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There is no 'right' answer here. Either save some money now and risk having an issue in the future, or pay more now and have marginally more confidence in avoiding future issues (to do with breathability).
Generally you should be able to get a feel for how much bodging/modernisation has happened to the property. If everything has already been filled/over plastered then the cheaper paint will make little difference. But if the property is in good 'original' condition then I'd personally avoid becoming the bodger...
JonoMarshall-
Yeah, the inside is already fully modern. We had no idea that it was so old until the seller told us last week. TBH we were not looking for an older property, but the interior of this one had us fooled. The interior is all smooth plaster painted white. I've seen the listing from 2015 when the current seller bought it and all the plastering had been done then, although they were painted a different colour at that point.
What do you think you'd do in my shoes? I feel like the bodge is almost certainly already made.
hazzelfrazzel
Paint in older properties ...
We're in the process of buying an older house (the main external walls built in 1820). After getting a survey, hearing things about limited damp, and doing some reading, I understand it's important for an older building to be able to breathe. I also understand that modern paints, plasters, wallpapers, etc. can prevent that. I'm by no means an expert, so if I've got any of that wrong, please do correct me.
My wife is keen to paint the walls of some of the rooms before we move everything in. Currently all the walls are just white. I asked her to find some paint that was suitable for older properties, and she's come back in love with a couple of colours from Little Greene. I've taken a look on their website at pricing and nearly feinted - £90 for 5 litres of their "distemper". Also after reading some more, I learned it goes off after 5 days and that they don't recommend using it in high touch areas like playrooms. So guess what, the rooms she wants to paint are the living room and the play room!
After thinking it through, I was planning to just paint over the existing paint, and I've realised I have no idea if the seller will have used breathable paint and plaster. In fact, I'd wager they haven't. So my first question is whether there is any point using fancy breathable paint unless you know that everything else in the existing wall is also breathable?
My second question is whether anyone has recommendations for a good matt indoor paint that's relatively hardwearing that will colour match a colour from Little Greene and end up cheaper?