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HOME IMPROVEMENT

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PREPARING WALLS

Cleaning the Walls

How do I get rid of the yellowish tar film left on our walls by the previous owners, who smoked? I want to repaint the walls.
You're right in wanting to clean the walls, because paint won't stick to a dirty surface. Use a nonsudsing cleanser (you can get phosphate-free types). Mix 1 ounce of cleanser into each gallon of water. Scrub the walls with a sponge until the residue vanishes. Finish by wiping the walls with clean water. Wait until the walls are completely dry before you prime and paint them.

Ceiling Streaks

My rough-textured ceilings have dusty-looking streaks along the joists and around the perimeter. Repainting doesn't make them go away. Is there anything I can do?
The streaks are caused by poor or uneven insulation along the ceiling joists. Insufficient insulation can allow condensation to form on the ceiling, directly below the joists. Dust then settles along these moist strips, causing streaks. The solution is to distribute the insulation more evenly.

To improve the insulation along the joists, lay more insulation across them at a right angle to the existing batts. For the easiest installation, use unfaced batts. Faced batts should be slashed every few inches to prevent trapped moisture and subsequent rot.

Making Walls Smooth

Some walls in my house have sand finishes. Others have peeled-away paint with edges that show through every coat of paint I apply. How can I get smooth walls for wallpaper or paint?
To smooth a sand finish, you'll need to skim-coat the wall—that is, apply a thin coat of joint compound over the entire surface. It takes a practiced hand to get a smooth surface. Large surfaces are best done by a profes-sional. If the texture is not too rough, or if you plan to hang wallpaper, you can do the skim coating yourself.

Begin by removing the highest spots. Use a sanding block or scrape with a broad knife held perpendicular to the wall. Vacuum the wall thoroughly, then spread several coats of all-purpose lightweight joint compound over the entire surface. Avoid the setting type; use a compound that is easy to sand. Make several thin applications, feathering them out at the trim. For a fast first coat, try thinning the compound slightly with water and applying it with a roller. Then remove the excess compound (everything above the tops of the sand grains) with your broad knife.

Knowing when to quit working on the surface is one of the keys to skim coating. Concentrate on filling low spots on the surface and don't worry about thin ridges left by the knife— you can sand or scrape them off.

Use a sanding block to smooth the surface, or to make sanding less tedious, use a universal pole sander with 80-grit drywall sandpaper. The pole has a rubber-faced pad and a swiveling head that holds sandpaper flat on the wall regardless of the angle of the pole. It also lets you make longer strokes.

Priming and sizing are the crucial next steps: A primer seals the wall and should be applied before paint-ing or wallpapering. Sizing prepares the surface for the wallpaper. Omit the step and you'll have trouble: The wallpaper could either pull off your skim coat or bond permanently with the wall. If you're wallpapering, you can use separate primer and sizing or find a combination product.

For walls where the old paint edges show through, sand and feather out the edges to make them less noticeable. Or smooth the rough areas with drywall joint compound or spackling compound. Use a wide putty knife to fill in the area; let it diy and sand it smooth.

*Cover up sand texture and other wall defects by skim coating with thin coats of lightweight, all-purpose joint compound.

Alligator Cracks

The paint on my walls is splitting, with very fine cracks all over. This happens every time the walls are painted. How can I prevent this?
What you see is called alligatoring, and it is probably caused by a bad original base coat. Scrape off any peeling paint. Then spread a thin coat of joint compound over the entire wall and sand it lightly. The compound will smooth the wall and provide a good base for a new coat of primer and paint.

Peeling Paint

The paint on the walls in my 80-year-old home keeps peeling off. What can I do? Can I wallpaper over peeling paint?
It's possible that a substance called calcimine (a mixture of glue, whiting, and water) was used as a whitewash on your walls when the house was first built. Calcimine makes a very poor base for modern paints, and not even wallpaper will cover the peeling paint very well.

First, check the paint to see if it contains lead. If it does, follow the procedures recommended by the EPA. If it doesn't, remove as much of the peeling paint as you can. Make sure to use drop cloths and wear a dust mask. Finish by sanding the wall smooth using a universal pole sander.

Use drywall joint compound or spackling putty to fill nicks in the walls. Test a fast-drying latex primer or an oil-base primer on a small area, followed by the paint you want to use. If the finish holds with the primer, prime the whole room or wall with it before repainting.

Painting over Paper

Do I have to remove wallpaper before painting a wall? Isn't it easier just to paint over it? ?
Years ago you could not paint over wallpaper and expect to get good results. Today, however, it's a different story. As long as the wallpaper adheres tightly to the wall, you can paint over it. Just be sure to prime the wall first with a non-water-base I primer. (A water-base primer may cause the wallpaper paste to dis-solve, loosening the covering.)

The one drawback to painting over wallpaper is that the seams between the wallpaper strips are likely to show through the paint. If you have the time, you can use a decorative painting technique such as rag- or sponge-painting to obscure the seams.

Lining Paper

The plaster walls in our living room are cracked and patched and covered with old paint. Must we sand the walls before painting them, or is there an easier way?
An alternative to sanding that you may find easier is to hang lining paper. Often applied horizontally, this patternless wallcovering doesn't need to be matched. It creates a smooth surface that can be painted or wallpapered. Three types of lining paper are available. For walls with minor to moderate imperfections, use canvas lining paper: For sandy surfaces or rough walls, polyester lining paper—which comes in several weights—is the best choice. Fiberglass lining paper, available in light- and heavy-duty versions, may be used for smooth and rough walls. Of the three types, fiberglass is the most difficult to hang.

Hiding Rust Stains

Every so often the upstairs tub leaks, causing rust stains on the ceiling. How can I keep these stains from showing through?
First get the leaks under control or no paint job will last. Then apply a stain-blocking sealer-primer that contains shellac to keep the rust from bleeding through your paint.

To determine if the ceiling is dry, put your hand flat against the area that had the leak. If the stained area feels cooler than the surrounding ceiling, it still needs time to dry completely before you apply the sealer. When it is dry, sand the area with 100-grit sandpaper and paint it with two coats of the stain-blocking primer. Finish the job with a coat of latex paint.

HOME IMPROVEMENT

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TITLE: Home Improvement, Home Depot, Home Decor, Home Decorating, Home Remodeling, Home Decor, Home Interior, Home Furniture Store

Home Improvement Category: Home Improvement, Home Depot, Home Decor, Home Decorating, Home Remodeling, Home Decor, Home Interior, Home Furniture, Home, Do it Yourself, Doityourself, DIY, Diy Network, Do-it-Yourself

Shopping Mall: Home Improvement offers do-it-yourself Home Improvement guide and store, Home Improvement, Home Depot, Home Decor, Home Decorating, Home Remodeling, Home Decor, Home Interior, Home Furniture, Home, Do it Yourself, Doityourself, DIY, Diy Network, Do-it-Yourself Store

Home Improvement Topics: Home Improvement, Home Depot, Home Decor, Home Decorating, Home Remodeling, Home Decor, Home Interior, Home Furniture, Home, Do it Yourself, Doityourself, DIY, Diy Network, Do-it-Yourself