Ive moved into a rented flat from Places for People, and all the rooms were decorated from previous occupent, anyway ive striped wallpaper off in main bedroom and 3 of the walls are plastered and the outside main wall is only got plasterboard on the walls, no top plaster skimmed on. All the plasterboard joints are visable too.
I phoned places for people to complain and have it plastered as it was clear it hadnt ever been done since the place was built about 10 years ago.

They phoned back today and said, on new properties the walls are just plaster boarded with a special plasterboard and the joints are taped over so you can paint straight over them or wallpaper them so in effect he was saying they dont plaster over plasterboard despite the rest of the walls being plastered.

Should this wall be plastered and not just left with plaseterboard on?

I feel like they just cant be ars*d to come do the work.

Andy, June 2008

not really. what you've got there is a tape and joint wall.
the plasterboard (probably with an insulation backing, because its an exterior wall), is stuck to the wall with board adhesive, and then the joints are filled with a gyproc filler. a paper strip is run down the seam and another layer of filler is applied. this is sponged flat while wet, or sanded once its dried. it looks great for a few years, but the surface is nowhere near as durable as a plastered wall.
it's basically a cheap way of doing things. if you've striped off any wall paper and its flaked all the paper of the plasterboard, this can be unibonded and then skimmed over. easy.
looks like you'll have to pay for it yourself tho. i doubt it would cost too much. if its just the one wall with a couple of window reveals, id say its an easy days work for one spread. plenty of change out of £200 inc materials.

paul, June 2008

you are right. you shouldn't paper or paint straight onto plasterboard.the joints will always be visible.dodgy geezers

garry, June 2008