If your house was built in the 40s to early 50s you may have one of many
paper fiber wallboard products that were tried during that time. Their fire
resistance is nil, their water resistance is also nil plus they are easily
damaged and hard to repair. Drywall mud may cause it to swell and the mud
may not bond properly, you need to test it first.

Personally, I would tear it all down, replace any insulation that may or may
not exist, add a draft barrier against the outside sheathing boards, replace
the wiring with modern grounded cables, add phone or TV cables as needed,
fix or replace any old plumbing in the walls and repair any problem areas,
add a proper vapor barrier then drywall the wall. Your house will be a
better place because of the work. Anything else is just a patch on the old
problems which will not go away.

"Bill C." wrote in message
...
Hi all, (Sorry if this is a second sending, 12 hours have gone by and
it is not showing up for me)

I began a wallpaper removal in a kitchen using a steamer and now
discover that the very bottom layer is contact paper, ugh. The
contact paper is pulling the facing off of the wallboard! The walls
are not sheetrock, it has some type of pressed paper as a core. How
do I repair the damage so far? .....do I put a skim coat or mud on
the surface? If I need to skim coat the walls do I need to be as
concerned about pulling the facing off? Will the facing need to be
replaced? It may be faster and easier for me to pull the facing off
and make repairs after, put on a new facing or skim coating. Are
there other things or ways to go forward that I am missing? Maybe
skim coating over the wallpaper that has been peeling?

The good news is that the steamer is taking off the top 2 layers :-) .
Right now work is at a stop but it won't be long before the wife
starts asking questions.

HELP!

Bill C.