Paint or Paper?
When it comes to internal decorations, it isn’t always a straightforward situation. Not everyone is blessed with moving into a completely fresh and new home with perfect, unsullied walls. More often than not, the previous occupier will have ‘made their mark’ on the property, which often means a style of decor that will not be to your liking.
When you are faced with moving into a new place that has dubious decoration, you will have to make some decisions about what to do. It is always advisable to deal with the decorating as soon as you can as it gets more and more difficult to get it done once you have moved everything and everyone in. Somehow, once family life gets underway, things like decorating take a back seat and before you know it, you have been living with olive green flock paper for over a year!
Decide quickly whether you will opt for a paint or a paper job. Instinctively, most DIY’ers would prefer to opt for paint as it requires the least amount of materials – a pot of paint, a brush and some dust sheets is the bare minimum. With papering, you’d need the paper, adhesive, a table, a bucket and a brush as a minimum, so it is easy to see why so many people avoid this option.
Sometimes, the matter is taken out of your hands though. Generally, if you have walls that are free from cracks and the plaster is sound, then painting will be fine. However, if the walls are damaged then papering can work out to be best as it can save an entire re-plastering job.
Sometimes, it is possible to paint over wallpaper and hide an existing design, but this needs to be done carefully to avoid blisters and bubbling of the paper.
Excerpt from Health & Safety Wear the appropriate safety gear. Each job demands specific safety protection...