Painting and skim coating

How bad are the walls now? There's skim coating, and there is re-plastering. How many rooms? How high are the ceilings? Are there crown mouldings and if so can you describe them. What type of paint and finishes are you considering? Different colors and finishes will impact the price. Will the apt be empty of everything when the work is being done? Give a bit more info and we can start guestimating for you.

I think the ceilings are a little over 9 ft. There is moulding, but I cant remember what exactly (we are not in yet). The walls are in very good shape, but not 100% perfect looking. The apt will be empty - we want to paint before we move in...Thanks!

it seems that you want the walls spackled a little and then painted. i don't think it should cost over $5K for the job. it also depends on how much of a pain the coop/condo is. they sometimes ask for insurance that can cost $1-3K just to paint the apartment. that will play into the costs.

You asked about skim coating. If the walls are older and you really want that "perfect" glassy smooth look, then yes, skim coating is what you want. It involves smoothing a thin coat of plaster stuff over the walls and then sanding them to perfection before priming and coating--ideally with 3 coats of paint. It is a labor intensive and very messy job. Glad you won't be there for it.

You are going to get lots of opinions possibly. Many people will tell you how the higher ones are "just outlandish!" Truth is that quality skim coating and painting can be pricey. You don't have particularly high ceilings so that will help keep costs down a bit. I am more familiar with top end finishes and contractors--not the bargains you find from the guy the super works with on weekends.

I'll guess from the 1350 sq/ft that it is about 5 rooms (2 bdrm, lvgrm, dining, kitchen & 2 baths). Just prime and 3 coats Benjamin Moore paint I'd say about 10K for a really good job. Add in about $15K for skim coating. Total about $20,000-$25,000. That is a ROUGH guess. Could be less or more, but that's a starting point at least.

If the price seems too high, strongly consider if you need the skim coating. Spackle over the holes and repairs of some damages spots may be enough. That is what we did, and then we used an eggshell finish paint and it all looks awesome. Our walls were not great, but they weren't awful. Contractor said to use matte/flat paint if not skim coating, but I hate the chalky feel. We painted samples and looked at them at various times of day and night. It was VERY hard to tell the repaired/new wall sections from the old ones.

And now that furniture is in and rugs are down, etc, we don't even "see" the walls anymore. If money is not a problem, skim coat--you'll love the result. If budget is an issue, you may decide the money could be better spent on custom cabinetry, spectacular plumbing and lighting fixtures, awesome doorknobs and hinges...

Good luck on the new home. It sounds exciting.

kyle - we had skim coating done in one section of our apartment,(should have done the whole thing BEFORE we moved in, but just didin'think) but it definitely involved more than just plastering and sanding. First they sanded, then they put some sort of mesh on, THEN they plastered again, again and then sanded.

In many prewars, that is done not just to give a great finish, but, more important, to repair/stop the cracking that happens to plaster (as opposed to drywall) walls.

VERY messy process - do it while the apartment is empty if you intend to do it

We had our apartment skim-coated and painted when we bought, as part of a larger renovation. It's smaller than yours, but the condition was terrible (think 80's style, rental condition, plus holes in the walls due to AC and electrical upgrades.)
The cost was $7,500 and the work was impeccable. The process is very, very messy, so definitely not something you'd want to do with furniture or people inside. I would recommend my contractor, but he moved back to Ohio 2 years ago. I think you could get it done for $12-15,000, and you might try Brownstoner, they have lots of top-notch contractors.

ph41: you're absolutely correct. The process can be quite involved with many rounds of slathering and sanding. The mesh is not always necessary. That sort of thing depends upon the condition of the existing wall. That is part of the reason why there is such a range in prices. If you have cracks in the walls and bulges as prewar plaster walls may have if they are in bad condition, that is a high-labor job. If it is 1980's drywall that is just a little worn, that is often much less work. It really varies a lot. What doesn't vary is that you are insane if you try to live in the place while it is getting donw.

KW, ph41: for sheetrock walls, wouldn't it be cheaper to rip out the sheetrock and re-sheetrock the space? Sheetrock isn't expensive, and putting up sheetrock isn't all that labor-intensive.

By the time you factor in debris removal, time, and the costs of all that taping and sanding and reinstallation of mouldings I'm not so sure sheetrock is less. Also, some wall may be more problematic (the ones between your apt and the one next door) and the building may be wary of that--I don't know, I've never done it. I'm guessing here. Anyone on here ever replace all their sheetrock instead of skim coating?

KW: I'm perhaps biased towards sheetrock removal because I have someone who does it well and neatly.

I asked our contractor about skim coating when we moved into our new place, the price was insane and even the painter said it wasn't necessary and "you most likely wouldn't notice". Spackle over any blemishes and give it two coats of high end Aura paint from BM. It looks great!

And seriously, once all the furniture is in you don't really look too closely at the walls. We spent the extra cash on an upgraded high end molding installation (floor & crown) That made a HUGE difference. GOOD LUCK!

another alternative is to put up new sheet rock over the plaster- walls and ceilings. you loose some space and there were some settling cracks but it looked very good. it was part of a gut reno so i can't isolate the cost and wouldn't recommend the contractor but it is another possibility.

Don't sheetrock over the plaster! Please! In the name of all that is holy!

When our (crappy sheetrock) ceiling collapsed (yay homeownership), we hired a terrific painting company we found on Angie's List. They were very tidy, and inexpensive, and so nice. A year later you still can't see any trace of the damage. They do nice plasterwork, too:
http://www.nadobanpainting.com/photos-skimming.php

Tina
(Brooklyn broker)

Thanks all!!!