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Is it possible to smooth internal walls down and what's the best way?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 3:18pm
23 replies2068 views15 members subscribed
Roach

Roach

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All walls in my place have that bumpy effect on the walls (i think the Spanish call it gotalay or something) and i wanted to know what is the best way to smooth them down to a nice flat surface, and if anyone here has had it done and who did they use? Many thanks.

Dubiner92500

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 4:39pm

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Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 4:39pm

Welcome to Spain!! We bought a property last year with the same stuff.. We thought about getting it done, but then learnt that it can be expensive as the stuff has to be either sanded off and then replastered.. Then we figured the cost and more importantly a French guy told me that if we'd spent a lot of money doing that and then in a few years time we decided to have better wall insulation all that money would have been wasted..so we just got someone to paint over it for the moment..It's the Spanish equivalent to the French cloth on the walls I think.. hate it as it reminds me of pebble dash on external walls... our very 'proactive' French estate agent 'offered' to do it for us for 'only' 10keuros..needless to say we passed on that!!  Good luck with your search !

jimtaylor

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 5:27pm

jimtaylor

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Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 5:27pm

It's possible, but I wouldn't like to do it. Gotalis is very soft, so would be easily sanded flat, but you'd make a right mess and would have to wear a face mask.

Then you'd have to give it a good soaking with dilute PVA to stabilise it before applying a surface coat of finish plaster.

I'd learn to live with it if I were you.

RichardH

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 11:24pm

RichardH

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Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 11:24pm

Surely a good plasterer could skim over it no need for removal ?

jimtaylor

Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 4:52am

jimtaylor

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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 4:52am

That might work, Richard, but it depends how thick it is. The reason I suggested sanding (or scraping) it down is to make it thin enough that the PVA solution would penetrate all the coating, and turn that soft surface into a hard one. A friend in the UK once sealed an Artex ceiling with polybond and then plastered it flat. It looked fine, but he hadn't given the Artex a good enough soaking and the plaster eventually just fell off in sheets.

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Dubiner92500

Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 10:14am

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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 10:14am

Yes when I mentioned it to my physio in Paris it told me it's a nightmare to send - dust everywhere..he also suggested learning to live with it.. We've just painted ours in the hope of at least not seeing the texture as much...

SClayton

Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 1:33pm

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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 1:33pm

I dislike the effect because it reminds me of chipboard wallpaper. "Cottage Cheese" walls I call them. Two years ago, I asked for a quote to have it removed from and I was quoted,  by several tradesmen, 25 Euro per sq mt (approx. per sq yard). I learned to live with it and now hardly notice it...if I slightly tilt my head and squint. Having the lights out helps, too. Seriously, I only seem to notice it when I walk into somewhere with beautiful, plain, smooth walls.

jimtaylor

Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 1:48pm

jimtaylor

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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 1:48pm

I'd guess that having a drink or two would help as well! The problem with 'smooth' walls is that they're only as good as the plasterer - catch them with the light in the right place and you can see all the bumps and hollows.

I actually quite like the woodchip effect, from a practical point of view. Even though the bumps are only slight, they do cause shadows, and that helps to disguise the fact that the surface might be dirty in places and in need of re-painting. As I'm the one that does the painting, I'll keep my nice stippled walls.

Incidentally, if you've got gotalis that hasn't been painted, then seal it with dilute PVA before painting. If you don't, the soft porous surface will just soak up the paint, can make it a bit more difficult to paint, and can also result in a patchy appearance.

swcoulthurst

Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 7:10pm

swcoulthurst

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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 7:10pm

RichardH wrote on Mon Oct 14, 2019 11:24pm:

Surely a good plasterer could skim over it no need for removal ?

The only thing is the wall will no doubt be painted with the usual plastic paint. This would stop the plaster from adhering to the wall.

Roach

Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 9:12am

Roach

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Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 9:12am

Seems it's a lost cause then. One would of thought you could just sand it down level with a machine and paint it. Personally I think it makes the place look dated and is a right pain trying to repair walls that have been scuffed or dented in some way.

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