Help with removing wallpaper

[ive]

Hi guys.

I’m moving into a new place with some old wallpaper. What’s the best way to remove this?

I’ve read various things on the internet.

Any recommendations or experiences?

Thanks so much.

 

[Homerr]

Really depends on the wallpaper. We had some stuff from the 1960's to remove that the chemical stuff wouldn't work with. Ended up using a steamer.

 

[engineer2]

Tools:
wallpaper scoring tool to create holes in the wallpaper.
Wide putty knife
Bucket of hot water with vinegar
large sponge
Spray bottle with water and vinegar
Towels for cleanup

Hot water and vinegar work well, but if it's an entire room(s), buy or rent a steamer.
A steamer puts a lot of humidity in the air, so crank up the AC
It's tedious work, so crank up some AC/DC too.

 

[rayra]

Steamer works real nice once you get the hang of it. Get one of those puck-sized cuttign tools, it has spurs / cutting wheels in it that poke a bunch of holes thru the wallpaper as you roll it around. Roll it all over, a lot, before applying steam.

Be sure to hold the head of the steamer plate lower than the hose connection, so you don't trickle boiling water down your arm. And give it all the time to work that you can. Wait and it's easier to just peel off. Hurry it and the paper just shreds where you perforated it.

 

[Speed4Life]

Steamer was the only thing that worked for me. It really depends on weather they slapped it onto bare drywall or if the surface was prepped first or previously painted before the paper.

 

[billspit]

If the walls were not sized or painted it will be a massive *****.

 

[SGKent]

if it is paper you can get by with spraying it with a wetting agent designed for wallpaper from a sprayer, let it soak and then use a putty knife. If it is vinyl then you have to score it with one of those little wheels. Be aware that the surface underneath could be anything from the original knock down to smoothed over or even the original drywall / plaster before the final knock down or troweled finish was added. Once the wall paper is off then you will have to decide what to do with it. Our home was a model when the homes were built and there was no knockdown on one wall where we removed the wall paper. Fortunately I was having the popcorn ceilings removed and sprayed with a knockdown texture so they did that one wall too for me at no additional cost. As soon as they were done my carpet guys helper kicked a hole in the wall on a back kick and they were even kind enough to fix that as part of the ceiling work. Place here in Sacramento we call SuperShooters. Really great folks.

 

[The Cobbler]

wallpaper depends. it can be easy peasy, or a total pain .sometimes plain water is all you need . sometimes it's even dry stripable . more often tho, you need stamina and determination .

 

[rayra]

and tarps. Don't forget the tarps. And trash bags.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Rent a steamer, they work well. When I bought my house I had to strip off eleven layers of wallpaper, going back 100 years - it was like an archeological dig.

 

[klake575]

We had luck with tearing off the paper and then spraying with watered down fabric softener. It allowed us to take a scrapper and finish cleaning. We had no texture underneath the paper.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk

 

[ive]

Thanks for the ideas guys. Really appreciate it.

Thanks again!

 

[rsanter]

Steamer

 

[greenskeeper]

thin coat over the paper and paint...no reason to remove.

 

[BFBOB]

Whatever "remover" you use, the key is using a scarifier. The one I like best is a hemisphere with three sets of spiked wheels on the flat side. Roll it all over the paper to be removed and spray with your favorite remover. Plain water works. The little spikey wheels let the water (or remover) penetrate to the paste layer and soften it. Be patient. Let soak, spray and wait. Wait some more. Maybe roll and spray again.
THEN scrape off with an old, dull putty knife.
"Rinse and repeat" -- actually good advice in this case!

Hang in for the long haul -- if you really want to preserve the underlying surface, the primary ingredient is patience. I'm pretty short on that -- all this was a hard-won lesson.

 

[BFBOB]

After reading some of the other replies, a word of caution is in order. It is entirely possible (actually, a certainty in my case) that the substrate is plaster over wood lath, and the wallpaper was applied to hide the cracks in the plaster. To prepare this for paint requires sanding below the surface along the cracks, then applying joint compound and tape. Then, sanding and (finally! *whew*) paint. Some will say it would be easier to just slam up another layer of drywall, mud, tape and paint, and they would be right at least some of the time. Some of us prefer to preserve.

Like, especially in rooms with lovingly restored tongue and groove ceilings.

Beaten into submission on that score by SWMBO, but she was right.

 

[FANTM58]

thin coat over the paper and paint...no reason to remove.

Depends on the wall paper,, if it’s foil type . It’s not gonna adhere

 

[yeldogt]

All depends on the wall type, condition and paper.

In the old days when all walls were plaster -- it was common for the plaster to be covered in paper from the start. Paper was the popular choice and the wall were finished to a level for paper (not paint) -- remember no latex paints back then. You have to use a steamer.

Lots of modern paper is strippable -- and can be repapered on top of the old fuzz. Mix up some stripper and spray with a pump sprayer to remove.

Vinyl paper from the 50-60-70 can be the hardest to remove -- the glue was strong and the paper will not allow moisture to flow -- need the tool to punch the holes -- steamer.

I find the steamer works the best when doing a large room -- it's just quicker. Get plenty of rags --

 

[Busted Knucles]

Leave it on

 

[Motown]

Make sure you wash off all the paste after you remove it. You can use a bucket of warm water and a big sponge. And maybe some of the paper remover. Hopefully they used swing before the hung it, way easier to get off.

 

[Woz]

As usual the GJ Brain Trust has given you all of the possible ways of stripping wallpaper as well as a recommendation to just to leave it on and cover it up. If the wall under the paper was painted or sized before the paper was installed the paper will come off with water, stripper or fabric softener and a scrapper. Without a barrier under the paper you will need a steamer. Even then you may end up removing the top layer of surface from drywall or loosen any really old plaster.

I painted houses in the summer during college and removed a lot 1960's wall paper. The worst job was removing painted over vinyl wallpaper in a kitchen. By the time I was done I needed to skim coat the wall so I could paint it.

 

[spike99250]

if you have any spackle try putting a medium coat over a section and let it set awhile.