HELP! Question about Wallpaper/paint stripping

[Car54]

HELP! Question about wallpaper/paint stripping

Let's replace the word garage with nursery just for this thread.

We moved into our house 7 months ago and have been dreading redoing the nursery. The house has had three owners, including us.

The first owner built the house and did wall paper on the top 2/3's, and orange peel/paint on the bottom third with a chair rail. The DID NOT orange peel texturize the section where there is wall paper. Obviously this gives the wall paper an intense hold on the drywall.

Along comes the 2nd owner and decides to remove the chair rail, fill and sand the transition from wall paper to orangepeel and PAINT THE WHOLE 3 of 4 walls. To make matters worse the wallpapered with some ugly mural of a vineyard. If that wasn't bad enough they also painted over some scalloped border at the top of the walls.

All and all it's just a real mess. I've been putting this off for far too long and I really want my daughter to have a special room.

Oh..the kitchen and dining room have the same no texture/wallpaper/paint over treatment.

Please select an option of what you would do.

Scalloped border:

Hideous Vineyard, you can see in the lower right where I started. The old wallpaper is stripes.

Here on the right side you can see where I peeled the paint/wall paper combo which pretty much took the dry wall paper with it in some spots.

 

[scott37300]

You've already started so might as well keep going! I have done a fair share of wallpaper removal, have tried the DIF and score method and also bought a wagner steamer. The steamer is the way to go, I got mine at home depot for about 60 bucks. You just fill with water and plug in and hold the plate on the end of the hose over an area for a little bit and then use a plastic scraper to get it all off. Then wash the walls with warm water a couple of times and then use an alkyd primer to seal in any remaining glue residue that might still be on the walls. Any glue residue will cause problems when painting.

It's really not that hard, just a little time consuming. All of your options are possible besides sanding and texturing over wall paper, never a good idea to keep layering things, if one layer starts to fail it will ruin the top layer and cause problems. Ripping everything down is a mess and will cost more and be the same amount of time if not longer than stripping the paper off. I would get a steamer and see how things go, you might be surprised how it comes off. Grab a cooler of beers and spend a day in there, it's pretty slow work, steam-scrap-throw away-repeat!

 

[rodnok1]

I had some jack wagon do almost the same to a kitchen. I "tried" to remove the painted wallpaper and I can tell you I spent way more time trying to get the paper and paint off than I care to admit. I had to skim coat the whole damn kitchen when I was done just to get it fairly even. The quickest way is to take the trim off and just yank the drywall and sart over, you'll thank yourself in the long run. If you're worried about messing the ceiling carefully cut the corners and place a none beveled edge against the ceiling(make it a snug fit) and just caulk it. It takes some patience to not screw the ceiling up but it can be done.

 

[Car54]

I think I need to go in there with a case of beer and just sit in the corner for a day!

These two posts represent my internal conflict for the last 4 months. The painted on wallpaper is my biggest fear. That and the fact the PO wall papered (likely a pro) right on the drywall without texture or paint to slow down the bonding.

Keep em coming guys...I really appreciate the experience.

 

[Jason641]

If the drywall wasn't painted before the wallpaper was glued up I would say tear out all the drywall and start over. You will spend more time ripping off wallpaper and plastering the walls to cover up all the drywall paper that gets ripped off than you would hanging new board. like rodnok1 said cut the seem at the ceiling so you don't have to do any patch work on the ceiling. After you hang the new drywall on the walls just put crown moulding up to cover the joint.

EDIT: I commented assuming you could hang/finish your own drywall. if you would have to hire someone to do the work then maybe pulling the wallpaper would eb your best bet, but it will most likely be very frustrating if it wasn't glued up over an already painted wall.

 

[Car54]

I would hang/tape/mud the drywall myself. My neighbor has a hopper for texture. I need some other areas re-textured as well.

What about adding a layer of drywall? Some 3/8" or 1/2"? What kids room doesn't deserve some additional sound proofing?

 

[Car54]

Have you guys heard of blueboard?

http://www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Librar...s_and_Ceilings_Walls_Plaster_Walls-A1484.html

It's like a veneer for drywall. Says it's easier to use, but I'm not sure about this.

 

[HDNewf]

I would hang/tape/mud the drywall myself. My neighbor has a hopper for texture. I need some other areas re-textured as well.

What about adding a layer of drywall? Some 3/8" or 1/2"? What kids room doesn't deserve some additional sound proofing?

Hey Car54, I’m HDNewf from The Home Depot out of Chicago.
It sounds like you really want to end up with a smooth-wall painted room, rather than textured paint, wallpaper or paneling. The last 3 items would obviously be the easiest and fastest fixes.
Given that, I agree with scott37300 that a steamer really works well to get the old wallpaper off.

Pulling the drywall may well be faster if you are good at putting up new walls, but to me this should be a last resort since time is not the main issue. Besides, you have nothing to lose trying the steamer first. If it does not work well for you then you have good reason to return it, and your pry bar solution is still available.
If you would rather just re-skin the room, ¼” drywall is available and made for that purpose.

Hope this helps.
HDNewf

 

[BigE]

I ran across this same issue when I bought my house. 4 rooms in the house had wallpaper that was put up when the house was built. As such, they went right over the drywall without priming. As such, DIF, scoring, steam, etc. wouldn't take it off cleanly. It ended up tearing the drywall face to shreads. I asked a buddy who used to do drywall what to do about it. He said just skim over it. I watched him do it in my dining room. Came out perfect. So I tried my hand at it in the main bathroom/laundry room. No problem. It takes about 3 coats and involves a good bit of sanding, but I preferred that to opening up walls, paying for drywall and having to mud and sand anyway. Pull the paper down, rough sand to get the big shreads off, mud, sand, mud, sand, mud, sand, prime and paint.

 

[PAToyota]

Proper drywall application includes sizing on the wall before wallpapering to prevent the adhesives from penetrating into the drywall. Years ago paper hangers would use a diluted wheat paste for sizing. Now there are primers/sealers that are used for the task.

If sizing wasn't used (as seems to be in your case), you'll rip down at least the paper surface layer of the drywall if not actually some of the gypsum board itself. Depending on how deeply the adhesive penetrated, using a steamer can actually soften the drywall and cause more problems down the road. You could try that route and then skim coat the whole wall to prepare the surface, but sometimes tearing it all down and starting fresh is easiest.

 

[arizonaadam]

Is the paper directly on bare drywall? Anything short of that it will come down. Score it and soak it with water. It'll come down if it was put up properly. Then, sand the orange peel, seal everything with Gardz. Good luck.

Or, just put a coat of kilz over everything, skim and paint.

 

[arizonaadam]

Also wanted to toss out a site for future reference, painttalk.com. It's a pros only board that you can still read but not post to. If you ever have a question, either navigate around painttalk.com, or do the following google search:
"your question" siteainttalk.com
(no quotes)
If a pro has struggled with a painting/prep issue, the answer is on there.

 

[2chipped]

If the wallpaper doesn't come off with the steamer ,it would be cheaper to pay someone to skim it instead of r@ring it. Imho

 

[Red05GT]

The problem with over laying a layer of new drywall becomes the buildup thickness at
the trimmed openings,i.e. windows and doors. My wife recently removed some wall paper
border by using shamwows soaked in warm water. She would wring out excess water and
stick them to the border and let sit for a few minutes and then the border peeled right
off with no damage to the under lying paint and drywall. I encountered a situation much
like yours and used a steamer. The results weren't good. I spent a ton of time with the
steamer, then had to skim coat entire walls, and then the skim coat caused many places
to bubble because of the damage to the drywall paper. Every job presents its own
challenges, but I think starting with a skim coat or tearing it all out and going with new
drywall will give the best results.

 

[MoonRise]

Number one question - How old is the house and is there lead paint involved?

Number two - Old wallpaper applied directly to drywall and then painted over will be a bear to remove. I'd say to skip tryingto remove it and either cover it with 1/4 inch drywall (beware that the thin drywall will flex and 'telegraph' any and all waves and bumps and such from underneath) or to just rip it all down. IMHO.

 

[Car54]

House was built in 1996.

I think I'm going to get in there and work at it a little more this weekend to see what comes loose. The wall paper over textured painted drywall appears to come off pretty easy. The painted over wall paper seems to come off kind of, but takes some paper away with it. I've yet to find a piece that pulls all the paper to the gypsum off. What if that happens? Is there a patch (tape?) I can use or just mud it?

I'm not completely opposed to RRing dry wall on just the front and back walls (doors and window) and just doubling up the side walls with 1/2". I fear they skimped on insulation on the exterior wall and want to check it out anyway.

 

[arizonaadam]

I've yet to find a piece that pulls all the paper to the gypsum off. What if that happens? Is there a patch (tape?) I can use or just mud it?

GARDZ will seal brown paper and residual paste prior to skim, prime, paint.

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=221

 

[Ocho]

Sorry, I answered before reading your post. Did not realize what you were dealing with.

I was able to prime and texture over my "drywall direct" wallpaper job, but it was only one layer (and it was paper). It turned out fine.

With what you have, you might look at paying someone to skim the wall for you. It has to be cheaper than buying new drywall, right?

The 1/4" drywall option intrigues me. Of course, you still have to tape and bed that, so is the "pull all the drywall down" option that much more work? You could add electrical plugs, insulation, network cable, etc. etc. Never pass up an opportunity to let a project spiral out of control.

 

[Car54]

Hey all...quick update.

Thanks for the painttalk.com link, there's a bunch of good stuff there.

I had my drywaller neighbors over to take a look last weekend. Their recommendation is to strip the mural wall, which I did, down to the original wallpaper. Next put two coats of Kilz over everything. They said they'd come in and skim coat the wall and get out any imperfections, focusing on the scalloped border. Which by the way was done when the mural thing was put on. Once the skim coat everything, sand that out, they would spray texture (orange peel, med) on all surfaces. Let that dry then I paint.

Couple questions though....and I have been meaning to ask them.

Shouldn't we skim coat the wall, then I paint with Kilz? I'm concerned they'll sand through the Kilz. There are some spots where the wall paper is overlapped...that should be sanded out no?

The other thing is, when I was stripping the mural (with steam) the under wallpaper seemed to let go in a few places. Now that it's dry, it seems better. I'm concerned that the wall paper might not last forever. I'm thinking of trying to keep going with stripping the wall paper. My neighbors don't think I should disturb it.

Not taking the drywall down is kind of a bummer for me. Being my little daughter's room with hopefully another one coming soon (boy?) I think insulating the dividing wall might be a good idea. Our master closet/bathroom boarders her other wall and could use some insulation.

Any input is again appreciated!

 

[jhelrey]

I would let your neighbors try it. The worst that could happen is in a few years, you have to do it over again. Kids are tough on houses anyways. No need for perfection.

I also would rerock it vs go over it with 1/4 rock. Doing that will throw off your door jams, closet doors, etc.

 

[arizonaadam]

If the wallpaper is "letting go" in places it tells me it will come down with appropriate effort. I would never skin over paper that would come down. Kilz2 over mud has worked for (in limited quantities). I haven't tried kilz. Gardz is an incredible sealer that will turn anything you put it over to rock.. I can't oversell it. Anything you're concerned about, gardz before kilz (or any primer). Good luck and update

 

[KCarGuy]

My first House had Wall Paper in just about every room.
The Kitchen had a Heavier Gauge Paper, so Once we started pealing it, it all came off OK. Just had alot of Glue-Paste to deal with.
The Living room was another story, very, very thin wall paper.
Luckly the walls were plaster, so I scored the paper. Filled a sprayer with hot water and soaked sections at a time. Then just hit it with a scraper.
If it was drywall, that would have been a mess!
Good luck.
(I hate Wall Paper after removing all that old stuff)

 

[osu69]

Since it's doubtful the walls were sized, or even primed, before all the wallpaper went on, tear-off will leave quite a mess. Instead of a smooth skim coat, consider a rough plaster finish complete with trowel marks. It's easy to do with thinned drywall mud.

Otherwise, I'd tear off the trim and replace the drywall. This also gives you an opportunity to upgrade electrical, install Cat5 cable, and check the insulation.

 

[Car54]

What is considered a rough plaster finish? I've only head of knock down, orange peel, and the old sandpaper with the circle trowel marks.

 

[tcianci]

If you have wallpaper on un painted drywall, you will probably encounter removing some of the paper surface of the drywall in the process of getting the wallpaper off. Getting painted wallpaper off any surface requires that you score the surface to allow your remover solution or steam to penetrate. Don't be afraid of how much damage you do to the board, it'll patch right up. Skim the walls with durabond 20, mixing each batch in a CLEANED pail. Use a wide joint knife and keep the coat THIN. You can always add another coat and this will minimize sanding. Once you get a nice finish. Prime and paint.

 

[Car54]

So your saying just take the wall paper off at any expense? Just patch the depressions vs. skim coating the protrusions (wall paper/double wall paper/scalloped border). Right?

 

[admactanium]

Just did a bunch of wallpaper stripping in our house. In our bedroom I finally told the wife that if I start to peel off one layer of wallpaper and find another layer of wallpaper under it (previous rooms had 3 or 4 layers) that I was going to just rip out all the drywall and start over. Sure enough, there were 3 layers in that room so I just started ripping the walls down. Had new walls up and mudded in less than a week working alone. Much easier, less frustrating and more rewarding to just replace the drywall. As messy as ripping out drywall can be, it was still the cleaner alternative to skim coating and sanding the room. I had already had a history with skim coating and let me tell you I won't do it again. The rooms that I stripped and skimmed still don't look as good as the room with new sheetrock.

 

[admactanium]

What about adding a layer of drywall? Some 3/8" or 1/2"? What kids room doesn't deserve some additional sound proofing?

I would avoid that if possible. Also on my house the original owner put a layer of 1/4" drywall over the original wood walls. It throws everything out of whack. The door and window jambs get messed up and the outlets and sockets too. By the time you pull off all the trim in the whole room you're halfway to just taking out all the drywall anyway.

 

[Car54]

Update:

I've decided to run the wall paper stripping to ground. I'm going back in on Saturday and going to work to get all layers off and be as gentle as possible to the paper layer of the sheetrock. I just can't knowingly cover that stuff up, know there's bad spots, and ignore it. I'm just not that type of guy.

I have a big logistical challenge and that it's my daughters room, who's 15 months old. Screwing around stripping wall paper does not take her room away. Removing drywall does, so I'm trying to hold off on that. We only have one other bedroom, but we'll have guest for the holidays soon.

The perfect solution would be that I get all the wall paper off down to the drywall, patch and skim coat the paper that I tear, and texture on top of that. Does anyone see any long term downside to this? Assuming I ensure the drywall is dry before any new coats go on. Would this mean I would still prime/seal the drywall or would texture go right on the drywall?

 

[Sammgb]

+1 for the steamer option. We stripped our basement using one of the Wagner units and, while time consuming, it really was pretty easy. My wife did most of the stripping (insert joke) and she'd just sit there with the stereo playing in the background and had the whole thing done in about a day. We used the Diff chemical **** on a powder room and I ended up having to skimcoat the entire room (lucky for me it was a 1/2 bath) in order to fix all of the spots where the wallboard was damaged by the peeling paper. If you go the steamer route and it doesn't work, then I'd just rip down and replace.

 

[Sammgb]

Update:
The perfect solution would be that I get all the wall paper off down to the drywall, patch and skim coat the paper that I tear, and texture on top of that. Does anyone see any long term downside to this? Assuming I ensure the drywall is dry before any new coats go on. Would this mean I would still prime/seal the drywall or would texture go right on the drywall?

I don't see any problems, but I suggest a good primer before you texture. It's been my experience that when you skimcoat in spots and don't primer, the result is that the spots where you coated will not be quite the same (think adhesion & color) as the rest of the wall.

But I'm just a home DIYer so what do I know.

 

[MoonRise]

Gobby wallpaper + needing insulation (or unsure of the insulation 'status' ) still says to me to just rip it all down.

By the time you fuss with trying to 'finesse' the old wallpaper off, and then go back and smooth over the (almost inevitable) surface damage on the drywall with joint compound (multiple coats probably), you could have just ripped all the old stuff off and put up new.

Wife + 15 month old daughter go out for a Saturday (hey, it's getting close to Christmas, they can go 'window shopping' or visit Santa at the mall or do a playdate/naptime deal at a friend's house or something). You have a buddy or two come over early that AM. Rip the drywall down. One room should be able to be demo'd in about an hour. Clean it up. Insulate the walls as needed. Put new drywall up. Start taping and mudding seams and fasteners (I recommend screws to avoid possible nail pops down the road). At that point the room is pretty much back to at least partial usability. One day. Fuss with neatly mudding things (the walls and not the floor over the next few days. Then prime and paint the walls. Done and DoneRight.

And pretty much no matter what, PRIME the walls or any joint compound patches. Otherwise the paint -always- looks different over the joint compound until you get to painting mutiple layers of paint over things.

YMMV.

 

[Car54]

It sounds so easy...but you forgot some important steps, and we're not going to put her back in the room until a couple days after the room is finished and painted. With drying times and my schedule, it will likely take a week from demo to finished paint.

I'm taking off tomorrow and will start to strip the bottom layer of w/p. If it pisses me off, I have all weekend to tear the room up.

 

[Car54]

12:30pm

Started peeling wall paper and kept hitting glue/mud/multi layers and stopped.

I'm now two walls negative drywall. I plan to have the other two knocked out in an hour or so. Didn't plan too well with trash removal, any quick ideas? I've thrown everything out the window into the driveway on a huge tarp until I get a better way.

Any recommendations on insulation in the south that's good for noise?

 

[Car54]

Monday update.

Got all the old drywall out, hauled away, installed drywall, and now just last night finished taping the seams. Looks like to do this right I'm going to need to spray the ceiling as well so we can tape the wall to the ceiling. I couldn't salvage all of the baseboard and door casing, so I'll have to redo them. I added R13 insulation because it was available at Home Depot. It felt better than the insulation on the exterior wall.

I was not prepared for the amount for dust that this all created in the house. I was also not prepared for my wife to melt down because I "wrecked" the house. Having my daughter sleeping in the house for naps and bedtime really slowed me down. Most work should be quiet now.

I'm really glad that the wall paper is gone, but I can't lie that I am/was feeling some serious re modeler's remorse. It didn't help when my drywaller neighbor said that I didn't need to do it, and my wife knew it. I just couldn't bare risking that something looked wrong after all that work that would have gone into it the other way. I still can't help but feeling like this got a bit out of hand.