Can I Remove The Wallpaper Myself?

Have you been looking at your old wallpaper and thinking about removing it yourself?

Removing wallpaper is a job that you can do yourself, but there are some steps and removal issues to consider before you begin or decide to hire help.

• The type of wallpaper and how the previous installer prepped  will determine how easily it comes off.
• What route for removal are you going to take? Chemicals, Steam, etc.
• Are there multiple layers of wallpaper?
• Has any of the wallpaper been painted over?

You don’t need a lot of tools to remove a wallpaper that has been installed correctly. A few hand tools that you may own or can pick up at your local hardware store will do.

• Putty knife
• Wallpaper knife(Olfa Knife)
• Pump Sprayer(chemical removal)
• Dif Concentrate(chemical removal)
• Steam machine(steam removal)
• Trash bags
• Plastic to cover floor coverings or drop clothes

The photo to the left shows a properly prepped surface prior to wallpaper installation. First the face paper(This is the paper that has all the designs on it) is removed. The backing paper is left behind which is what is shown in this photo. The backing paper was soaked in a chemical solution called Dif by a pump sprayer. The paper practically fell off the wall, which does not happen very often. In this case the wallpaper removal took about 2 hours for this room with minimal effort.

If the walls of your home were not prepped properly wallpaper removal can become a big headache fast. Sometimes no matter what method you choose to remove a wallpaper on an improperly prepped surface, the removal will go very slowly. Days of chipping small 1 inch slivers of wallpaper are not uncommon. A hard to remove wallpaper brings a few things to mind to consider..

1. Are there multiple layers of wallpaper?
2. Do you have the time to do the removal job?
3. Chipping away at wallpaper can cause extensive damage to the wall surface if not done correctly…Can you fix this?

If you are going to paint the walls after removing the wallpaper the walls may need to be skim coated with joint compound. Many times after wallpaper is removed the walls get damaged or gouged, a skim coat will fix these imperfections. This will create a sound surface for the new paint coating and eliminate any flaws.

If all this sounds like fun go for it!

If you  would like us to take a look at your project give us a call today!