ᐅ Painter’s fleece vs. textured wallpaper vs. textured fleece wallpaper

Hello everyone,

We are about to start the painting work.

Our house was built with Ytong blocks.
All walls (except the bathrooms) currently have a smooth gypsum plaster finish.
The bathrooms have a cement plaster finish.
The ceilings upstairs are made of gypsum plasterboard, while on the ground floor there are precast concrete panel ceilings, whose joints still need to be filled.

Originally, until recently, we planned the following:
Hallways / entrance areas / staircases and possibly bathrooms with a textured, sanded, or fine felt plaster.
All ceilings (after applying the appropriate primer) covered with textured fiber wallpaper and then painted.
All walls (after priming with deep-penetrating primer) covered with textured wallpaper and then painted.

About 1.5 weeks ago, our drywall contractors advised us that they use ONLY painting fleece, which is then painted over.
I understand that painting fleece is used to conceal small cracks (settlement cracks). But can textured wallpaper or textured fiber wallpaper do the same?

Aside from planning to visit the home improvement store this weekend to see if I like (possibly textured) painting fleece, I’m now unsure what makes more sense.

1. Painting fleece only, then painted over.
2. As originally planned, textured fiber wallpaper or textured wallpaper, then painted.
3. Painting fleece with textured (fiber) wallpaper on top, then painted.

Would option 3 be redundant?

Maybe someone can give me some advice so I don’t buy too much or unnecessarily.

Thanks,
f-pNo

Hello,

f-pNo schrieb:

All walls (after priming) with woodchip wallpaper + paint.

I still consider this the best option after moving into a new build.

f-pNo schrieb:

I understand that the fiberglass wall liner is used to cover small cracks (settlement cracks). Can woodchip wallpaper or a woodchip-lined wallpaper do the same?

Yes.

f-pNo schrieb:

1. Only fiberglass wall liner + paint over.
2. As originally planned, woodchip-lined wallpaper or woodchip wallpaper + paint.

Both work.

I always smile when I read about Q3 or higher finishes here. Most suppliers offer a single-layer gypsum finish plaster as interior plaster for living areas; ceiling joints are filled, especially when working with suspended ceilings. This standard can easily be primed and then wallpapered with woodchip wallpaper. I even have clients who just primed and then painted with thick paint (thicker paints hide small bubble inclusions quite well).

In my view, it’s not necessary to aim for Q3 or even Q4; it costs a lot of money and in a new build — due to settlement cracks that inevitably occur — it is rather counterproductive. It can sometimes be the case that the finished ceiling joints do not fully satisfy the eye of a “fussy” observer; in such cases, additional sanding may be needed. Basically, we recommend installing woodchip wallpaper for the first 2–3 years and only considering other wall and ceiling decoration measures afterwards.

f-pNo schrieb:

Wouldn’t option 3 be overkill?

Yes.

Regards, Bauexperte

I have to slightly disagree here. Woodchip wallpaper on a paper backing does not hide cracks, and honestly, woodchip is no longer modern, but as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I wouldn’t want rough plaster in living areas; you can easily end up with scraped elbows.

I prefer smooth walls and patterned wallpapers used selectively as feature walls.

Regards

Stefan

Is the textured fiber fleece wallpaper a combination of textured wallpaper and painter’s fleece, and comparable in its characteristics? Or is the fleece content so minimal that, although the wallpaper is easier to install (only the wall or ceiling needs to be pasted), it is insufficient for effectively covering potential cracks?

Something to smile about: We will have the drywall skim-coated in Q3 and then apply a latex paint over it.

I’d rather have any cracks repaired every few months than strip and redo 700sqm (7,535 sq ft) of textured wallpaper after 3 or 5 years. More durable walls (stairwell/hallway) will be covered with painter’s fleece.

Textured fiberglass wall covering is a wall material similar to standard textured wallpaper, but it uses a fleece made of synthetic fibers as the backing. This makes it dimensionally stable, so no relaxation time is necessary.