Speaking of wallpaper...

[CatherineB]

...I probably need to start this post by explaining that, unlike most of the people on PPUK, we are absolutely not DIYers. DY is hopeless at it, I have never done more than paint, and it has been GSI (get someone in) for us, for many years...

However, having just inadvertently (and a little too easily!) peeled off some of the wallpaper in the house, I'm feeling bullish and am game for more! We want to redecorate throughout before we move in, after the less exciting issues of reroofing and double glazing are dealt with, so the wallpaper will need to come off throughout, and this looks like an area where we can save a little cost.

As far as I can see, all the walls seem very smooth (and where I've stripped it, the plaster is clean, aside from the friendly moulds), so I'm guessing it has already been replastered throughout, but how would I tell for sure?

And next question, what's the best way to quickly and efficiently strip a large house worth of walls? Last time I did this in earnest (in my teens) I used a hand scraper and warm soapy water, but surely a steam machine would be quicker. Any recommendations for equipment and/or technique will be warmly welcomed.

Thanks again!

 

[JoceAndChris]

There's a wallpaper steamer by Bosch that's good, I think it's around £40. I'd say it's quicker than wetting the paper with a cloth, but it generates more steam and hence might not be an ideal thing to do just before the onset of winter if the house is suffering with damp. If you do do it, have plenty of windows open. All you do is steam the paper and peel it off and then get the last bits off with a large scraper.

Personally I wouldn't redecorate before you move in as you won't know how you'll use the rooms or how the sun is positioned, or what will bloom outside when. But then I'm very, very picky - so ignore me on this if you're more of a mellow type.

How to tell if it's replastered - if you gouge out a weeny bit you might see. If it's very crumbly and dusty with bits of hair in it's old, if it's pink and brittle and hard to gouge out it's new. The old lime plaster here is much more lumpy bumpy than where it's been skimmed with modern gypsum.

 

[Pford75]

Lots of cheap steam machines available at your local DIY store. Personally, I would just go with the cheapest and buy 2...so you can both steam simultaneously. Rather than what the DIY stores call a wallpaper scraper, I would personally opt for a Harris long handled stripping tool. It is a little more expensive, but has a very sharp blade and is much better at removing wallpaper.

 

[Pford75]

One like this......
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/79050...corators-Knives/Harris-Jumbo-Super-Stripper-6

 

[Pford75]

Something like this is a worthwhile investment. If you are not super keen DIY'rs...then start with something cheap like this and see how you go. To be honest, steam is steam and although the cheaper models can take longer to heat up, it's only a matter of minutes and there is always something else you can be doing whilst they are heating.
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/28643...irect-Power-PWPS2000-Wallpaper-Stripper-2000W

 

[Nigel Watts]

I would hire a steam wallpaper stripper. The cheap DIY ones are much less effective.

 

[Pford75]

Re: Speaking of wallpaper...
by Nigel Watts on Sat 2nd Oct, 2010 7:08

I would hire a steam wallpaper stripper. The cheap DIY ones are much less effective.

I've always been baffled by this belief :wink:
Do they produce a different kind of special steam?

The real trick with any stripper is ensuring that the plate stays tight against the wall....so that the steam cant escape. These days, even the cheapest DIY steamers will produce oodles (I think that's the right term) of steam. So the larger heating element isn't really an issue.

I've just stripped an entire room (25ft x 32ft) of two layers of painted paper. Took no longer than 4 hrs. Make sure you've got a decent stripping tool (see my earlier post) and you'll be fine.

 

[philpjuk100]

Just a little tip for painted woodchip,give it a quick rub with coarse sandpaper,it takes the paint off the high spots and lets the steam penetrate to the paste.phil.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Following on from Phil - if you lightly score the paper over the whole room in 6 or 12 inch diamonds the steam gets under the paper more easily.

 

[Penners]

As FW says, steaming off wallpaper is much easier if you score it first.

One these is a quick easy way to do it: http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9254651&ecamp=trf-005&CAWELAID=266956572

You can't really see how it works, but you just roll it here, there and everywhere over the wall, and little toothed wheels puncture the paper thousands of time.

Scoring and steaming is, in my experience, definitely the quickest, easiest way to strip wallpaper.

 

[JoceAndChris]

There is always the awful possibility, as happened to me this week, that there 's another paper under the top one. My wood chip paper came off fairly easily but underneath was layer upon layer of paint and distemper and under that was a very old layer of paper, maybe Victorian, that took days and days to get off.

I suppose it all depends how smooth you need it to be, but if you'd like to go back to original bare plaster it can be an awful lot of work! Particularly on the ceiling!

 

[MatthewC]

... if you'd like to go back to original bare plaster it can be an awful lot of work! Particularly on the ceiling!

Absolutely! Unless you've done it, you have no idea of how difficult it is to hold a steamer up against a 10ft+ high ceiling even when working from a platform.

When I moved from London, one job I never completed was the redecoration of the church vestry. It had paper which was falling off about a quarter of the ceiling but still very firmly attached to the rest, covered by various impermeable paints. I have my own steamer and a huge array of scrapers (including the Harris super stripper) and the only tool mentioned above that I didn't have was Penners' suggestion of a little roller to put thousands of punctures in the paper. However, I only completed about 15% of the remaining ceiling. The entire job was tiring, tedious and very messy. The walls were a bit easier, but even they were jolly hard work and remain unfinished.

Is this job another rite of passage for PPUKers (qv cleaning floor tiles)?

 

[CatherineB]

I haven't worked out how to quote yet, but had to laugh (nearly fell off my chair) at PFord's friendly suggestion that we might BOTH strip wallpaper!!! DH was not amused, however.

Joce, I know what you mean about decorating etc before we move in, but we live just around the corner and are visiting several times a week, so we will know it as well as we can by the time we are making decisions like that. We are also "camping" for a few nights here & there (but don't tell the council tax people) to check out which bedroom we like best! The rest is a bit of a risk, but we decided it would be preferable to living in a building site for over a year.

Thank you everyone, I knew I would get some good tips on here! I will start with the small rooms where I know the paper absolutely has to go, and I can reach the ceiling, and work my way up if that works OK!! TG we don't have any woodchip, although there are some lovely vinyl-papered walls.

 

[MdB]

TG we don't have any woodchip, although there are some lovely vinyl-papered walls.

It can't be a proper period property if it doesn't have any woodchip. I suggest you get some up ASAP ;-)

 

[CatherineB]

Hmm...

Will '80's pine-clad ceilings do instead of woodchip? We have plenty of that! :shock:

 

[Alex]

Don't forget Artex, if you don't have any, then you can have some of mine. Its mint green at the moment but you could get some plastic paint and do it which ever colour you like. I am keeping the dust covered spider webs that it seems to attract though so you will have to provide your own

 

[MdB]

How about hardboard? You need sheets and sheets of hardboard....

 

[JoceAndChris]

I hope the 80s bathroom suite is in place too? And some grotty old radiators?

Just back onto the decorating before you move in point, I think it all depends what you want to achieve and what kind of property it is. If you're wanting to just give the rooms a lovely wash of fresh colour it should be relatively quick and simple - but bear in mind that covering up any damp bits with unbreathing paint is probably not going to help the situation!

I can't decorate quicker than a room a year, but that's because ceilings have to be fixed, rewiring has to be done and expensive light fittings bought, curtains have to be made, sash windows have to be sorted out, floors have to be restored, furniture has to be bought - in every room - quite apart from the decorative treatment. When I moved in here I wanted to use the fashionable Laura Ashley stuff and paint the whole thing duck egg, sage green, and chalk pink. Now, it's become so much more complex, with a Georgian style Print Room, a Empress Josephine tent room, a Chinoiserie room, and a hunting themed dining room. Two years ago, I had no idea I'd want it that way. Your tastes and your vision do evolve, but nevertheless it would be rather nice if it was growing from a clean and fresh starting point - rather than the scabby twenty year old decorations we have here.

Good luck and enjoy your property Catherine!

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Ooh yes - an avocado bathroom suite.

And some fake beams. We had lots of those stuck on the plasterboard which was on top of.... the real beams! Result!

 

[LadyArowana]

Ooh yes - an avocado bathroom suite.

Things of beauty.