UK Landlord Forum / Life

One item on the enormous list of "things to do" at my place is to remove the wallpaper in the lounge and possibly to do something with the plaster underneath if necessary to smooth it out.

As I'm sure you can tell, I'm an almost complete DIY newb. Only thing I've ever really done is put some sealant around the bath, and I only did that 'cause I know the bath will be ripped out at some point in the future (it looks like it needs it now, too).

So, am wondering if I can do something with this wallpaper. It'd be good to do some work myself if poss, as its cheap and I'm an inherently untrusting person. But ... the wallpaper has been painted over in the past. Its peeled off a little behind the radiator, but imagine its solid everywhere else.

Someone's said I could steam it off with one of these purpose built steamer things, but I reckon there could be trouble with the paint that's on top of it, and I'm also keen to try and minimize damage to the plaster underneath ... so any tips would be much appreciated.


V

You'll need to apply an enzyme wallpaper adhesive remover ... you can get it from B&Q or Wickes , it basically chemically alters the old paste and makes it sticky again , so you'll have to cover EVERYTHING in your room.

So , all you need to do is score the wallpaper with a scarifying tool or sandpaper to make the remover penetrate better ... because of the paint . Then you leave it for about 15-20 minutes , and then you should be able to just peel the wallpaper off , if you cant you a wide putty knife , or just something plastic like a spatula , so you dont damage the wall.

You might need to repeat the process again to take off the back of the wallpaper .
After than you will need to wash the walls to get rid of the remover .

Also id buy a spray adhesive remover ... the powder ones are really messy and a waste of time.

I havent covered everything , but if you need any help , just ask

All the other options like giving it a steam bath etc or soaking the wallpaper , will take forever and you'll still have to really scrape the walls ... which could damage them.

That's wicked, thank you!

May not do it straight away as you say everything would need to be covered and I still have my stack of "stuff to ebay" in the lounge, but when that's gone it'd be great to actually be able to crack on with something that doesn't depend on workmen or extreme dosh.

Won't be able to paint it straight away as I want to get a bit of the wall knocked through first, but maybe if I can get that done cheap it would be worth doing that ahead of the windows ... it'd just be so good after all this time to see something change in this place!

Cheers for all the tips, it sounds like a really good approach I'd never have thought of and which I'd not found anywhere else, so thank you


V

Ahh good tips, Bambi! I know who i'll come to when I need DIY advice now!

Everyone has things to shift on ebay. Is it just me, or is putting items on ebay a real hassle?

omg u nutter why did you edit this after so long ..... 

Anyways this is the wallpapery thingy thing for the DIY thingy thing .

Thanks, 69

Water and soap always works for me, oh and a big stong guy like fag to do the scrapping 

Hi V,

Regarding painted over wallpaper; I have found a wallpaper steamer really is the best way to tackle the job. It has the advantage of being able to be stopped and left for another day if you get too tired!

You may find it helps to score the paper to break the seal that the paint has made on the surface - this will let the steam soak into the paper easier. 

If you find small imperfections or cracks under the paper - the best filler I have found is actually jointing compound for plasterboard, also known as drywall compound. This will not work if you are going to drill into the wall later, but for just preparing the surface for painting it's great. The advantages of this stuff are -

1/ it comes ready mixed
2/ it's really easy to sand down.

This is helpful when patching old walls were the plaster is pretty soft. Some of the modern fillers are very strong but a nightmare to sand level. Hope this helps.     

That's wicked - thanks Jimbo, you're a star!

Welcome to the boards ...


V

Just used very soapy water to strip this lot off,  peal of top paper and soak underlay, jobs a good un, the same method to painted areas.

Sweet

Is that your art work?



V