult to say, but what do you think might've gone wrong (so we can prevent it happening again)?

Did he not leave enough time for the paint to dry? (Two coats of ceiling and wall in one day)

Or is there likely to be something wrong in how he's prepared the joins, as @HardAsSnails suggests?

(And just for future reference, do you think he should've left the plaster to dry for longer than a day to cover with paper? The area he replastered was about 2 feet long I think, one foot high.)

[PigletJohn]

It's not unusual for wallpaper seams to lift, and gluing them down is quite normal.

I think it usually happens within a day or so.

Painting them quickly might have made it worse, I don't know.

If he didn't wipe any excess paste off at the joins, that could be a reason for the paint cracking. Or it might just be because the paint cracked when the paper curled. I'm not keen on wallpapering.

But I'd expect an experienced decorator to take it in his stride.

[TinyGarden]

@PigletJohn

It's not unusual for wallpaper seams to lift, and gluing them down is quite normal.

I think it usually happens within a day or so.

Painting them quickly might have made it worse, I don't know.

If he didn't wipe any excess paste off at the joins, that could be a reason for the paint cracking. Or it might just be because the paint cracked when the paper curled. I'm not keen on wallpapering.

But I'd expect an experienced decorator to take it in his stride.

Thanks all. He is here now and just painting over the seams - no glue!

[onlinelinda]

That doesn't seem right to me, at all.

[onlinelinda]

You paste lifted seams first, let them dry, actually you often need a stronger paste once they've lifted. Then you let them dry. Then fill and sand cracks, (which happened by not laying the paper butter near enough to the piece below).

Then dust.

Then let air settle.

Then paint.

[PigletJohn]

well, that's his "one attempt."

[TinyGarden]

So sad about this. It will mean 100s of pounds wasted if it doesn't work. I asked 'don't they need glueing down'. He said 'no' .

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

Oh just tell him to refund you. What a fucking crap tradesman.

[HasaDigaEebowai]

He doesn't know what he's doing OP. Painting over it is not going to help. The paper needs sticking down firmly and probably filling first judging from the edges showing on your photos. Don't pay him any more money until its rectified and make sure you secure agreement from him before he leaves today that if it isn't fixed when the paint is dry he refunds you.

How much has he charged you since it looks generally like a shoddy job. is he actually a professional decorator?

[TinyGarden]

@HasaDigaEebowai

He doesn't know what he's doing OP. Painting over it is not going to help. The paper needs sticking down firmly and probably filling first judging from the edges showing on your photos. Don't pay him any more money until its rectified and make sure you secure agreement from him before he leaves today that if it isn't fixed when the paint is dry he refunds you.

How much has he charged you since it looks generally like a shoddy job. is he actually a professional decorator?

He says he is. We paid £90 a day and he did 3 days. He said it would fix it, and has gone. I'm going to be very sad face if it curls up or cracks again tomorrow.

Then I guess it's a phone call for a refund or partial refund (we paid cash) - or chalk it up to experience as @PigletJohn suggested.

I'm not sure how he'd react to a request for a refund.

[PigletJohn]

£90 a day sounds a very low rate for a professional

though I don't know any decorators.

[TinyGarden]

Hmm. We're in the north, but I don't know how that compares with other decorators up here.

[Bluntness100]

Did you get recommendations? Ninety quid a day is dirt cheap. I’d expect double that at least for a proffessional.

[TinyGarden]

He was actually recommended to us - but I think he only did emulsion on the house he worked on before (no chance for lining paper mishaps!).

We had one other quote which was £100 a day, but that guy was booked up for six weeks. So from my sample size of two(!), the rate may be normal-ish for around here - but admittedly it's not a big sample!

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

I pay £135per day for ours (Newcastle)

[Bluntness100]

Where are you? I pay 150 for mine in the south east and that’s a discounted rate. And he’s hugely experienced.

Maybe it’s location?

[TinyGarden]

We're in the North West.

[Bluntness100]

Where are you op?

[Bluntness100]

Oops sorry cross posted.

[seekingwaxwings]

It would really annoy me to have lining paper hung horizontally- I know people are saying that's normal but surely that's when more paper is going on top vertically? When I've painted on lining paper I've hung it vertically. Apart from anything else it's easier to hang that way!

[annieareyouokhun]

£90 per day is super cheap for a professional decorator. I'd expect to pay at least £130 upwards.