One of the walls in my kitchen is finished with something that's more like concrete than plaster... it's very dusty. I'm not going to put a skim of plaster over it, but it does need sealing... but what with? A watered down PVA mix? Wallpaper paste? Something else?
PVA mix on the wall to seal it. Oh, the Paste The Wall paper and paste is quite fantastic stuff. So much quicker, and easier, and far less messy too.
You might be heading for a costly mistake if you get this wrong. Is it a new build? Or a house that's just been refurbished? Can't you ask a plasterer or go and ask on DIYnot.com?
it's a Victorian terrace. It was papered, now it's not, and soon will be once more. In my experience, cyclists have all the answers i need, for anything and everything
I'm gonna change my mind, and say that needs a skim, before sealing. Since you're papering over it, it should be fairly cheap and straightforward.
If its rough to touch with your hand running over it - It would have to be a thick paper with PVA or a Reskim
That's Victorian plaster! If it was papered before, why not just paper it again? First though, go round and tap to make sure it's still attached to the bricks behind.
It had paper on it until a couple of years ago when I stripped the whole room. Lived here for 14 years now and reckon the old paper had been up for at least 20 years. I don't want to do that much work since I'm only renting, so getting it reskimmed is out of the question. A quick seal and papering it is the plan... just looking for sealing advice, which appears to be PVA. edit... it's all soundly attached and has been filled where needed.
After sealing I would first hang lining paper, preferably horizontally, before hanging the wallpaper.