Help.....

Anyone who has been to our house knows it's an old house.  Most of the first floor has been remodeled and modernized including the addition that was added around 1981.  We are just finishing up putting in new flooring and moldings in Equestrian Girl's bedroom which means the upstairs hallway will once again be free of furniture and clutter.  Which means I will once again be able to see the horrible walls and ceiling that so desperately needs to be done.  Most modern contractors that have seen it say to tear it all out and start over.  This will be a huge messy job and very likely expose us to asbestos.  A friend who has worked on plaster restoration on old houses has suggested a restoration method that includes stretching thin cotton sheets over the walls and then plastering over them - this would "flatten" the walls and supposedly use less plaster than just going over the existing stuff.  I'm having a hard time just understanding why someone would so this to the walls in the first place.

This is the ceiling in the hall where a strip of drywall tape has come loose and pulled away from the seam.

This is a low part in the stairway - just beyond that wood trim the ceiling goes to the roof.

 Looking down the hallway towards Motocross Boy/Man's room.

 More ceilings and walls covered in this horrible bumpy lumpy stuff.

If anyone has any great ideas or wants to volunteer to help....Please let me know!