Hello everyone,
my fiancée and I have signed a contract with a developer for a new semi-detached house in Obertshausen, Hesse. We plan to move in during autumn 2020. We are currently in the middle of the selections process, which should be completed next week.
At the moment, we are quite uncertain about how to finish the walls and ceilings. Basically, we don’t like textured wallpaper, but it doesn’t have to be completely smooth either – in our current rental apartment, the landlord applied a lightly textured skim coat and simply painted over it.
According to the building specification, the standard finishes include:
The developer is currently offering the following options:
We are finding it difficult to decide. I have read a lot that the quality of drywall finishing varies greatly – some people paint over a Level 2 finish with satisfactory results, while others still have problems at Level 3.
Based on the specification, it sounds like our finish is at Level 1, right? Unfortunately, the details aren’t clearly stated… Is it possible to apply textured wallpaper on a Level 1 finish?
Right now, I am leaning toward trying to negotiate with the general contractor to skip the textured wallpaper and instead get a better drywall finish. I am comfortable doing the painting myself, but less so with taping/skimming and plastering.
Sorry for the long post, but I really hope you can give me some advice.
Thanks and best regards,
Tim
If I missed any important information, please excuse me – this is my first post here (but probably not the last).
my fiancée and I have signed a contract with a developer for a new semi-detached house in Obertshausen, Hesse. We plan to move in during autumn 2020. We are currently in the middle of the selections process, which should be completed next week.
At the moment, we are quite uncertain about how to finish the walls and ceilings. Basically, we don’t like textured wallpaper, but it doesn’t have to be completely smooth either – in our current rental apartment, the landlord applied a lightly textured skim coat and simply painted over it.
According to the building specification, the standard finishes include:
- Exterior walls made of sand-lime brick masonry
- Solid concrete ceilings
- Interior walls constructed with double-layer drywall stud partitions
- All interior walls and ceilings with “joint filling” (tape and joint compound), medium-grain textured wallpaper, painted white
The developer is currently offering the following options:
- Keep the standard = textured wallpaper
- Special request for “painter’s fleece” wallpaper for an additional €9,000 (ground floor, first floor, attic totaling 124sqm (1,335 sq ft) living space)
- Painter and drywall finishing work done by ourselves for a discount of €3,175 (in this case, nothing is done by the developer – installation grooves must be closed, reveals on the stairwell openings made, taping and finishing, etc.)
We are finding it difficult to decide. I have read a lot that the quality of drywall finishing varies greatly – some people paint over a Level 2 finish with satisfactory results, while others still have problems at Level 3.
Based on the specification, it sounds like our finish is at Level 1, right? Unfortunately, the details aren’t clearly stated… Is it possible to apply textured wallpaper on a Level 1 finish?
Right now, I am leaning toward trying to negotiate with the general contractor to skip the textured wallpaper and instead get a better drywall finish. I am comfortable doing the painting myself, but less so with taping/skimming and plastering.
Sorry for the long post, but I really hope you can give me some advice.
Thanks and best regards,
Tim
If I missed any important information, please excuse me – this is my first post here (but probably not the last).
Zaba12 schrieb:
Uh… interior plastering is not a special request! You’re not seriously telling me that a budget item starting at €10,000 (approx. $11,000) simply isn’t included? Or are the interior surfaces of the exterior walls covered with gypsum boards? The construction description literally states:
“All interior wall and ceiling surfaces will receive joint filling by the painter to prepare for the woodchip wallpaper. The ceiling and wall surfaces will be wallpapered with medium-grain woodchip and finished with a white dispersion paint.”
In the related section on owner-performed work, it says:
“All filling work inside the house. This includes filling of the interior wall and ceiling surfaces (concrete, sand-lime brick, drywall components). … Furthermore, the buyer must carry out appropriate measures to prepare the substrate and bridge hairline cracks before applying their wall coverings.”
Unfortunately, there is no mention of plastering itself anywhere…
Lumpi_LE schrieb:
For woodchip wallpaper, the finish should be at least Q2 level, but maybe this preparation is included in the ‘woodchip package’ and if you say ‘skip the woodchip wallpaper,’ you might really only get Q1 finish… that’s uncertain.
The bigger issue is if you say skip it and plan to do it yourself later, usually the builder will only allow that after handover—meaning when floors are installed, tiles are on the walls, outlets and switches are fitted, doors are in place, etc. By then, it doesn’t make much sense anymore. I was thinking that too… that’s why I’d like to have the filling at least done by the contractor (if possible) — otherwise, it definitely makes too much mess. I think I need to get specific details from the builder before bothering you with it further. Too bad… but thanks anyway!
ti-mar90 schrieb:
The construction specification literally states:
"All interior wall and ceiling surfaces will be skim coated by the painter to prepare for woodchip wallpaper. The ceiling and wall surfaces will be covered with medium-grain woodchip wallpaper and finished with a white dispersion paint."
In the related section about owner-provided work, it says:
"All interior jointing and filling work inside the house. This includes the filling of interior wall and ceiling surfaces (concrete, calcium silicate blocks, drywall). ... Furthermore, the buyer must take appropriate measures to prepare the substrate and to bridge hairline cracks before applying their wall coverings."
Unfortunately, there is no mention of plastering itself anywhere...
I thought about that too... that's why I would like to at least have the jointing and filling done by the contractor (if possible) – otherwise, it definitely creates too much mess. I think I need to get more specific details from the developer before bothering you all further about it. Too bad... But thanks anyway! Ah, okay, maybe this is how it's done nowadays, that plastering is no longer done. Don’t you find it odd (or bothersome) that wallpaper is supposedly applied directly to bare masonry?
Go ahead and do that! Maybe it’s simply missing from the scope of work description.