Photo Credit: www.waterloo-farm.co.uk
Earlier in the week we published an article titled “Add style to Your Home with Wallpaper” and just about everyone commented on how daunting wallpaper is to remove and that it works diligently to keep your home from selling.
Thanks for the comments guys and gals, but I still think wallpaper can make a home look slick and if you don’t plan on selling the home for years, it’s okay to wallpaper a few rooms.
That said, I do agree that it’s a pain to remove and that selling a home with wallpaper can prove impossible, so here are a few tips to help you remove that pesky wallpaper (you might want to do it before you contact an agent).
The first step is to prepare the room. Remove any and all objects that you can. This will give you more room to work, and it will also protect your furnishings. Next you will need to remove all of your light switch plates and electrical plates.
The second step is to tape off your floors at the base of the walls that you are going to be removing paper from. Keep in mind that during the process of removing the old paper you are going to spray water on your walls to loosen the glue. The excess moisture will drip down towards your base boards. Use a good quality masking tape that won’t allow bleeding or moisture penetration. In addition to the masking tape use a standard plastic tarp. Make sure that the tarp covers at least 12 to 15 inches from the base of the wall out towards the room. Additional protection may be achieved by placing several rags at the base of the wall to absorb any water that drips.
The third step to shut off the power to the room at the breaker box.
The fourth step is to peel away as much of the wallpaper facing as you can. Most wallpaper is comprised of two parts, the face and the backing. You may want to use a small putty knife to assist you. If you do use a putty knife, be sure to keep the knife flat on the wall surface. Tilting the knife may cause gauging on the wall. If you are not able to remove large areas of the facing you may have to use a “scoring tool” available at your local home center. This will allow the water to penetrate to the backing as explained in step five.
The fifth step is to spray the remaining areas with hot water. Use a standard spray bottle with hot water, the water should be hot, but make sure you can safely handle it. Spray the wall generously, but be careful not to use an excess amount, or let stand for longer than 15 minutes as this may damage the paper fronting on some drywall. Once the wallpaper begins to soften, remove it with a putty knife; again being careful not to gouge the wall.
The sixth and final step is to remove all of the remaining paste with a sponge and warm water. This is the most important step of them all. Leaving any paste will cause the new paint to possible crack and peel. Once you are done and the wall has dried check it again for paste. You may need to use a gel stripper to remove any remaining paste. It will be easier to see once the wall has dried.
Side note – You can also try remove wallpaper with a steamer, or a chemical solution that you can find at a home improvement or craft store.
See Also:
How to Remove Wallpaper Yourself – www.ehow.com
How to Remove Wallpaper: Patience is Virtue – www.hgtv.com
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Thanks for the tips. My wife is about the remove a wallpapered mural of a tree in the kid’s room that the previous owner had up. We going to try and use the non-toxic chemical peeler. We’ll see how it goes…
Nice follow up to the previous wallpaper blog post.
You can use steamers for trickier jobs such as wallpapers that have been painted on and you need to remove more than one layer of wallpaper.
A project concerning how to remove wallpaper can be fun too. This is especially true when you are looking forward on the difference you will make afterward. Wallpapers that are old and aged sure need replacement to enhance the look of the room without having to spend a fortune
I am building a brand new home at the moment so this site has been helpful to make choices
Your article is really helpful and very timely for me. We are now planning to change our wall paper because it is already faded and it destroy the beauty of our house. Thanks for this article.
Real Helpful and interesting tips thanks for sharing really great for someone wanting to redecorate and want to have all there old wallpaper off.
You have to be careful with putty knives, it’s really easy to take a bite out of walls particularly if the wall isn’t the most durable.
Great WP Removing tips! More than anything, it takes time and practice to learn how the different papers come off. Some come off tremendously well with hot water, others absorb little to none of it leaving the job a “dry-scrape.”
Taking the top layer off first generally is the best idea. I have, however come across paper that comes off better as a whole piece after applying several applications of hot/warm water. Try doing a test area first to determine which method to use.
Michael, Wallpaper Lady & More Inc.
Beaverton, Oregon
Indeed it is really easy to remove wallpapers if you will be following all the things that were mentioned above. This would be a wonderful thing for you can be able to manage it on your own.