What's best to do with this wallpaper?

[spannerintheneck]

Entire house is covered in this, we think to hide wood-chip but not sure - I hate it. Question is what do I do with it? I don't have the funds to replaster if the wall is horrific underneath, it's silk though so would painting over the top work? Any tips on what I should do here?

You should be able to paint over the top of it.

If you take it off you are likely to be able to sort the wall out by filling gaps and sanding, it will just be very time consuming. Another option would be to put lining paper up before painting, which is still time consuming but a bit less boring.

You can also get

Just to add a warning about lining paper you do still need to sand the walls so they are smooth as lumps will still be visible.

Also for the best result it should be hung horizontally and a fine filler used to smooth out the gaps between the paper.

Good luck!

I feel your pain! That is just gross.

Best painting tip I ever got was from an architect: white exterior masonry paint for internal walls. It's super flat, covers well, waterproof and scrubbable. £30 for a 10l bucket too, so a total win-win. Will make the shiny hideousity of those walls easier to live with until you can replaster!

Meant to say - I have even covered woodwork gloss paint with it. It sticks to ANYTHING (including my phone screen and glasses). Good luck, OP!

That wallpaper looks like the hideous phenomenon known as blown vinyl. I agree with other's suggestions to just paint over it.
Some of these papers can have a top layer and a smoother backing paper behind.

OP, you don't happen to have red carpets with squares on in the hallway of that house do you? Saw a house with wallpaper exactly like that while house searching last year

I'd strip the wallpaper in one room so you see what you're potentially dealing with. Older textured wallpaper often hides lumpy walls but that doesn't mean you'll have to replaster if you take the wallpaper off. Yes, you'll probably have to use lining paper and not paint the plaster directly, but it'll be nicer.

Lining paper can be hung vertically if you intend to paint it and not hang decorative wallpaper on top.

Is ‘silk’ a typo?

I think so - that blown vinyl ain't silk!

This is my area of specialism having dealt with walls lumpy like porridge. Give it a go & strip just one wall off, rather than a whole room, to see what's underneath. The product you really want is called 'Wallrock'. Its a lining paper but made like felt with fibers in all directions. It's super-tough, yet flexible too & hides a multitude of sins. You hang it just like regular lining paper. Our ceilings had cracks when we moved in & the survey said they needed replacing. Our builder said that's bollocks & he lined them with Wallrock & painted over. They've been perfect & crack-free ever since. (over 20yrs). I've gone on to use it all over the house.

Silk is not a typo no, the parts of the pattern that stick out at Matt, and the bits that don't are like silk paint, so they catch in the light a lot. I think I will try painting as a first attempt, so you think the texture won't be as noticeable if painted?

We will be stripping the box room soon to make room for a nursery anyway so will be able to see what it's like underneath, I am hoping it will be fine but downstairs is quite a huge expense of it and I if half the plaster comes off with it that won't be great 😂

You can paint blown vinyl wallpaper. If you use a roller make sure you use one for a textured surface and work steadily - if you try to do it quickly the paint won't cover well.

When we moved in we inherited a lot of textured blown vinyl stuff with silky or sparkly bits in. We also tried covering it but didn't really get the smooth matt finish we wanted. After wasting a lot of energy, time and money on the first couple of rooms, we decided to remove it and get a plasterer in to skim. It didn't cost the earth and we made some of the cost back by only needing a coats of cheap emulsion afterwards.