Wall paper removeal fail, or win? With PIC.

[runzwithsizorz]

I don't think I would have noticed those patches any more than the other patches had some rapscallion not made them obvious with those bright orange arrows![/QUOTE
RAPSCALLION !!?? Whoa, ain't seen that one in nigh on a coons age. Lest ways, not since them carpet baggin Yankees rode through here.
And just when I thought I'd made the big time with an entertainment center in the den, master bedroom, family room, and office, the OP comes along showin one in his kitchen. Darn, I just can't keep up with ya'll.

 

[DrPizza]

From what I've been reading it seems those tend not to work all that well when compared to modern chemical removers, which is what I'm using.

My experience has been the opposite. We purchased a cheap black and decker wallpaper steamer for that exact purpose & it has always outperformed the chemicals. The amount of damage done to the wallboard generally depends on how the wallboard was prepared prior to being wallpapered. In the house I have now, in each addition, the wallboard was NOT primed prior to being wallpapered. And, they used the old style wallpaper where you overlapped about 1/2 inch on each edge. Impossible to remove without destroying the wallboard, impossible to cover those vertical lines. So, slowly, I'm gutting room by room & replacing all the wallboard - much quicker than spending hours upon hours minimizing the damage to the wallboard & skimcoating entire walls.

edit: some glues are virtually impossible to remove - chemicals or steamer. Wallboard is about $8 a sheet. Depending on how the wall is joined to the ceiling (crown molding ftw), you can sometimes gut a room & re-wallboard in less time that it takes to get the damn wallpaper off.

edit edit: p.s. Subsequently, I've decided "Screw wallpaper!" I used to enjoy putting it up, but now, would much rather paint.

 

[Iron Woode]

My experience has been the opposite. We purchased a cheap black and decker wallpaper steamer for that exact purpose & it has always outperformed the chemicals. The amount of damage done to the wallboard generally depends on how the wallboard was prepared prior to being wallpapered. In the house I have now, in each addition, the wallboard was NOT primed prior to being wallpapered. And, they used the old style wallpaper where you overlapped about 1/2 inch on each edge. Impossible to remove without destroying the wallboard, impossible to cover those vertical lines. So, slowly, I'm gutting room by room & replacing all the wallboard - much quicker than spending hours upon hours minimizing the damage to the wallboard & skimcoating entire walls.

edit: some glues are virtually impossible to remove - chemicals or steamer. Wallboard is about $8 a sheet. Depending on how the wall is joined to the ceiling (crown molding ftw), you can sometimes gut a room & re-wallboard in less time that it takes to get the damn wallpaper off.

edit edit: p.s. Subsequently, I've decided "Screw wallpaper!" I used to enjoy putting it up, but now, would much rather paint.

This.

That was the steamer I bought.

I agree that replacing the drywall can be easier.

 

[keird]

Our story was just as brutal. My wife and I don't make much in wages so we did the labor. It took about a month but the results were was pretty satisfying.

I put all 4 layers of 2"x2" wallpaper in a frame for the next tenant. Maybe they'll appreciate our choice of color in paint because the circa 1985 layer was initially misidentified as mold.

 

[alkemyst]

There is no way re-wallboarding is faster than pulling off the paper and refinishing the walls.

 

[DrPizza]

There is no way re-wallboarding is faster than pulling off the paper and refinishing the walls.

Not if the wallpaper is coming off easily. But, if it's a difficult removal, it's often easier to re-sheetrock the room. With a difficult removal that's damaging the wallboard, you end up skimcoating with 1 to 2 coats and sanding the wall anyway. Gutting a room = an hour, tops. Re-wallboarding a room, 2 hours at the most, with a helper (as long as you're not doing the ceiling.) Taping and mudding doesn't take that long for the first coat. Maybe a little light sanding, depending on how many blotches you might have had with the first coat, but then the 2nd coat doesn't take too long at all either. 3rd coat & sanding takes a bit longer - but again, if you're repairing the wallboard, it's pretty much an even trade here. It might be a pain in the neck where the wall meets the ceiling, hence the suggestion above of crown molding - improves the aesthetics, saves some work.

 

[alkemyst]

you got it figured out, good luck with that.

 

[Locut0s]

LOL my mother has found a REALLY good method that seems to work well. She makes up a paste from flour and water, like paper mache paste and paints this on the wall. This stuff sticks to the wall for a long period instead of just sliding off like water or even some of the chemicals. Then she carefully removes the paper. She's managed to remove large sections now without any damage. We are still getting someone in to give us a quote on doing it for us though.

 

[paperfist]

Did you use a wallpaper scoring tool? That allows the chemicals to penetrate through to the glue. It's still inevitable that the drywall will need attention afterward.

 

[alkemyst]

We carefully protect everything; use a variety of techniques and tools to remove the wallpaper; repair any resulting drywall damage; apply texture as needed; then prime and paint the walls.

Wall Murals , Carpets , SEO Company India

I can do everything your company can do with the paper tiger

 

[DrPizza]

you got it figured out, good luck with that.

Thanks! $1000 says I can re-wallboard one wall of my living room before you could successfully remove the wallpaper on the other side.
Living room is the next major renovation - gutting, replacing a large window with a bay window, vaulting the ceiling, new ceiling lights, and a cherry floor. The wallboard work is trivial.

 

[alkemyst]

framing a home is trivial too. Like I said good luck with it.