Filling in

Since before Christmas we’ve been back working on the box room/study again which had been left stripped bare of wallpaper for months up until this point. We bit the bullet and finally hired a plasterer who not only skimmed the walls and ceiling for us but also filled in hole and removed the unsightly vent for us too. As with almost everything in this house, there were some unforetold expenses and delays, in the form of having to have the artex checked for asbestos and the builder not doing a very good job holding the plasterboard in place around the window.

Paul and I bought some masks and goggles and took samples from artex in different rooms and had it sent off for testing for asbestos. This only delayed us for 3 or 4 days and the tests came back clear form any traces of asbestos and we gave Teo, the plasterer, the go ahead.

The issue with the unstable plaster board again only delayed the process another couple of days and Teo took care of it for us and secured it for no extra charge.

The plastering was finished on the 30th December and we didn’t touch it for a couple of weeks and allowed it to dry whist we decided how to proceed.

I’d been reading up on what should be done before painting on top of bare plaster and trawled through forums and asked friends. I’d heard lots of things about PVA and sanding down plaster, both of which is unnecessary in our case. We were left with two options, a mist coat (using watered down emulsion on the bare plaster) or just buying a bare plaster paint – which is what I decided on after reading up on each of these.

We finished the last coat of plaster paint yesterday and I’m pleased with how it’s turned out:

I used the No Nonsense Bare Plaster Paint which was £21 for 10L which covers between 100-120m2. It took two coats of this for it to have a decent cover but now the walls are all ready for painting and/or wallpapering.

We’ve been argu- debating about decor a lot recently – specifically wallpaper. Though I think we may have found one to agree on, it’s the price that’s bothering Paul more than anything. I intend to get some samples before I decide completely.

I also intend to replace the door and cupboard doors (those with keen eyes may have noticed the lack of door handle and latch – the old one was broken and we kept getting locked in the room if the wind blew the door closed, or if it was accidentally pushed).

This is not by any means the carpet we will be keeping either, we have reserved and will be paying for the carpet later on today. A friend at work recommended a little local carpet shop which we’d never considered (after I was moaning about what a tedious and expensive experience carpet shopping is). After visiting this local shop, we were offered a look at any offcuts which may be more useful and cheaper for such a room. We happened upon a roll of carpet labelled as faulty which would have been about the right size and was offered to us for £50 rather than the original £200. When Paul popped in the next day with exact measurements, he took a look at the roll and it transpired that there was nothing wrong with it, however the manager kindly offered it to us for the same price – which we have accepted.

We are now more determined than ever to get this room finished off, I’m hoping that it won’t take much longer for us to sand down and paint the skirting board, the door and cupboard frames and replace the doors as well as painting the room so we can get the carpet in, furniture in and start using this as a study before we start work on our bedroom.