Well we moved into a new house and it came with some dated wall paper that needs to be removed. Any advice? Or tips?
It would be appreciated ")
C.
Thank you all for such great advice. I don't have too much to do thank goodness. A bathroom, foyer and border on the kitchen. I've just heard that it can be a real stink to get off. It's real paper, not vinyl and I'm hoping it won't take much to get it loose since it's already peeling around the edges some. And thanks for all the well wishes too. ")
My hubby did ROOMS and ROOMS with hot water & fabric softener in a spray bottle...inch by inch by inch.....
My brother told us (for the next two rooms) about a product called Piranha that is supposed to be really good so we're going to try it.
Spraying with a bottle of fabric softener/water mix is supposed to be a great help. This is shown on almost all home shows I have seen. I think it is half and half. You let it sit for a minute to soak in and then scrap it off.
Seal it and paint over it!!! That is what the professionals do. Otherwise, you end up with divots and imperfections everywhere.
If you want pics of the rooms in my house the guy did, I can send you the images. I can also send you the images of the walls where we removed the wall paper and have painted. There is a huge difference! If done correctly, Sealing and painting over is just like the painting over or applying texture over the paper on the drywall. When stripping wallpaper with the scorer and liquid, you are also scoring the drywall underneath. Many times removal of the paper will take off the layer on the drywall leaving porous areas that will suck up the paint in a uneven fashion. I have been designing/decorating rooms for years. This is my best suggestion. The only time I would recommend removal of wallpaper is if the paper is loose in areas or there are several layers of wallpaper.
GL!
Wagner Steamer- You'll get your money's worth with the 1st room. $100 at Lowe's.
It's got attachments for floors, furniture, drapes, nooks and crannies, and the wallpaper.
No fumes. I used it on plaster covered in wallpaper in a home that's 104yrs old. I've used that steamer for so many things. Love it for everything!
Seriously, everybody here has given you good advice, BUT it really depends on the age of the walls, the age and type of wallpaper, and how much you are talking about.
Spike wheel and DIF are good products, for newer houses and relatively thick paper. But, older paper, on plaster walls or 70s vinyl paper? Save yourself the heartache - rent the steamer. Yes it costs a little money, but rent it don't buy it. With the wheel and DIF you can do a wall a day. With the steamer you can do a room a day easy. If you are doing a whole room I vote for renting.
Instead of buying a steamer all we did was spray it with HOT water and we peeled it off. We did have to scrape off some of the glue but it came off fairly easy.
hi
they have specific wall paper removal solutions at Lowes.. I forget the name of the solution.. Anyway, you smear it all over and the paper comes off like a dream.................. the peeling days are over...
get the solution.. you ll be glad you did..
The water and fabric softener really works. It might work even better with hot water. If there aren't too many rooms to do, tackle this job yourself. Let the wall soak in the mixture for at least 10-15 minutes and work on a section at a time. I love the smell. Even a cheaper fabric softener works if you don't want to use your favorite because of the costs. Congratulations on your new home and the decorating.
a spray bottle filled with fabric softener and water..........spray, let it set, get a metal spatula, get to work
i did it with 3 rooms, when you repaint dont use high gloss, high gloss shows all imperfections, a flat or semi will do fine, or better yet a faux painting job, or new texture then paint is ideal
C.,
A really cheap way to remove wall paper without damaging your walls is a spike wheel & fabric softener.
you can rent a spiked wheel form your local home depot for about $20 bucks. run the wheel over the wall. this will create tiny holes in the paper (it also pt holes in the wall but these are easily covered by the paint process). once youve prepped the wall take a sponge place it in the fabric softener and saturate the wall paper. let it sit for about 30 minutes and it should peel right off. you will prior to painting you will need to wash down the wall with some TSP, also found at the local home depot.
happy redecorating!!!
c~
We went to Home Depot and got a tool. It has teeth and is circular. You go in circles oll over the wall to score it. Then you spray wall paper remover all over that. The stuff gets in through all the little holes. It softens the paper and the glue. Then you can use a trowel type scraper to scrape it off. Sometimes you get lucky and can grab a corner and pull it off in big chunks. Very labor intensive. Are you renting? You might could just cover it with primer and paint over it.
When we replaced our wallpaper, my husband used some kind of wallpaper remover that he got at Home Depot. Sorry I don't know the name.
You didn't say how much wallpaper, one room or a whole house? We had our current home remodeled before moving in, and the WHOLE house was wallpaper, no joke. It was bad. We had professionals do it, and they removed it ALL, and easily repaired walls here and there. It turned out great! I would suggest getting "Dif" by Zinnser. It's sold at Home Depot. I used it for a bathroom and it worked VERY well. There was nothing to scrape. If it is you whole house, I'd hire professionals. Painting over wallpaper really looks tacky, I've seen it done in a few houses. Not good.
