cosmetic help for all bathroom wall

hi! this is my first time posting here.
we have a home that was built in 1950, with one bathroom. honestly, we need to redo the whole thing---taking out the tile walls, floor, bathtub, and...new drywall.

BUT since we can't do that now...i am trying to take smaller steps...
the walls are strange. i think they have been just painted over and over, in the past 60 years. lots of inconsistancies, in the surface, etc. where the wall meets the shower tile, it is thick, and i actually think i could peel the whole thing off, but then i would be left with---i am not even sure. i'm tempted to try to do some resurfacing by mudding it (not even sure what that means), but i don't know if that is a good idea either as that would seem to almost add to the problem of the surface being a thick...more layers.

i want to add that my son has severe mold allergies, if that makes any difference.

any thoughts?

any comments would be greatly appreciated. thank you.

 

Welcome to the forums!

A pic or two might help us better understand the issue - http://www.doityourself.com/forum/li...-pictures.html

You should be able to scrape and sand the walls, then apply a skim coat of joint compound. Basically that means covering the entire wall with j/c and then sanding it smooth, priming and painting. One issue though, the age of your house indicates that there is a good chance the original enamel paint is lead based.

 

I'd be inclined to skim coat it smooth and start over with that surface but it sounds like you're against any further build up on the wall, in which case scraping off what's there is in order.

 

you probably have wallpaper on the walls that has been painted over then when some fell off it got painted over again. Could the build up be caulk? If that is the case then you can peel it off and fix. As far as the rest do what the other guys say. Scrape off loose stuff and skim walls. Keep in mind some spots might blister. If that happens then cut out the blister and re fill with mud.