House with Every Single Wall Covered in Wallpaper (Big Giant Scream) Plus Remodeling

[StephanieZ]

It could be simple and easy. Or it could be a nightmare. I've removed wallpaper from rooms in under a couple hours total. Other rooms, it was a painstaking process over many days. 

 

The worst problems are: 

 

1) if the walls were never properly painted before applying the wallpaper. If this happens, the wallpaper will rip the wallboard paper, and you're talking maybe having to re-wallboard rooms! That's a huge disaster. I experienced that in one house that was partially self-built (not by us) and the owners were lazy and stupid enough not to bother properly painting some rooms before adding the glorious (1980s, I hear you!) wallpaper. Ugh.

 

2) Wallpaper that has been PAINTED over with semi-gloss or glossy paint. This is the PITS. We had two bedrooms and a hall like this in our first house. We had to score the paper with utility knives into 2" squares and then, with steamers and spray bottles of hot water, saturate the paper via the scored spots . .. and then pry off the paper in tiny pieces using putty knives. Took dh and I probably 30+ work hours per small bedroom. This process only worked because the walls were "real" old fashioned plaster, so they could handle the moisture. Modern drywall would have fallen apart and had to be totally re-done. 

 

In general, since I've done SO MUCH wall paper removal (pretty much most of the walls in two houses), I'm not intimidated. I had a foyer in UT that had ELEVEN layers of paper . . .

 

It's an easy DIY 90% of the time. I never needed professional help, and the tools and supplies needed are very cheap. It's satisfying once you are done. In general, so long as it isn't painted, you'll be able to strip it, wash the walls, and have a room ready to paint in just a couple hours. Even the rooms that weren't properly painted underneath the paper just took some extra care and effort, and I was able to salvage all the drywall. 

 

Assuming the paper isn't painted:

 

+ Get a spray bottle, a 3-4" putty knife, a short step ladder, some old towels, and your patience. :) 

 

+ Get a spray bottle and fill with very hot tap water. Spritz the surface of the paper in a 4 foot square area. Allow to soak for 2-3 minutes. Respray every 30 seconds or so. Wipe up dripping water at the floor (put old towels all along the floor to protect it). Grab a corner, gently pull. In most cases, it'll easily pull off! Now you can experiment with how little water/time you can get away with. If it's super easy, you'll be done in an hour. (Then wash walls well with TSP to remove all glue residue before painting.) 

 

+ A "steamer" is another option, but honestly, the very hot tap water in a spray bottle worked BETTER in the worst situations. 

 

+ You don't need chemicals, but if you're running into trouble, you can try one ("wallpaper remover")

 

+ If the paper is painted or very plastic-y, you can score it with a special tool for that purpose (to allow water to penetrate the surface) or even a utility knife, but a knife is gonna' wreck modern drywall, so only do that if it's a very old house with traditional plaster walls. 

 

Whatever you do, don't paint over it!! :) 

 

Just go in there and try one room at a time. Chances are it will be really easy. I've had some rooms that I de-wallpapered in minutes! Only the painted rooms were true nightmares, and that you can see from the get-go. (And even those I eventually tamed!)

 

 

[lmrich]

You could shiplap over it! Or wallpaper over the wallpaper.