DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

I'm stripping off the wallpaper in my living room and dining room (it's horrid, horrid stuff that the ex-wife liked) and judging by the state of the plasterwork underneath I'm figuring on getting the walls skimmed / replastered to bring them back to a decent finish for painting.

The living room and dining room are joined together by a large 70's / 80's stone arch (that lovely yellowy beige stuff). Ideally I'd love to get rid of that so I was thinking of using a stud wall either side of it to hide it and square off the opening to give a modern feel and look.

Would I be best off continuing the stud wall round the rooms themselves and lining them rather than plastering / skimming? I've seen a few things on the internet - metal frames / timber frames and these would also give the benefit of insulating for noise / energy too.

It's a 1930's built ex-council property if that helps at all and the rooms are approx 20msq each, with the living room having alcoves either side of a firebrest.

aerofive,
Skim the existing walls and get the plasterboard over the arch skimmed at the same time. Make sure the joint between the solid and plasterboard walls are fitted with plasterers scrim.
end

I'd suggest you put up stud wall as stated where the archway is, but don't go wasting time and space covering up all the rest of the walls. Remove old plaster and re-plaster exsisting walls.
KB

Cheers guys.