DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hello

Newbie here with zero DIY experience and no money. I am a first time buyer of a very dated 80s build flat in the Barnet area. I have just stripped some vinyl wallpaper from one of the rooms to see what lies beneath, in the hope that it does not need any plastering that I can not afford. My hopeful plan is to patch the walls, remove the paint that was under the wallpaper (about 5-10% has flaked off with the paper), then repaint the room, no plastering/skimming.

The walls feel very solid and smooth which I am pleased about, the only slight concerns are that a few very small bits of wall surface have come away, a couple of bits from the walls and a couple from the ceiling, which I'm hoping will be easy to patch. In one of the corners there is also some fine cracking, I'm assuming from natural movement over time. Possibly slight damp as it's the corner near the window.

I've attached some pics of the areas I've mentioned. I'd be grateful for opinions on
a) please tell me what my walls consist of. I assume they are brick with some kind of internal rendering to give it the smooth consistent finish? i'd be very grateful if someone could arm me with the correct vocabulary to describe it.
b) any advice on my general plan (remove paper -> remove paint -> patch imperfections -> paint)? Is there a reason I can't do this? What will be the most painful part? (wallpaper stripping was not too bad).
c) are those corner cracks a serious looking problem? They don't seem too bad to me but is it a sign of something more sinister?

Apologies for rambling newbie question(s). I have tried reading some of the articles but feeling a bit overwhelmed especially as I'm not sure of the terminology.

If this is not the best place for this post then please advise me where to move it to.

Thanks

berlin

Hi, I am unable to see the images you have attached so flying a bit in the dark here. I would suggest that you do a damp test first using a moisture meter. Its possible that the flaking of the plaster is due to moisture build-up due to rising damp, moisture ingress or bad ventilation. When you have your readings done in multiple areas of the room or building it is really only then that you can decide what the best course of action is next. Check to see what the ventilation is like in the rooms or building and if necessary it maybe required to install wall vents or a HRV unit to introduce fresh air into the building and remove high moisture content air. When that is done it is also a good idea to install insulation as if your walls are cold it could be causing high moisture content air to condensate on the walls causing droplets. This can over time cause issue and mould.