DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Having recently moved into our first (owned) home, my wife and I have set about dragging our 1950's ex council maisonette into the 21st century.

The previous owners have done little work on the property since 1980's ad what work they have done was of the cheapest quality.
One of our first jobs is to remove all the wallpaper from every room, most of it is coming of fairly easily except for where it meets the ceiling.

At the ceiling (which is also papered) there is polystyrene coving in every room. Needless to say I'm very keen to get rid of this travesty of DIY, but it's stuck over the wallpaper which we can't get to in order to wet it.

Any ideas on how to get the paper and coving off would be greatly appreciated. We have 5 large rooms to get through.

Also as a second issue we're finding the concrete to be in generally good condition with a few hairline cracks, however there are patches where the very top layer of the concrete has come away (not deep, but leaving a different texture to the wall). Will I need to treat this or skim it with something before priming and painting?


Thanks in advance.

Push a screwdriver through the coving and lever it off.

All concrete render cracks. Usually because it is made with cement instead of lime.
This is not a problem unless the rain is getting through and making the walls wet.
Where the rain has got through and has frozen, lifting the render off, just repair the render, mixing with PVA.