Help with Kitchen Walls! Please!

12 years ago

last modified: 12 years ago

So I decided to paint the kitchen walls. In preparation, I took down some shelves and discovered that there are 4 layers of paint that is peeling off. It appears the first layer is an oil base, the house was built in the 50's. What I discovered also is holes, little ones that were never patched. Please help me with do I hire someone to do this job? The kitchen is 9x10. Or do I suck it up and do the job myself knowing this is going to be tedious and time consuming. I know I will need to kilz it, patch holes, etc. so painting is a bit down the road. Oh, also the walls are plaster, and the green there are two layers of different colors, really smooth/shiny paint. Also what is the cost of having someone to do the work? I am a teacher by day working 4 part time jobs so I am not sure if I am able to work on the project. Do I need to worry about lead? Thank you so much:)

Featured Answer

beeloved

12 years ago

If extensive work isn't in the budget, what about a textured paintable paper? that stuff has saved my sanity more than once. I did a kitchen for a friend in 'beadboard' paper. Looked great. We hit the discount stores and it cost about $100 paint included. Good luck, and if you opt for prepping to paint heed all the cautionary advice. Be safe, and have fun.

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Comments (9)

PRO
R H Kitchen and Bath Ltd
12 years ago
Yes you should worry about lead. Get a lead testing kit and test the paint before you start sanding and patching etc, etc. I don't know if this is an option for you or not but I would spend the money on replacing the plaster walls with drywall.
PRO
Ironwood Builders
12 years ago
Yes, you need to worry about lead. Scraping is not so much a problem as sanding, but precautions must be taken regardless. Any contractor you hire to deal with this needs to be EPA certified. You can do it on your own, but I highly recommend you look through the EPA website and search out the proper protective gear and cleaning techniques. Certification is an eight hour class and $275. Cheap when you consider that lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, brain function issues, liver and kidney problems, coma and death. Hope I scared you a little...the stuff is POISON and is in the paint of any home built before 1977.
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Michelle
Original Author
12 years ago
so this may seem like a silly question but can you put drywall over the plaster walls, or do you have to remove all the plaster walls . Ideally that would be a good solution but I cannot afford the extensive work.
PRO
Ironwood Builders
12 years ago
Yes, you can overlay the plaster with drywall, effectively encapsulating the the lead paint and covering the other sins quite nicely. Make sure any electrical upgrades are done prior and it should work out OK. Bear in mind your kitchen will be about 1" smaller in any direction after the drywall is installed.
Michelle
Original Author
12 years ago
great , I will try to find someone to give an est. being a small kitchen it should not cost much. thanks everyone for your input and knowledge! Love this forum where folks can share and ask questions.
Michelle
Original Author
12 years ago
Good thought, also had ah moment, this is a wall that will be painted an accent color. The rest of the walls the paint is not peeling so I think I can prime and paint over those two walls. The accent wall my thought is to spackle the big blob and smooth down then paint. But in measuring it would take about 3 rolls of beadboard paper to cover that one wall, then I can paint it. Excellent idea! The color I am painting the accent wall is Aqua Spray from Behr. The other two walls will be painted Popcorn from Behr. I found a nice tall and narrow fridge/new stove both in black. The kitchen cabinets upper will be white, the bottom doors on the cabinets I have found a sweet black and white contact paper that will go on the doors. Once everything is put together I will post pictures.
beeloved
12 years ago
Sounds super, belleandlucy! Looking forward to the pictures.
inkwitch
12 years ago
Rather than use spackling, consider drywall mudding. A gallon costs about $6-8 (depending on where you live), and will smooth and sand (lots of dust!) more easily. It will smooth out the wall's irregularities easier than spackling.

Love the idea of "beadboard paintable wallpaper"!! I have a foyer that needs a solution, and that may be it. Thanks for mentioning it.