How much unevenness is common in walls?

[Adamvest]

Hi forum!

I'm in the process of plastering a room at home. I'm having trouble getting the walls completely smooth and straight. The surface itself has become even and nice. But I'm struggling to get the wall flat, if that makes sense. I've managed with two walls, but the other two still seem relatively wavy to me.

For example, if I place a 1.6m wallpaper ruler on the wall, the level differences are 1.5-2 mm in some spots.

And I'm worried that this might cause issues if I want to hang a larger shelf on the wall, as I had planned.

But is this a problem? Or is this just how it turns out?

 

[cpalm]

But is this a problem. Or is that how it turns out?

Depending on the construction method, walls are rarely particularly flat over a larger area. The goal of broad spackling is to even out minor irregularities, so I understand that it's a challenge to try to broad spackle so that the surface becomes completely flat.

 

[Adamvest]

Depending on the building method, walls are rarely particularly flat when viewed over a larger area. The goal of applying plaster broadly is to smooth out smaller irregularities, so I understand that it's a challenge to try to plaster so the surface becomes completely flat.

Yeah, maybe it's unnecessary for me to keep going. But I made a mistake during the groundwork. Because the surface is wallpaper where someone had plastered over the seams with seriously 1-2mm of plaster. So it was already very uneven there. And I was a bit naive and thought that difference could be concealed with broad plastering. I tried to remove the old stuff, but it was tough as nails. But as I said, I regret not spending a little more time with coarse sandpaper.

 

[cpalm]

Nah, sometimes it's hard to decide where to stop 🙂
I think a reasonable level is when it looks good to the naked eye in raking light, and even appears to be overkill for some "pro painters." But as you say, if you put something flat against the wall, it can obviously show.

 

[Adamvest]

No, sometimes it's hard to decide where to stop 🙂
I think a reasonable level is when it looks good to the naked eye in raking light and is even seemingly overkill for some "professional painters." But as you say, if you put something flat against the wall, it can of course show.

Yes! I think I'll call it a day now after another round, and it's maybe a 1mm difference when I place the wallpaper ruler. I hope it will be enough to hang shelves over the wall. Or what I want specifically on that wall is to hang long picture shelves. So I hope it turns out well!

Thanks for the responses! It really helps to get some feedback from someone.