What would you do with these crappy walls?

[Wonderfulcheapfalafel]

Hopefully you can make out terrible state of walls from photos! Currently sanding/scraping old flaky paint of and lots of wall crumbling away too.Can't afford to get replastered for a few years probably, but would like to make them ok for the meantime. Not too bothered about them being smooth (although that would be nice!) but they are a bit dusty/chalky at the mo so need to seal them somehow... Don't want to spend ££££ as would like to get it done properly at some point.... Any ideas?

If you’re reasonably handy, lining paper will smooth the surface enough for painting. It’s much like hanging wallpaper, although without the need to get exact pattern matches etc so you can be a little less fastidious.

If they’re chalky and flaking you’ll need to do something like a PVA seal beforehand to get it to adhere properly.

if not smooth…. will drive you batty when you paint!

have you looked in to getting a quote for the re plastering?

Hard to say without seeing, but if they were mine, I'd probably fill any holes, sand, clean well with sugar soap, and then when dry, paint with a good Zinsser primer. The Peel Stop one would probably be my pick, and it's a bit cheaper than the others (similar to the PVA suggestion above). Then after priming, paint with a decent quality mattress paint.

I don't think they look too awful though, and I guess I'm realistic and wouldn't mind too much if they weren't perfect afterwards!

Those are lovely old lime plastered walls with probably a limewash or distemper finish. It's clearly an old house so, unless it's a grand old house, perfectly smooth walls would look out of place.

I would paper the walls with lining paper prior to painting. Will give a smooth finish. We did this in our Victorian house and avoided the need to pay for plastering.

I would get a decorator round to quote - sorry not the answer you were probably looking for!

Size the walls first (very diluted wallpaper paste and water) let it dry for a day then a heavy lining paper.
When it's all dry couple of coats of paint

I would do this.

Hi all, thanks so much for all the advice! @Edgeofthesea that's pretty much what I was thinking to do so I'm glad you've said that, I feel a bit more confident now! I'm also going to look into the lining paper though, at least on the wall which won't be as covered by shelves, furniture etc. @DrSpartacular it's only 1950s so not very very old, certainly not grand!!!

I painted over walls like that, hoping it would look okay. Despite several coat of paint, it looked awful. Filling holes, sanding etc. is not enough. It needs either plastering or lining paper.

As it's 1950s I'd do lining paper then, but make sure it's done well!

Plastering is really not that hard to do . It takes time but costs virtually nothing. (I actually enjoy plastering but not as a full time job!) It gives a much more cared for finish than lining paper, which I despise ! Lining paper looks cheap and diy. Nothing like new plaster to rejuvenate a home.

Im not so sure @Whataretalkingabout , I'm very much a novice to DIY, and even my more experienced friends said this is the job they'd get a pro in for rather than trying themselves so it put me off!

Quick question, is a 4:1 PVA sealer basically the same as the zinsser one mentioned above? Anyone know?

OP, I perfectly understand. Sorry I don't live in the UK and cannot advise you on products. However, I can tell you that a professional sealer is usually better value and requires less work than a cheaper one.
Best of luck.

2000g lining paper you can fill and sand seams if you not brilliant at papering
walls will appear smooth as glass

I would get a price to get walls re plastered.

They look like they need replastering to be honest. They will look awful if you paint straight on that. Sorry !

You know you can’t see the lining paper when it’s painted, if done right, right?

Lining paper. My top tip is if you have minor gaps between two strips, use fine filler and smooth with a filler knife. Joins are then pretty difficult to see.

The product you need OP is 'Wallrock'. It's a lining paper made out of fibre. You can't tear it, only cut it. It's super strong. I had my ceilings done with it nearly 30yrs ago after a surveyor said the ceilings needed to come down & be replaced. He was wrong. And they still look flawless today. & Zinnser and PVA are totally different sealants. Zin' is very £££ and used to stop penetrating stains. You only need PVA on walls to add grab.

Lining paper all the way.

@Freakinfraser If you like that then ok. I prefer the look of plastered walls/ceilings. They are smooth but not necessarily perfect or completely flat. They have character that perfect modern plasterboard walls do not have. Real plaster's faults catch the light and highlight certain kinds of imperfection that you'll never get with ''lining paper'. Lining paper may hide the flaws but destroys old character. I am an artist and am sensitive to these things...

Lining paper, plus a very very thin application of filler down the seams, will blended in, then sanded. I've seen this done, and the outcome is better than plastering.

@buidhe Snap! I missed your post.