I'm renting my house, which is 90 years old. Recently some old wallpaper under the paint in the kitchen started cracking and peeling off. Beneath the wallpaper is something that looks and feels almost like mortar, or sandapery concrete. Hard like rock, and speckled beigy-gray.

I took a great photo of it but now my camera is broken and I can't show it to you. I hope my description is enough for someone to recognize what this is.

My landlord is arranging for asbestos and lead testing right now for all the layers that have cracked open and peeled, and in the meantime we need to figure out whether this material underneath is something I can scrub, prime and paint, or whether it really needs to be covered with drywall or something else.

Personally, I like the texture, and it's certainly nicer than the sloppy-looking, bumpy, peeling paint over wallpaper look; so, assuming it's safe and doesn't need to be covered, I'm happy to prime and paint it.

Thanks!