By the Bouwsector België team, 97 in-house tradespeople · reviewed by Geert Jan Hendrik, director · updated
Yes, renovation fleece works well on plasterboard, provided the joints and screw heads have first been finished flat and the board has been primed. With us it costs from €14.99 per m² excluding VAT, including sanding, pasting, sealing the joints and one coat of paint.
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Plasterboard walls have two weak spots: the joints between the boards and the screw heads. If these are not finished flat, they show through the fleece later, exactly along the lines where the boards meet.
The preparation follows a fixed order. If you skip a step, you usually only notice once the paint coat is on.
| Step | Why | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Check the joints and screw heads | Edges and small bumps show through thin material | Wallpaper hanger, during the site survey |
| Fill the joints or apply a skim coat | Makes the board transitions flat | Plasterer, only if needed |
| Let it dry | Renovation fleece sticks poorly to a damp layer | Planning |
| Remove dust and apply primer | Bare plasterboard absorbs unevenly, the adhesive must grip equally everywhere | Wallpaper hanger |
| Paste the fleece, seal the joints and paint | The finish itself | Wallpaper hanger |
If you check the joints yourself, run a flat hand over the transitions and look along the wall in daylight at a low angle. If you feel an edge or see small bumps, the wall is not ready yet. That is the simplest test for when a wall is ready for wallpaper.
Yes, always. Bare plasterboard is porous and the paper facing draws moisture out of the adhesive, though not equally everywhere. Where the board absorbs more moisture, the fleece sticks less well and a strip can come loose later.
A primer evens out the absorption. We do not skip that step even if the board looks clean and smooth, because you cannot see absorption from the outside.
If a skim coat is needed as well, it does not replace the primer. First apply the skim coat and let it dry, then prime, and only then hang the wallpaper. That applies just as much if you choose glass fleece or woven glass fabric.
No, usually not. A plasterboard wall can look smooth when it is handed over, but a coat of paint is thin and shows every joint and screw head, especially in low-angle light. To paint directly, the entire wall first has to be fully finished.
In a new build, movement comes on top of that. The home settles and shrinks during its first years, and the joints between plasterboards are where that becomes visible first. Renovation fleece bridges those small movements; a coat of paint directly on the board does not.
There are other ways to finish plasterboard, such as plastering or just a skim coat. This article is only about the renovation fleece route.
Renovation fleece on plasterboard costs the same as on any other wall that is ready for wallpaper. The price per m² falls as the job gets bigger.
| Area | Pasting renovation fleece, sealing joints and 1 coat of paint |
|---|---|
| Over 150 m² | €14.99 per m² |
| 100 to 150 m² | €15.99 per m² |
| 30 to 100 m² | €18.99 per m² |
Prices exclude VAT. The VAT rate is stated in the quote: 21% for new builds, usually 6% for renovation work on a home more than 10 years old.
If the joints have not been finished properly and a skim coat is needed, it comes on top as a separate item: €17.49 per m² for 100 to 200 m², falling to €14.49 per m² from 401 m², material included.
If you want to work it out for a single room, an example of what renovation fleece costs per m² and per room will help. Whether it ends up being renovation fleece or a skim coat depends on how the joints have been finished. All variants and surcharges are public, on the prices page.
One of our 40 wallpaper hangers, and if the joints first need a skim coat, one of our 32 plasterers. Both are permanent employees, in the same team of 97 tradespeople. Pasting, sealing and painting renovation fleece in a whole home takes 3 days; if a skim coat has to go on first, its drying time comes on top.
What goes wrong with plasterboard is joints and screw heads that only show through after painting. That is why we go over them wall by wall during the site survey, by hand and in low-angle light. If you have already felt edges or bumps yourself, mention in your request which rooms. The free quote you receive within 24 hours will then already take that into account.
We hang renovation fleece from Intervos and the wallpapering work comes with a 1-year guarantee.
Want to go through your plasterboard walls first?
On other walls too, having renovation fleece applied uses the same material and the same method.
Only if the joints and screw heads have been finished flat and the board has been primed. Bare, untreated plasterboard absorbs unevenly and lets joints show through. After that preparation, renovation fleece can simply go on.
Renovation fleece is heavier than ordinary wallpaper and needs a strong adhesive that suits the material. Our wallpaper hangers choose the adhesive for each surface. On plasterboard, priming beforehand is at least as important as the adhesive itself.
It can be done, but you have to take care that the paper facing of the board does not come off with it. That is exactly why priming beforehand matters. Removing renovation fleece costs €10.99 per m² with us, excluding VAT.
Yes. Finishing joints and screw heads, letting them dry and priming is necessary for every type of wallpaper on plasterboard. The difference lies in how many small irregularities the wallpaper still hides afterwards.
No, a full coat of plaster is not necessary. A skim coat is only applied if the joints or boards are not flat enough. We assess that during the site survey.
Request a free, no-obligation quote from our own tradespeople today.