wallpaper stripping..any tips?

[glayzell]

The wall paper in my house seems to have been applied with some unknown material which seems to defy all known traditional methods....

I have tried using a steamer, but it is seriously hard work. It does come off easier if i score it with a knife, but this damages the plaster beneath.

anyone got any ideas how i can get this wallpaper off my walls?

 

[NT]

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Strip_Wallpaper

 

[lindy]

My friend had one room where she just could not get the woodchip wallpaper off so ended up having the walls plastered over it!

 

[dragonfly]

I pity whoever buys my parents house when they shuffle off this mortal coil. They bought their house brand new in 1961 and woodchipped every room straight away. Decorating has since consisted of slapping on more paint of various colours. Not so much woodchip as vague undulations across the wall now. I wonder how their room measurements compare to the original 1961 dimensions....

 

[Nemesis]

Thw worst:

Vic varnished;

Stuff put on with PVC;

Stuff put on with a fabric backing;

Bitumen paper put on to supposedly stop damp.

Woodchip is bad too.


Steamer and a prayer and lots of cursing. Try softening with bought stuff to strip paper, or sugar soap.

If there is an easy solution I haven't found it yet!

 

[plumbers mate]

If you've got any kids, get them doing it - they can get all messy and a few bribes will work wonders.
Sadly woodchip is the opposite - if you want to decorate and have a young child desperate to help, they can manage woodchip and it doesn't crease up like proper paper under their less than skillful hands.

 

[Lime]

Spraying is the best method IME.
You do have to have patience, lots of water, a liking for turkish baths and more patience.

 

[NT]

There is one method thats surely the easiest: wait until it all falls off by itself Saves on decorating costs too.

No, but I know someone that did do this.


NT

 

[shelli]

we did it like this with glossed(!) woodchip :shock: which had then been emulsioned over for about 30 years

scored it all
thorougly wet it all
left overnight
wet it all again
left 1/2 a day
then steam strippered - but even then water had only penetrated about 4 inches in from scored edges

If i had such a job again i would score paper in tiny 2 or 3 inch sections - or possibly hire a flamethrower!!

sometimes you have to face the fact that it's going to be a b***er of a job and do massive amounts of preparation

sounds like you are going to have busy weekend!

Shelli

 

[MdB]

With our woodchip (only a couple of layers of paint on top), we just ran the scraper over the surface to knock the wood chips off. This made many small holes into the surface for the water to get in and it wasn't too hard to get off. I didn't use a steamer as just blew the plaster off the walls in another room.

 

[glayzell]

thanks for the responses, i havent tried the spraying method yet.

I think i may try a few ideas over the weekend and see what uses less effort!

 

[Nemesis]

If you find an easy answer then let me know!

In the end I have found scoring and steaming the most effective, but still awfully hard work and messy. Can damage plaster too.

 

[Penners]

Whether you steam, sponge or spray (try saying that after sucking a lemon), you need to score the paper very thoroughly first.

I find the best thing for this is a special wallpaper scoring tool that you can buy from most DIY sheds. It has several little castors on the underside, each of which is covered with tiny teeth, and you just run it around randomly on the wall. The teeth make thousands of little punctures in the wallpaper without wrecking the plaster underneath.

 

[Penners]

All this talk of stripping and scoring has got me quite flushed.

 

[Anita]

I would suggest using one of the more heavyweight steam strippers and the roller with spikes that can be hired from hire shops - rather than a DIY stripper - they are much more effective. Otherwise, especially if paper has been varnished over and refuses to budge - an electic sander will give you a smooth finish.