What a Mess
The walls were solid, but paint was peeling everywhere, and there were some rough spots throughout, Look closely at this picture and you'll see all the spackle used to do some repairs. You can see it because the spackle goes on pink, then pales as it dries.
And, this next picture shows where there was a large dip in the wall that leads to the dining room. It was significant enough that it made the ceiling look horrible, and I had to put so much spackle on that I layered in some vinyl sheetrock tape, to help prevent cracking.
You know, you really can't beat a household commodity - the ketchup bottle on the kitchen table. - Adlai Stevenson I
I used this stuff:
I liked it because it went on pink, and when it was dry it turned white, taking the guessing game out of it. Besides that, as to quality - well, it worked just like any spackling I suppose.
In department stores, so much kitchen equipment is bought indiscriminately by people who just come in for men's underwear. - Julia Child
Then there was the area behind the stove - what a mess. All these years there was this big piece of metal on the wall behind the stove, and a large piece of melamine on the wall next to it:
And here's the sheet of metal behind it:
Luckily it all came off pretty easily, but how ugly is that glue?
Only one thing to do - cover it:
I know that's looking pretty hideous at this point, but it gets better. I had run out of the brick-relief paneling, so I used some leftovers from the ceiling for the lower half behind the stove - it'll never be seen! That's the run-down of the walls (no pun intended!).