DIY wall repair

Renovation of walls in an apartment is the second stage after the ceiling. The most popular type of wall decoration is wallpaper, but there are also more original types of coating. It is even easier to repair walls with your own hands than a floor or ceiling.

The final stage of the renovation is finishing work, including wall decoration. To make it easier to decide on the wall covering, we invite you to familiarize yourself with all possible methods of decorating walls in an apartment.

Smooth walls are the basis of any renovation. Any finishing method depends on the surface of the wall. Fortunately, aligning the walls in an apartment with your own hands is a business that anyone can master.

For people who are tired of gluing the walls with floral wallpaper, the option of wall decor with paint can be called optimal. We suggest reading not only about the technology of painting, but also about various options for painting walls.

Wallpaper is the most popular type of wall and ceiling decoration. The correct choice of the type of wallpaper is the key to a beautiful, easy-to-clean room. The correct choice of glue and the method of gluing the wallpaper is the key to the long service life of your walls and ceiling.

In this article we will talk about what decorative plaster is, what types of decorative plaster are, and how to do it yourself.

Decorative stone is a unique material. It is customary to use it for interior work in apartments, hotels, restaurants, private houses and cottages.

Decorative panels are the fastest and easiest way to change the interior of your home. In this article, we will learn about the variety of different types of panels.

One of the inexpensive and practical materials is drywall. Leveling or simply finishing the walls with plasterboard is convenient, high quality and beautiful.

Despite the variety of finishing materials, lining is still in great demand. In this article, we will learn the advantages, disadvantages and features of using lining.

Tongue slabs are a very advantageous option in many respects for the construction of walls, interior partitions and the like. From this article you will learn the advantages and disadvantages of such structures, as well as the technology for their installation.

Wall decoration issues. What to choose: wallpaper, painting or something else. And most importantly - how to do it yourself.

Wall repairs are carried out after the basic repair of the floor and the installation of the false ceiling frame, but before the installation of the ceiling sheathing. This will allow the skirting board to cover the uneven ends of the wallpaper. An exception is the cladding of the ceiling with solid laminate or MDF boards, followed by cladding of the walls: in this case, the cladding of the walls will provide additional support for the ceiling and increase the overall strength of the cladding of the room.

The stages of wall repair in the apartment are as follows:

1. Cleaning;
2. Drying with insulation and disinfection;
3. Plaster, under wallpaper or zoned cladding;
4. Installation of lathing for sheathing;
5. Wallpaper gluing where required;
6. Sheathing of wall panels and door quarters, cladding with tiles;
7. Installation of window and door frames.

When cleaning the walls, you need to take measures to protect against dust: a respirator, goggles, a hood with a cape, closed clothing, gloves.

If surface stripping is performed under wallpaper, the following must be observed:

• Cleaning is done by hand with an abrasive mesh on a long and wide bar, approximately 500x100 mm. A drill with a cord brush will give a lot of unevenness.
• Old gypsum plaster and paint must be removed without the slightest residue, otherwise the wallpaper will soon begin to flake off and drip.
• It is impossible to glue wallpaper with water-based glue on gypsum plaster, extensive delamination will go along with the plaster.
• The chain-link mesh remaining in the plaster (it was laid for strength) or metal beacons from the old plaster will certainly show themselves as streaks of rust through the new wallpaper.
• If there are irregularities more than 3 mm deep, drips, biting, traces of fungus, plastering is needed.

Complete cleaning for plastering is carried out after abundant sprinkling of the walls with water and holding in a closed room for a day. They are removed with a metal wide spatula, in layers. The remains are cleaned with a drill with a cord-brush. Walls should be cleaned to masonry or concrete monolith.

It is dried with a construction hair dryer, then impregnated with a deep penetration primer with biocidal additives. Rust (seams between plates) are foamed in layers from a polyurethane foam gun with a long nose.

First, lighthouses are mounted on the wall - plaster markers. Install them vertically. The step is slightly less than the width of the metal spatula, but there should be a beacon in each corner.

The next stage is the starting (primary) plaster. It is produced with a cement-based starting plaster mixture. Knead in portions according to the instructions and the gaps between the beacons are plastered alternately from bottom to top; leveled with a spatula on the beacons.

The corners pass either the angle of the spatula, if it is at 90 degrees, or with a special angled spatula in the form of a triangle with a right angle at the apex and sides slightly more than the pitch of the beacons. The latter method allows you to get perfectly even corners without having the qualifications of a plasterer.

After the starting plaster dries, the finishing plaster is white, based on gypsum. The normal thickness of the finishing plaster layer is 1 mm; the thicker one will then flake off, therefore thicker coatings are applied in layers, each subsequent layer after the previous one has completely dried. But multi-layer finishing plaster is not so strong, therefore, the evenness of the walls and corners must be achieved at the starting stage.

Wall lathing can be made from U- and C-profiles, as well as wooden. The metal lathing of the walls is rather a tribute to fashion, since the wall sheathing is loaded several times less than the ceiling one. Excellent sound and heat insulation will be provided by the foam plates laid in the crate cells. Fiber insulating mats are not suitable for walls: in an upright position, they will soon sit down and cease to function.

In the crate, you need to immediately lay the cords for the sconces and signal cables: television, telephone, Internet. Possibly - split-system refrigerant pipelines; even with a wooden crate, the usual height of its beams, 40-80 mm, allows them to be carried out. But it is unacceptable to lay power wiring in the crate! The bra cords should go out and end with forks; it is permissible to combine several luminaires into one group and supply them with separate switches.

The walls can be sheathed with laminate, MDF, plastic clapboard, wooden panels or slats, stained plywood. In addition, the alignment of the walls with plasterboard for subsequent painting or finishing has not been canceled.

An economical and aesthetic version of cladding - half or full, and up to the top - whitewash or wallpaper. This provides the following benefits:

1. Cost savings - less expensive material is required.
2. The lighting of the room does not deteriorate, and at the same time, reliable protection of the bottom of the walls is created.
3. The installation of laminate, MDF and wall paneling is simplified: the last two boards are simply inserted from above.
4. Partial repair of damaged planking ceases to be a problem: we remove the upper plinth of the planking, take out the damaged boards and insert new ones.

Completes the wall cladding, and with it the repair of the walls in the room, installation of door and window frames on glue with self-tapping screws or small nails. At the same time, if provided, decorative overhead ribs are also mounted.

When facing with tiles (tiles, porcelain stoneware), it must be remembered that the underlying surface must be no less durable than the facing material.If, for example, according to all the rules, to veneer the wall with an artificial stone on gypsum plaster, then it will soon begin to fall off along with the layers of plaster. Therefore, the starting plaster for facing with a stone is taken reinforced, and in any case, the facing is made according to the starting plaster, and the finishing is applied after.

Repairing walls in an apartment is a rather complicated procedure that requires diligence and accuracy. A wide variety of finishing materials allows you to choose an option that is suitable for both cost and quality. Different coatings will help create an attractive interior in the rooms. This article will look at how do-it-yourself wall decoration is done and what materials can be used for this.

DIY wall repair is carried out in stages:

• assessment of the condition of the walls;
• removal of old finishes;
• elimination of various defects;
• leveling the surface.

After all these actions, the walls in the apartment are finished with new materials.

Often, when purchasing apartments on the secondary markets, you can run into strongly curved walls. The curvature of surfaces can reach 15 cm. In this case, it is almost impossible to repair old walls, and even unnecessary. It would be better to completely get rid of the plaster, which will save materials and expand the space of the room.

In addition, any work on wall decoration can be carried out only if they are of high strength. If the plaster is outdated and is moving away from the surface in some areas, it would be better to get rid of it. To test the strength, it will be enough to tap the wall with a mallet or other tool.

If a dull sound is heard or slight vibration is felt, such trim should be removed.

The preparation of walls for repairs always begins with the dismantling of the old coating. Since there are a lot of finishing materials, each of them has its own nuances of removal:

• Wallpaper. Dismantling wallpaper is the simplest procedure, which does not require special tools. Problems can only arise when removing thin webs. They will need to be pre-moistened with water and wait until the moisture is absorbed. The wet coating is removed with a scraper or a regular knife. You can also use a special solution to dissolve wallpaper glue.
• Plaster. Various plastering solutions have become very popular. Regular plaster can be removed with a wet sponge, but the decorative mortar is protected from moisture, so you will need to use a construction scraper.
• Dye. Peeling trim can be removed with a knife. If the paint holds well, you will need to use a building hair dryer. After heating, the coating will easily come off the surface. However, a hairdryer must be used by a professional.
• Tile. To remove it, you will need to use a jackhammer or perforator. Since the cost of such devices is quite high, it is recommended to rent them.

Wallpaper removal procedure

Often, various damages in the form of cracks are formed on the walls. They can be found after removing the trim. To repair cracks, you will need to perform the following procedures:

1. Free the damaged area and clean it from dirt and dust.
2. The crack is wetted with water, a reinforced tape is laid inside and about 2 mm of putty mortar is applied.
3. The putty is applied to the crack until it is completely closed.
4. Drying time of the solution will be approximately 2 hours, after which the area is cleaned with a grinder or a bar.

During work, the putty should be applied not only to the damaged area, but also to the plastered coating near it.

To repair cracks in brick walls, you need to use a scraper, a block and a grout brush.

The building is insulated at the construction stage. To replace the insulation, you will need to remove not only the finishing materials, but also the plaster.

Do-it-yourself wall repair in an apartment is not complete without prior alignment. This process consists of the following steps:

1. First, a primer is applied to increase the adhesion level of the surface. Also, this treatment will strengthen the base and prevent the formation of mold or mildew.
2. Plastered walls. The mixture is applied in at least 3 layers. Drying time for each of them is at least 12 hours.
3. Plastering is carried out. It is this cladding that allows you to create smooth walls for further wallpapering, painting or other finishing.

To check the evenness of the coating, a 2 m rule must be applied to it. If the work has been done correctly, a gap of no more than 2 mm remains between the wall and the tool.

You can learn more about wall repairs from the following video.

You can also perform the alignment procedure using drywall. This method is becoming more and more popular as it avoids working with different mixtures. Therefore, you do not need to wait for each layer to dry and there will be much less pollution from such a procedure. Plasterboard sheets are used in the following cases:

• If necessary, internal insulation of surfaces.
• If the walls are too crooked.
• If you need to cover the pipes for repairs in the kitchen or bathroom.
• To create complex structures: arches, columns or niches.
• When repairs need to be completed as quickly as possible.

First, you need to identify areas on the surface where heavy objects will hang. These places will need to be pre-strengthened.

It is also necessary to correctly mark the placement of profiles. After marking, the installation of profiles and drywall sheets is carried out. This procedure is quite simple, but there are a number of essential nuances:

• Profiles with a width of 27 mm act as guides.
• The rest of the construction details are made from a profile with a width of 60 mm.
• Installation of large figured structures will require skills and experience from the employee.
• In areas where heavy objects will be placed, it will be necessary to install horizontal jumpers between the profiles and strengthen them. For this, a section of a profile is used, the width and length of which is 60 mm. It is installed using self-tapping screws at a given height. Strengthening the profile is carried out by installing a wooden beam of the required size. To ensure high strength, in addition to the horizontal lintel, it is necessary to install vertical profiles to which it is attached.
• Also jumpers should be installed at the horizontal joints of the material.
• If further plasterboard cladding is planned, it is recommended to install the profiles at intervals of 40 cm from each other. This will strengthen the structure, and the joints of the sheets will in any case fall exactly on the profile.

Plasterboard installation procedure

The interval between profiles should be measured from the center of one product to the center of another, and not between the edges.

Repairing a wall in an apartment can be done using various materials. The most popular ones are:

• wallpapers of various types;
• frescoes;
• decorative plaster;
• dye;

Some people think that wallpaper is a long outdated way of wall cladding, but this is not the case. The possibilities of such coverage are simply enormous. The canvases with a variety of designs and patterns are updated every season. The following types of wallpaper are most often used:

• paper or non-woven;
• vinyl;
• washable.

A variety of coatings will allow you to choose an option according to personal preferences. Non-woven fabrics are of high quality and density, they can hide small wall irregularities due to their thickness. Paper coatings are inexpensive, but their durability is rather low. It is highly discouraged to use them for cladding in the kitchen or bathroom, since they do not have protection against moisture.

Vinyl and washable wallpapers are a good solution for wall cladding in your home.They have an average cost, but they are of good quality and moisture protection.

A fresco is a hand-made work that includes wall cladding with water-based paints on not yet dried plaster. The only drawback of such processing can be considered a high cost, but its appearance will fully pay off all costs. The fresco is perfect for creating almost any style, especially for bohemian interiors.

Decorative mixes are a more modern way of cladding. The composition of such a plaster includes the following components:

• marble stone chips;
• synthetic additives;
• nylon fibers or cellulose.

Effect of decorative plaster cladding

Various additives can significantly change the result of wall cladding in an apartment, so the composition of the solution must be taken into account at the time of purchase.

Apartment renovation is rarely complete without paint. The combination of painted surfaces looks attractive and stylish. Designers often experiment with a palette of colors, creating unique interior paintings. The most popular options are to highlight one wall with an unusual shade or to paint the surface with a stencil.

As you can see from the article, wall renovation is an extremely important procedure. It is on the quality of this work that the possibility of further surface finishing will depend. With the help of the photos used in the article, it will be possible to see in practice each stage of the work.

Useful tips and tricks to help you repair old walls yourself. Stages of work, materials for finishing, application technologies and tools

Wall repair is one of the main ways to put your house or apartment in order, because it is this element of the room that our eyes most often focus on. For this reason, increased requirements are imposed on methods and materials for wall decoration. It is not difficult to disguise minor flaws in the condition of the ceiling or floor, but this trick will no longer work with walls. Experts recommend: before starting work, clearly define the repair technology, study it thoroughly and select the materials that are ideal for your conditions.

In most cases, we start working on the walls only during major repairs. Cosmetic interventions are not counted every few years. If you follow the advice of experienced builders and finishers, then the first signs of a major overhaul are:

• Strange noises when plaster is tapped. If, when knocking, the wall begins to sound like an empty drum in at least half of its area, do not tighten. The plaster can fall off at any time, and the re-glued wallpaper will not only not hold it, but will also become an aggravating circumstance.
• Damp exterior walls. Have you noticed such a nuisance in yourself? The reason is the leakage of the walls and their constant contact with the outdoor environment. A banal replacement of drywall or wallpaper cannot be dispensed with, it is necessary to work closely with the plaster.
• Worn out electrical wiring. It will take a lot of effort to replace communications. If the problem is local, then you can do with local repairs, but in the case of laying new electrical wiring in the whole apartment or room, it is better not to save money and do two things at once.

After determining the scope of work and purchasing the necessary finishing materials for the walls, you can start repairing. The process includes several stages:

• Dismantling the old wall covering. The technology for removing the old coating depends on the characteristics of the material that was previously used.
• Preparing the wall for finishing and leveling the surface. At this stage of work, there is no need to save money and rush, because the final result depends on it. Use a plumb line and level to check the condition of the wall horizontally and vertically.Before finishing, a layer of primer must be applied: it guarantees uniform absorption of the new material and ensures perfect adhesion to the surface. Use a roller or construction brush for priming. Only after the wall is completely dry can you start finishing.
• Application of finishing material. The technology of work largely depends on which method of repair you have chosen. In practice, most often the walls are painted, pasted over with wallpaper, and also cladding with ceramic tiles, decorative plaster or natural stone is used.

For painting walls, you can only use special paints based on acrylic or water-based solutions. Try to give preference to products from well-known manufacturers: this will provide the coating with visual appeal and long-term operation. The paint is applied with a roller, evenly and only in one selected direction.

Use decorative plaster as a finishing material only if you know the technology well and have some experience. Otherwise, it is better to entrust the work to professionals. First, a layer of primer is applied to the wall, and after it dries, you can start working with a trowel or spatula.

The use of tiles or stone as a finishing material is additional moisture resistance, hygiene and an attractive appearance. The wall is pre-cleaned and primed, and then the tiles are laid on an adhesive or cement mortar in a given proportion.

1 In the previous chapter, we studied in detail the question of which material is most optimal for solving your problem of repairing walls in a single room.
In our new article, we will take a closer look at what stages do-it-yourself wall repairs consist of. And what tricks you need to know in order to repair the walls with your own hands.

First of all, we need to assess the condition of the walls in the room. If we are talking about a new room, then we start repairs right away, and if we are talking about secondary housing, then first
the old covering must be removed from the walls. When this is done, assess the condition of the plaster, if it does not hold well, it also needs to be removed.

Moreover, secondary housing of the 60-70s. years of construction is characterized by extremely uneven walls. Sadly, the curvature of the walls in some apartments of this fund is up to 10, or even 15 cm.
It is clear that trying to level such walls is a thankless task. It is better to remove the plaster as well. This will save money, as well as expand the living space of the room.

Wallpaper and old whitewash are removed with a spatula, if you moisten the walls with hot water in front of this roller, the work will go faster. The plaster is knocked down with a chisel and
with a hammer - in this case, it is better to wear a respirator and special glasses in order to protect yourself from fragments and fine cement dust that inevitably appears during such work.

2. So, if you are making repairs in a recently rebuilt house, or in a secondary building, but you had to remove the old plaster, then the next step is to apply new plaster to the walls.
If you decide to do this work yourself, then it is better for you to familiarize yourself with the technology for performing this work, described below.

First, beacons must be installed on the surface of the walls. To do this, on opposite sides of the wall, we expose the first beacons, fixing them to the wall using plaster or self-tapping screws.
At the same time, we follow with the help of a plumb line and level, for their correct
location. Lighthouses should be located strictly vertically, and be in the same plane. After that, at different levels - above, in the middle and below, we pull three dense threads.
Then, at a distance of a meter - one and a half from each other, we install the remaining beacons, the beacons should touch the outer surfaces of all three threads.

Now the surface of the wall is primed and after the primer is dry, you can start applying the plaster. As a rule, the plaster is a cement-sand mixture in a ratio of 1 to 4, with a small addition of lime or PVA glue, which makes the plaster more plastic. To perform plastering work, you will need the following tools:

ladle, trowel, grater, as a rule (you can use any straight board, 1.5 m in size). The first layer of plaster is poured onto the wall with a special bucket,
we throw from the bottom up. After the throwing is done in a certain sector (somewhere around 1 m2), we level it with
regulations. You shouldn't worry about the first layer not coming out perfectly even - this is normal. Pits and grooves from the rule will inevitably remain on it.
The next layer of plaster (it will be much thinner than the first), the irregularities are straightened and rubbed with a float.

3. The next stage of wall repair is wall filling. It is designed to achieve a perfectly flat and smooth wall covering. Other materials and tools are used for the putty.
As a rule, putty as a material is a dry ready-made mixture that can be purchased at any hardware store.

The putty itself is prepared from this mixture by adding the required amount of water (the proportions are indicated on the package) and mixing thoroughly
using a construction mixer. The walls are filled with spatulas of various sizes. It should be noted that the higher the quality of the previous stage of work - plaster, the less
you will need time and material to complete the putty. So the plaster is applied and dry. Now we will prime the walls. If the primer absorbs quickly, it is necessary to
prime again. After the primer has dried, we prepare the solution, following the recommendations for packaging.

After mixing, the consistency of the putty should be similar to thick sour cream. Now we put the putty on the wall. To do this, apply the solution with a narrow spatula on a wide spatula and, holding a wide spatula
at an acute angle to the wall, apply the solution to the wall. The putty layer on the wall should be thin. Apply the first layer of putty with vertical movements, the next with horizontal movements. The second layer is applied only after the first one is completely dry. After the second layer has dried, it is necessary to grind the surface using special grinding meshes. Plain sandpaper is often used.

The next step is to finish the walls.
In this article, we have considered only the so-called "wet" wall repair. Dry repair refers to the installation of plasterboard sheets or panels on the wall.
We will burn in more detail about these types of work in our next articles.

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Good afternoon, dear readers of the leading construction portal. Recently, I learned that on this site you can publish your renovation history and decided to share - my technology for leveling the walls in the apartment. I will say right away that leveling the walls is a rather complicated process and not every owner can do it, but if you are determined, then you will succeed, so let's start.

How to align walls in an apartment

The walls are aligned for many reasons, of course initially - this is an aesthetic component. The appearance of your apartment entirely depends on the geometry of your walls and the smoother they are, the more expensive and sophisticated your apartment looks. Aligned walls with putty, and not covered with plasterboard, give particular value. the latter visually reduces the space of the apartment, and also creates inconvenience associated with its operational properties (it is difficult to hang pictures, mirrors, etc. on drywall).

In addition, the owners of apartments with broken wall geometry (this is especially common in the so-called "Khrushchev") suffer from wavy baseboards (both ceiling and floor), which repeat the contour of the wall and violate the visual geometry in your apartment. If you are faced with a similar situation, then leveling the walls is an excellent solution for you.

Spatula and basin for leveling the wall

Gypsum plaster Volma layer for leveling walls

Ceresite primer CT 17 winter

1. So, the materials and tools are ready, it's time to start leveling. Initially, we prepare the walls, tear off the old wallpaper and clean the surface. In order to free the surface of the wall from old wallpaper, it is imperative to moisten the wallpaper with water using a spray (which is sprayed on flowers), thanks to this it will be easier to remove the old wallpaper.

Tearing the old wallpaper off the walls