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Hoovie
Devon DIYer
Joined: 27 Jul 2007
Posts: 8036
Location: East Devon
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 Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 12:57 pm Post subject: Imperfections - Fix or Leave? |
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I think there will be different opinions about this but here is my question.
My house is 1930s, so it is all solid plaster on brick, or some plaster and lath walls. So the house is coming up for 80 years old and with that time comes imperfection on the walls - some are a bit bumpy, some have slight nick marks that have had numerous layers of paint in them so are rounded off a bit, etc. The plaster itself is sound,
I have painted a couple of rooms and just painted 'what was there' so some of the undulations of the plaster are noticable (esp as I like a sheen/silk finish   ) and sometimes it bugs me slightly, other times it remidns of the house history 
So the Question....
As professional P&Ds, what would you want to do if it was you own house? Would you want to make good and flat the walls before decorating, or would you treat it as a natural aging & living process of a house - sort of like "house wrinkles" and just prep and dec what is there?
Got the downstairs to do (painting, not wallpaper) and musing the options ....
(btw - the walls are not bad, just not the smoothness you would get with a brand new skim from an expert spread)
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I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?"
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big-all
Pro Carpenter
Joined: 16 Dec 2006
Posts: 2775
Location: redhill surrey an auld reekie laddie
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| Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 1:44 pm Post subject: |
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move the light source and don't look so criticaly  
you could also introduce gas lighting this will almost certainly take your mind of things as gas powerd computers are rare especialy 50 years ago 
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polecat
Senior Member
Joined: 11 Nov 2007
Posts: 112
Location: Kent
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| Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 5:31 pm Post subject: |
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hello Hoovie,
if it was my house and I was doing it for me I would re-do the plaster to get them all flat and square. Cant abide a wonky bumpy wall  but thats just me mate. Not worried about the nicks they would just get filled but wavy walls with bumps 
oh and I wouldn't put sheen or silk anywhere near my walls flat or not each to his own though mate, out of interest why the silk and sheens is it for wipeability or just the finish you like??? |
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Hoovie
Devon DIYer
Joined: 27 Jul 2007
Posts: 8036
Location: East Devon
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| Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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the walls are not really bad - just not mirror-smooth. (there is one 'kink' that stays in mind which if I had paid to have plastered, I would have rejected, but to fix would be a total replaster of the wall)
I just find the flat matt paint lifeless. I like the way the silk catches and bounces a bit of light about.
I do know that it also maginifies the imperfections. In our last house (simialr age, similar situation), our P&D was not happy with not using Matt - he bit the bullet in the end, mind - but he did also put up lining paper on all walls and ceilings (not sure what grade) to smooth the blemishes (I guess?)
Maybe I am just being tight and want to convince myself it doesn't need the services of a spread (not work I could do myself and improve on what I have)
_________________
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?"
She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose. |
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feva
Senior Member
Joined: 20 Oct 2007
Posts: 621
Location: middlesbrough
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| Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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like most people have said its down to you, how far you want to go, lining paper will only go so far, im in the middle of doing our HSL they really did need plastering but were looking at moving so we didnt want to go that far, so i bought some 1700 grade lining paper, and its tidy'ed it up a hell of alot but you can still see how uneven the walls are.
like what been said as well with using silk, it wont help at all, it will just show up ever little bump and grove |
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Hoovie
Devon DIYer
Joined: 27 Jul 2007
Posts: 8036
Location: East Devon
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| Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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I know I am like the P&Ds version of Typhoid Mary or something with my shiney paint fetish!!
but I like to give you guys something to moan about 
_________________
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?"
She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose. |
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Welsh Decorator
Senior Member
Joined: 29 Sep 2007
Posts: 4063
Location: Cheshire
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| Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 7:11 pm Post subject: |
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No moaning here Hoovie, I much prefer an 'authentic' house.
If it was mine, it would the minimum of re plastering, it just don't look right in older houses, to flat! 
I would however get rid of most of the big and very obvious stuff with filler, but otherwise just a sand and re paint. 
Finish is down to personal preference, or where the room is, but digs in the woodwork  they would have to go. |
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Telmay
Senior Member
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
Posts: 2469
Location: Worthing, West Sussex
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| Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 10:07 am Post subject: |
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Hoovie,
Working for yourself and a customer is two worlds apart
I like old houses and the character that comes with them, I would always get rid of obvious imperfections which are normally just bodge jobs from previous owners, normally the worse of these is when fireplaces are removed a right fecking mess most of the time. Like the guys have said you can loose most of the these imperfections by use of matts and lighting, but at the end of the day its all down to you and how bad your OCD is about flat walls |
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