Would walls like this put you off?

[Iwishilivedinfairyland]

My house was very unloved when we bought it. It's covered in bumps, scratches, chips etc everywhere. We removed the tatty patterned wallpaper to find it hid a multitude of sins. Really bumpy walls, damaged plaster etc.

So we have spent the last two years going room to room trying to repair the walls and all the damage. It has been dirty, exhausting and incredibly frustrating. We are coming to the end of it now, and I am looking at the walls thinking, what was the point? They still look AWFUL.

We tried to do everything right. We prepped the walls so much. Filling every dent and sanding, over and over again. Each time we thought a room was close to painting, we would discover more imperfections that we'd missed, so back to filling and sanding etc etc.

I've taken some photos...would these bumpy walls put you off buying a house that's NOT a do-er upper?

As others have said depends hugely
on the age of the house. Old period property then no it should be expected. Also as other have said paint with matt paint
makes a huge difference.

I thought you always had to skim walls that had had paper on them before, I'm actually really impressed with yours.

No of course not. We’ve taken paper
off many a wall, filled in smoothed and painted.

Loving all the posts saying just skim it or it needs plastering.
Like that doesn't cost a mint, tradespeople aren't hard to come and the whole process won't upheave the whole house for weeks.

Your walls are just fine OP. It will only put off people who want a new build or an old house that's been totally stripped of the character that makes it an old house.

Sorry, I should have said. It's not a period house, it was built in either the 80s or 90s.

We were trying to do it all on a budget which is why we didn't get in a plasterer. We naively thought we could do it. I 'helped' my mother (a DIY queen and a perfectionist) do my old house, an actual period house, and she got those walls perfectly smooth. So I'm upset that I don't have her skills and after all the effort we've gone to, we've still got a bodge job.

Thank you for all the replies.

I think a lot of the bad looking bits are from where we haven't sanded enough, but we really did think all those areas were flat. We sanded so much. Yet now it's painted, they stand out and possibly look worse that before!

The house has been a dusty, dirty mess for the last few months and the thought of going around again with sanding paper makes me want to scream. We keep thinking we're done, and then just find more imperfections.

We have the same problem in our Victorian house OP and like you are working our way round it sanding, filling, sanding until we're sick to the teeth of it.

When we think a room is finished we paint the walls white with cheap white emulsion. White paint shows up the flaws like no other colour. We do one more round of filling the worst bits with fine surface filler, another and and then that's it.

We've found painting the walls a darker colour and the flattest matt finish we can find really conceals the lumps and bumps. Your walls all look white so you are seeing them at their very worst.

We've ended up painting everything this colour. It really conceals the problems and is a lovely restful neutral that seems to go with everything. It's more green than grey but very subtle.

https://www.dulux.co.uk/en/colour-details/overtly-olive

You've worked really hard and are being very critical of your results. When all your stuff, blinds, soft furnishings and things are in, it will look great. Nobody will ever look as closely at those walls again as you have.

Even a house built in the 90s is 30 odd years old now. There are going to be some signs of life and anyone reasonable will expect that or will have to replaster.

Thank you so much for this response. The walls are painted Victorian White from Wickes, so maybe that is part of the problem if it is just highlighting all the problem bits?

We do similar to you - filling and sanding over and over, then first coat of paint. Then repeat with the filling and sanding because the paint obviously shows up lots of imperfections. Then final coat of paint.

It's just such hard, dirty work in a place you have to live in at the same time. Everything is covered in dust. Maybe it would look better if we committed another week to sanding. But then, maybe it wouldn't and we'd still have imperfections and it would just go on forever.

The plaster in my 1980s house was awful so I just had the whole lot skimmed and the artex skimmed. It looks perfect now. I wouldn't even attempt to do that kind of job myself. It needs a professional.

Wouldn't put me off either. I'm a one for hanging a picture there, putting a wardrobe there, to hide any really hideous bits!

Total sympathy about the disruption and mess. We camped in one room for months whilst we ripped the place apart. I'm sure the dust gets into your soul!

I really suggest you paint one room a (darker, subtle) colour and furnish it before you do any more sanding, filling, sanding across the whole house. It might look lovely, much better than you think and save you weeks of work.

Just another tip - we find own brand paint much less creamy and 'concealing' than the good named brands. It's a bit pricier but definitely saves time and gives a better effect.

Yes it would put me off if the price point was as a refurbished house.

It would not put me off if the house was priced to reflect the work it needed.

I do as a PP said. Sand, fill, skim, paint a watery white to show the imperfections then keep redoing as needed.
I am doing my own renovations so know how much work it entails to sort out walls like that so I would notice them straight away.
A good ceiling paint on the walls such as Tikkurilla AR2 will help minimise some imperfections as its designed to be non reflective.

It doesn't need a professional if you are prepared to put in the very hard, dirty and time consuming work yourself. A professional costs money some people don't have.

Here is the little Makita sander I use for pretty much everything as it’s light enough to hold above my head etc.
I adapted some tubing and random parts to make my own dust extraction.This was a game changer. I would say it’s 90% dust free now if not more.Use it wirh my old trusty Titan vac from Screwfix.