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#1
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Wallpaper removal not going so well...
My boyfriend and I just moved into a house where the previous owner
apparently collected and loved horrendous wallpaper. We made removing it and painting our very first priority. We've had no problem in most of the rooms, some of it was even the peel-off kind. Then we got to the kitchen... After a few days of exploration (peeling away different levels, experiementing with the DIF wallpaper gel stuff I bought) I think I've figured out what's going on in there. The outer-most layer is your basic kitchen wallpaper with the vinyl on the outside that you can peel off by hand and then the paper layer under it. This stuff is pretty easy to get off with the wallpaper removal tools that I bought, no problems there. Under that, however, is where the nightmare begins. Apparently rather than taking down the old, original wallpaper, the previous owners decided that paining over it (!!) would be a good idea, then they papered over that. The only successful way that I've found to get this stuff off is to pull it off in one big layer. I remove the outer layer of wallpaper first and try to get down to the paint layer. I then soak it with the DIF gel and pull off the paint and the original wallpaper off by hand, which comes of it good-sized sheets. The result of this so far has been only vaguely successful. On the one hand, the majority of the walls look fine (I'm not sure if they were primed first or not, what do I look for?) and just need the original paste washed off. In other spots the paper backing on the drywall comes off with the wallpaper and leaves brown gashes in my walls. So questions a 1) Is there any better way to get the wallpaper off than what I'm doing? The holes that I'm gouging in the paper are relatively small so far, but I don't want to make it any worse. 2) How do I fix these holes? I've heard that I can put some drywall tape over them and spackle and sand and sand and it should be ok. Is that true? Re-drywalling is not an option. 3) There is a convex corner where the builders used the basic metal corner thing and applied the joint compound right to that with no tape or paper or anything. Is that normal? Either way, the joint compound behind the removed paper has all fallen off and the bare metal is exposed. How do I fix that? 4) We're planning on painting once we get all this wallpaper off. Are there any special steps (aside from the obvious priming that needs to be done over the bare drywall) that need to be done to make it either viable at all or easier? Thanks so much for any help, we definitely need it. I don't know how much longer we can live with this horrible wallpaper! |
#2
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Wallpaper removal not going so well...
In article ,
Liz wrote: My boyfriend and I just moved into a house where the previous owner apparently collected and loved horrendous wallpaper. We made removing it and painting our very first priority. We've had no problem in most of the rooms, some of it was even the peel-off kind. Then we got to the kitchen... Why must you remove it all? Simply remove what will easily come off, and put your new paper over that. -- Rich Greenberg Work: Rich.Greenberg atsign worldspan.com + 1 770 563 6656 N6LRT Marietta, GA, USA Play: richgr atsign panix.com + 1 770 321 6507 Eastern time zone. I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67 Canines:Val(Chinook, Red & Shasta(Husky,(RIP),Red, husky)) Owner:Chinook-L Atlanta Siberian Husky Rescue. www.panix.com/~richgr/ Asst Owner:Sibernet-L |
#3
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Wallpaper removal not going so well...
Sounds like you've got one of those situations where you're just going to have
to bite the bullet and skim coat the drywall (with drywall mud) before texturing and painting. |
#4
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Wallpaper removal not going so well...
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#5
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Wallpaper removal not going so well...
Hi Liz,
I feel your pain and the thought or sight of wallpaper now makes me cringe. One of my bedrooms had this horrendous strip of tazmanian devil wallpaper across the top. It resisted everything including the DIF gel. I ended up renting a wallpaper steamer from Home Depot. It was the _only_ thing that worked. Maybe you should consider this. 8 hours later, and after cursing the tazmanian devil several times, the wallpaper is gone. What remained is some spots where the layers of paint were removed down to the bare, rough plaster. I used joint compound to smooth out those large sections and sanded it smooth once dry. Primed and painted. Total time spent for a small bedroom was probably 30 hours, but well worth the effort. Good luck, Mike "Liz" wrote in message om... My boyfriend and I just moved into a house where the previous owner apparently collected and loved horrendous wallpaper. We made removing it and painting our very first priority. We've had no problem in most of the rooms, some of it was even the peel-off kind. Then we got to the kitchen... After a few days of exploration (peeling away different levels, experiementing with the DIF wallpaper gel stuff I bought) I think I've figured out what's going on in there. The outer-most layer is your basic kitchen wallpaper with the vinyl on the outside that you can peel off by hand and then the paper layer under it. This stuff is pretty easy to get off with the wallpaper removal tools that I bought, no problems there. Under that, however, is where the nightmare begins. Apparently rather than taking down the old, original wallpaper, the previous owners decided that paining over it (!!) would be a good idea, then they papered over that. The only successful way that I've found to get this stuff off is to pull it off in one big layer. I remove the outer layer of wallpaper first and try to get down to the paint layer. I then soak it with the DIF gel and pull off the paint and the original wallpaper off by hand, which comes of it good-sized sheets. The result of this so far has been only vaguely successful. On the one hand, the majority of the walls look fine (I'm not sure if they were primed first or not, what do I look for?) and just need the original paste washed off. In other spots the paper backing on the drywall comes off with the wallpaper and leaves brown gashes in my walls. So questions a 1) Is there any better way to get the wallpaper off than what I'm doing? The holes that I'm gouging in the paper are relatively small so far, but I don't want to make it any worse. 2) How do I fix these holes? I've heard that I can put some drywall tape over them and spackle and sand and sand and it should be ok. Is that true? Re-drywalling is not an option. 3) There is a convex corner where the builders used the basic metal corner thing and applied the joint compound right to that with no tape or paper or anything. Is that normal? Either way, the joint compound behind the removed paper has all fallen off and the bare metal is exposed. How do I fix that? 4) We're planning on painting once we get all this wallpaper off. Are there any special steps (aside from the obvious priming that needs to be done over the bare drywall) that need to be done to make it either viable at all or easier? Thanks so much for any help, we definitely need it. I don't know how much longer we can live with this horrible wallpaper! |
#6
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Wallpaper removal not going so well...
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#7
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Wallpaper removal not going so well...
I just removed a 10" border. I used a wet towel and a steam iron. It came
off much easier than I thought it would. Should the area where the border was, be thoroughly washed, to remove the residue of clue? Also should it be primed? thanks You can get a tool at most home centers, Wal-Mart, etc. (called the Paper Tiger by Zinsser) that you roll over the wallpaper, and knives score the paper (but not the wall). Rent a wallpaper steamer (or buy one... I think Wagner has a small one for about $50), and once you've scored the paper, use the steamer and a 4" or 6" putty knife to scrape the softened paper away. If there are many layers, you may need to run the scoring tool over an area again after removing the initial layers. Eventually, you'll get down to bare wall. Be carefull if the the wall surface is drywall, it's easy to scrape through the paper surface of it. |
#8
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Wallpaper removal not going so well...
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#9
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Wallpaper removal not going so well...
Thanks for the info Sandra. Yes, it was painted under the border.
We will give it a good washing. Liz Sandra Loosemore wrote in message I just removed a 10" border. I used a wet towel and a steam iron. It came off much easier than I thought it would. Should the area where the border was, be thoroughly washed, to remove the residue of clue? Also should it be primed? Yes to washing -- multiple times, if necessary, to get all the slime off. Plain water is all you need. If you're going to prime, do the entire wall and not just the part where the border was. If the wall was already painted under the border, though, you shouldn't need to prime before repainting unless you're making a drastic color change. -Sandra |
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