Hello
We are currently considering how to finish the walls in our new build.
The interior and exterior walls are made of sand-lime bricks, and a few non-load-bearing walls are made of gypsum concrete.
We want to design the walls so that we can avoid settlement cracks for as long as possible. (These are unavoidable in new buildings.)
What options are available?
Applying a plaster finish on the walls
Paintable plaster, roller-applied plaster, or simply smoothing with a drywall finish to Q3/Q4 level and painting
Alternatively, wallpaper and painting
Non-woven wallpaper, non-woven "Raufaser" wallpaper, painter’s fleece
We want the walls to be either smooth or with a light to medium texture (we are still undecided)
It is important to us to avoid settlement cracks for as long as possible. Non-woven wallpapers are the better choice because they cover small cracks and will only tear if large cracks appear.
The application should be relatively easy to carry out by amateurs.
We plan to have the painter do the stairwell and ground floor.
We want to do the upper floor, attic, and basement ourselves because we don’t have enough budget to have the painter do everything.
What would you recommend?
What is the difference between painter’s fleece and non-woven Raufaser wallpaper?
Is the only difference that painter’s fleece is smooth and Raufaser has a texture?
Non-woven wallpapers are definitely preferable to normal paper wallpapers, right?
Thank you for your help
We are currently considering how to finish the walls in our new build.
The interior and exterior walls are made of sand-lime bricks, and a few non-load-bearing walls are made of gypsum concrete.
We want to design the walls so that we can avoid settlement cracks for as long as possible. (These are unavoidable in new buildings.)
What options are available?
Applying a plaster finish on the walls
Paintable plaster, roller-applied plaster, or simply smoothing with a drywall finish to Q3/Q4 level and painting
Alternatively, wallpaper and painting
Non-woven wallpaper, non-woven "Raufaser" wallpaper, painter’s fleece
We want the walls to be either smooth or with a light to medium texture (we are still undecided)
It is important to us to avoid settlement cracks for as long as possible. Non-woven wallpapers are the better choice because they cover small cracks and will only tear if large cracks appear.
The application should be relatively easy to carry out by amateurs.
We plan to have the painter do the stairwell and ground floor.
We want to do the upper floor, attic, and basement ourselves because we don’t have enough budget to have the painter do everything.
What would you recommend?
What is the difference between painter’s fleece and non-woven Raufaser wallpaper?
Is the only difference that painter’s fleece is smooth and Raufaser has a texture?
Non-woven wallpapers are definitely preferable to normal paper wallpapers, right?
Thank you for your help
K
k-man20218 Jan 2023 21:28I would like to highlight one more positive aspect of plaster, which was mentioned earlier: we have several walls that are made in sections of concrete and then calcium silicate blocks. At the transitions, after about 4-5 years, noticeable cracks developed over the entire height of the room. According to the structural engineer, these were caused by shrinkage due to drying of the materials. It was not a problem to cover the cracks with several layers of fabric and re-plaster and repaint them, so that they are no longer visible. In my opinion, this would not be possible with fleece. Of course, if you don’t have such material transitions, this point does not apply.
We are very happy with the smooth walls and would definitely choose plaster again.
We are very happy with the smooth walls and would definitely choose plaster again.
Well, in theory, a crack would simply be hidden behind the painting fleece. That often works. Sometimes it doesn’t. And then it’s true, it’s more difficult, but not impossible, to repair the entire area with fleece.
I recently did the same in my condominium. A concrete wall with a plaster finish and painting fleece. Unfortunately, the plaster in one spot was too sandy and almost completely crumbled when we installed a cat tree. Before renting it out, I had to fix it again. So I applied putty several times and sanded it down. After that, you could only see it in raking light, and even then only because I’m not very skilled with putty. But there was no visible difference between the painting fleece wall and the newly patched area, (possibly noticeable to the touch).
I recently did the same in my condominium. A concrete wall with a plaster finish and painting fleece. Unfortunately, the plaster in one spot was too sandy and almost completely crumbled when we installed a cat tree. Before renting it out, I had to fix it again. So I applied putty several times and sanded it down. After that, you could only see it in raking light, and even then only because I’m not very skilled with putty. But there was no visible difference between the painting fleece wall and the newly patched area, (possibly noticeable to the touch).
G
Gooosee1598 Jan 2023 21:45@k-man2021 thanks for sharing your experience.
Did you plaster the walls yourselves or have a professional painter do it completely?
One possible downside of plaster is that any unevenness becomes immediately visible with grazing light (e.g., wall lamps or light strips behind the sofa).
Isn’t it possible to simply replace a damaged strip of painter’s fleece if it cracks? That is, remove the old one, repair the cracks, and apply a new fleece over it.
We want to do the walls ourselves on the upper floor and attic to save costs.
For the ground floor and the stairwell, we plan to hire a painter.
For DIY, fleece is probably the best option, right?
Smooth the surface as well as possible by filling and sanding, then apply the fleece yourself?
That way, even a non-professional can achieve a good result, correct?
Are there any other simple alternatives that are easy for beginners to apply without prior knowledge, besides fleece?
Did you plaster the walls yourselves or have a professional painter do it completely?
One possible downside of plaster is that any unevenness becomes immediately visible with grazing light (e.g., wall lamps or light strips behind the sofa).
Isn’t it possible to simply replace a damaged strip of painter’s fleece if it cracks? That is, remove the old one, repair the cracks, and apply a new fleece over it.
We want to do the walls ourselves on the upper floor and attic to save costs.
For the ground floor and the stairwell, we plan to hire a painter.
For DIY, fleece is probably the best option, right?
Smooth the surface as well as possible by filling and sanding, then apply the fleece yourself?
That way, even a non-professional can achieve a good result, correct?
Are there any other simple alternatives that are easy for beginners to apply without prior knowledge, besides fleece?
K
k-man20218 Jan 2023 21:46Gooosee159 schrieb:
Did you plaster the walls yourselves or have the painter do it completely?During construction, we had the painter do it, but we repaired the cracks ourselves.Gooosee159 schrieb:
One possible disadvantage of plaster is that any unevenness becomes immediately visible under grazing light.That's true. In the bathrooms, we used cement plaster, which is much rougher. Today, I would also choose gypsum plaster there. For the rest of the house, where we used gypsum plaster, everything is perfect, even under grazing light.Gooosee159 schrieb:
For DIY, fleece is probably the best option, right?
You smooth and sand it as much as possible and then apply the fleece yourself?
That gets the best result for a beginner, doesn’t it? I would say yes. Use a heavy-duty quality (at least 130g/m² (4.3 oz/sq yd))!
SumsumBiene8 Jan 2023 21:56I haven’t read everything, so sorry if this has already been mentioned.
We have the Erfurt fleece glass fiber on the kitchen ceiling. It’s okay, but personally I wouldn’t want it on the walls. It’s just a matter of appearance... well... Working with fleece wallpapers is quite manageable, but I don’t have a comparison since I’ve never done proper wallpapering before.
Can a non-professional finish a plaster surface well enough to wallpaper with fleece afterwards?
Definitely! You do need to practice, but basically it’s not that difficult. Especially if you start with a Q2 level base coat.
Rough render or textured plaster can also crack, and if you want a smooth wall eventually, you’ll end up cursing a lot. Although with rough render, it might still be doable. I might try that this year in the bathroom.
We have the Erfurt fleece glass fiber on the kitchen ceiling. It’s okay, but personally I wouldn’t want it on the walls. It’s just a matter of appearance... well... Working with fleece wallpapers is quite manageable, but I don’t have a comparison since I’ve never done proper wallpapering before.
Can a non-professional finish a plaster surface well enough to wallpaper with fleece afterwards?
Definitely! You do need to practice, but basically it’s not that difficult. Especially if you start with a Q2 level base coat.
Rough render or textured plaster can also crack, and if you want a smooth wall eventually, you’ll end up cursing a lot. Although with rough render, it might still be doable. I might try that this year in the bathroom.
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