Should I plaster the walls in my new house?

Question

I have a newly built house and I'm evaluating how to proceed with the painting of the rooms, to define what I can do myself and what has to be done by professionals.

The ceiling is already spray-plastered, it looks rough and nice.

The walls are of two types: concrete (outer walls, grey) or gypsum (inner walls, yellowish). The builder used plaster to make the bricks uniform, that means that he used it only or almost only in the joints between bricks. There is no thick layer over the whole walls as I was used to see in the past.

I have NO drywall.

See for example the following two photos (one has been taken before the ceiling got plastered).

Some corners (see the second photo) are visibly darker where the roof has been sealed last.

My plan was to spray a primer all over the walls (not ceiling) and then go with one (ceiling) or two (walls) coats of latex paint.

I was suggested that plastering the whole wall may be a better option, to improve the ability of the wall to absorb and release humidity and to provide a better surface. Also, one coat of paint may be enough if the surface is already white.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of plastering? should I do it?

Answer 1

When I built my house 20+ years ago, my wife and I opted for 2 coat, hard coat plaster instead of drywall with taped joints, since she wanted to paint all the walls with a semi-gloss paint finish. The semi-gloss finish would have been impossible since it would have highlighted the taped joints. We were told that if you use taped joints you could only use a flat finish that tends to hide those taped joints. The whole house is now painted with a semi-gloss finish which she can wash or remove any marks put there by people and grand-kids. If you opt for a plaster finish make sure you use enough paint coatings. We used 2 primer and 2 finish. She is happy, so you know I am also happy.