Hi all,
I want to refurbish the walls of some of my rooms in an old 1930 flat. In one room I have removed a gazillion layers of old paint and wallpaper and could then see that the underlying wall is not in the best shape: small, thin cracks and some of the finishing plaster came off in the process. But most important, the wall is not totally even, but slightly wavy to the touch. It is not obvious until you go along the wall with your hand or see intense light reflecting on it
I had a few builders in to discuss what has to be done to even out the wall so that it has the right finish to be painted (as opposed to concealing imperfections with lining paper or similar).
Everyone agreed that it has to be skimmed, but I am not sure anymore if that is the right solution. As the amateur (and non-native-speaker!) that I am I understand that skimming is essentially the plastering of the last layer of the wall (finishing plaster). It made sense to me that it would repair the cracks and can be applied as a "straight" layer on top of the wavy wall.
When I thought everything is nodded off, I was about to hire a guy and asked as a precaution again if he can guarantee to skim the wall to an even finish. This time he said he can make it smooth, but skimming would not make it even, that would need a full replastering.
That turns of course the whole quote upside down and now I am not sure what I really need. Can anyone shed light on the issue?
Many thanks!
