I'm building a new house with a developer. He normally installs wall paper on the interior walls. I've told them that I don't want wallpaper. The girl in the office asked me if I just wanted the walls painted which would be approximately the same cost wise as the wallpaper or if I wanted the " Skim Coat Paint" which will be an up charge.

I don't understand what Skim Coat Paint is and don't know why I would want it.

My exterior walls are built with Q-Con blocks and interior walls are regular red bricks.

I guess I don't really understand the building techniques that are being used.

Where I come from its very different. Wooden stud walls with sheet rock interior walls that are primed and then painted.

Can someone help me understand?

Thanks in advance!

Mike

Skim coating is a couple of layers of a plaster-like mud that are applied to the wall surface, then sanded flat. When painting it gives a much nicer finish that painting direct onto cement render, so long as the person doing the skim coat is good at it... If they're not good at it, it's just a waste of money.

Another option for perfect interior walls is to use gypsum sheet board on top of c-line, but that needs to be factored into the design from the start due to the space it takes up. Normally you wouldn't render the inside walls if doing it this way either.

Skim coating is a couple of layers of a plaster-like mud that are applied to the wall surface, then sanded flat. When painting it gives a much nicer finish that painting direct onto cement render, so long as the person doing the skim coat is good at it... If they're not good at it, it's just a waste of money.

Another option for perfect interior walls is to use gypsum sheet board on top of c-line, but that needs to be factored into the design from the start due to the space it takes up. Normally you wouldn't render the inside walls if doing it this way either.

I've seen the walls in some of the houses they were building before they were completed.

I perhaps didn't understand there building process but at the time I saw very smooth walls that appeared to have a very thin primer coat of paint on it.

I believed, at the time, that the walls were already prepped for wallpapering.

My thoughts were perhaps they were saving money on the finish of the walls by putting wallpaper on it instead of a good primer and then second coat of paint.

But that was months ago and I'm not there now to see what's going on.