Wallpaper vs Paint

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Wolfsong013
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Wallpaper vs Paint

Post by Wolfsong013 »

Hello again everyone.

We finally started the rennovations in the new house. I've been removing the 50 year old wallpaper, filling, taping, and sanding the cracks in the drywall in the place.

I've done a little rennovation work in my home country, but usually we use paint as opposed to wallpaper. The home center told us that most of the wallpaper is quite thin, and hard for beginners. We were warned that it's hard to apply without obvious wrinkles or bubbles.

I asked my husband, and he said that painting is usually for concrete structures only, but he doesn't know anything about DIY. Is that a thing here? I have to a paper 3 rooms at 10畳 plus the hallways so I want to do what is easiest for a hobbiest as well as what will look nice.

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Re: Wallpaper vs Paint

Post by Zasso Nouka »

Is it bare plasterboard under the paper or has it been given a light skim of plaster ?

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Re: Wallpaper vs Paint

Post by Wolfsong013 »

It has some plaster, I think.

Here's the one room itself.
The second photo shows where I need to repair the crack between the drywall pieces. I presume it has plaster over the top, since some of the white flaked off and showed a dark grey of the plasterboard underneath

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Re: Wallpaper vs Paint

Post by gonbechan »

i would recommend neither wallpaper nor paint.
Especially with those walls which you will need to put a LOT of work into before you can do either.
Plus wallpaper gives off formaldehyde.

Recently we re-plastered one of our tatami rooms.
we used this (see it on Amazon)

Image
Not sure how much we would need for a 6 tatami size room, I ordered 2 buckets.
Well we used half of one.
It was extremely easy to use. and one coat completely covered and hid the disgusting avo green plaster that was underneath, as well as all the horrible cracks and missing pieces. (of course we used 2 coats of primer underneath, the first coat mixed half and half with water and the next day a full strength coat)

We now plan to strip the wallpaper in the hallway and up the stairs and plaster that.

You will need that mesh tape stuff (石膏テープ) for the joins and any holes that need fixing though.


here's some piccies of before and afterish (during) with our walls. We hadn't removed the masking tape yet and the plaster was not dry. Next day it was completely white and beautiful.

Image

Image

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Re: Wallpaper vs Paint

Post by Wolfsong013 »

gonbechan wrote:
Tue Jun 23, 2020 5:30 pm
i would recommend neither wallpaper nor paint.
Especially with those walls which you will need to put a LOT of work into before you can do either.
Plus wallpaper gives off formaldehyde.

Recently we re-plastered one of our tatami rooms.
we used this (see it on Amazon)


Not sure how much we would need for a 6 tatami size room, I ordered 2 buckets.
Well we used half of one.
It was extremely easy to use. and one coat completely covered and hid the disgusting avo green plaster that was underneath, as well as all the horrible cracks and missing pieces. (of course we used 2 coats of primer underneath, the first coat mixed half and half with water and the next day a full strength coat)

We now plan to strip the wallpaper in the hallway and up the stairs and plaster that.

You will need that mesh tape stuff (石膏テープ) for the joins and any holes that need fixing though.


Thanks for the recommendation!! I might switch over and use that. Do you have a link for the primer you used? I'm new to doing walls, I've only done floors before. This plaster seems more economical and easier than paper or paint, so I'll bring it up to the Mr.

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Re: Wallpaper vs Paint

Post by gonbechan »

We used this primer but 1 bottle was just enough for one room.
It is really good sealant though and works on all surfaces.
Only thing is that you cant use a roller with this. It is too liquid.

Doing the masking tape and the sealant was the most tedious part of the job. The plaster was an absolute breeze.
Easy enough even for me who had never done it before and so easy for Senor Gonbe who has a little experience with earth walls.

What I like about this plaster is that is is made from diatomaceous earth.
The tatami room we did used to be a little dampish with a bit of a musty smell. After doing the plaster there is no smell in the room at all and the dampness seems to be gone.

Senor Gonbe with his trowel

Image

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Re: Wallpaper vs Paint

Post by Wolfsong013 »

gonbechan wrote:
Tue Jun 23, 2020 8:14 pm
We used this primer but 1 bottle was just enough for one room.
It is really good sealant though and works on all surfaces.
Only thing is that you cant use a roller with this. It is too liquid.

Doing the masking tape and the sealant was the most tedious part of the job. The plaster was an absolute breeze.
Easy enough even for me who had never done it before and so easy for Senor Gonbe who has a little experience with earth walls.

What I like about this plaster is that is is made from diatomaceous earth.
The tatami room we did used to be a little dampish with a bit of a musty smell. After doing the plaster there is no smell in the room at all and the dampness seems to be gone.

Senor Gonbe with his trowel

Thanks for all the information. I think I'm gonna order some and try it out. We have a professional company putting in insulation in the bottom half of the house (for some reason the orginal builders inuslated the second floor but not the first) and they are doing the walls up the the second floor stairway. I'm gonna try it in the hallway and if it works well, I'll do the bedroom and office that way!

Since I'm doing it all myself I'm hoping for the easiest route. Removing the 30 year old paper has been a nightmare as it is, and I heard that's the easiest part of wallpaper.

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Re: Wallpaper vs Paint

Post by Eric in Japan »

We also did the plaster route on our house. Went great. I put on a scratch coat that was some sharp sand and plaster, troweled fairly smooth but left some subdued trowel marks (less than 1mm high). Then after a week or so (mostly due to other construction delays) I used a paint roller and plastered like it was paint. It was gorgeous. (that was 17 years ago though, its age is showing now)
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Re: Wallpaper vs Paint

Post by Ibaraki llama »

I’ve also gone the plaster route on my place. I’m using the DIY shikkui (umaku nureru) and so far so good. I’ve only done a little bit and it’s turned out better than expected - I’m starting to think of myself as a bit of a sakanyasan, though I’m sure to be crashing back to earth soon.

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Wallpaper vs Paint

Post by KumamotoHunter »

Thanks for this post. I am also wondering what to do about my walls (I just made a post, actually).
This plaster looks to be the way to go. I will need a lot of it, as my house is quite large and I want it all looking the same. I hope it isn't prohibitively expensive. The sealant is to prevent the plaster from flaking off the drywall?

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