Wallpaper Woes
We found a house (and there was much rejoicing!). It's not perfect, but I think it will work very well for us. It's on a cul-de-sac, it has a fenced yard, and a golden retriever lives next door. What more could you want?
There are some problems, however, which can basically be summed up in one word: wallpaper.
This is the master bathroom. Seriously, who thought that wallpaper was a good idea? We also have some stripes in the kitchen, which are pretty bad.
This the other bathroom. I know, it almost hurts to look at it. So, what I really need to know is, does anybody have some good ideas how to get this crap off of my walls? I don't have the first clue how to do it, short of sticking a steamer on it, and peeling it off when it's wet. I used to help my friend earn money from his parents by doing that. His parents would mark off certain sections of the room, and put a price on it. Smaller sections were worth a quarter, bigger ones a dollar, the really heinous ones were worth $5.00or more (I didn't say his parents were generous!). Anyway, any tricks?
This is the master bathroom. Seriously, who thought that wallpaper was a good idea? We also have some stripes in the kitchen, which are pretty bad.
This the other bathroom. I know, it almost hurts to look at it. So, what I really need to know is, does anybody have some good ideas how to get this crap off of my walls? I don't have the first clue how to do it, short of sticking a steamer on it, and peeling it off when it's wet. I used to help my friend earn money from his parents by doing that. His parents would mark off certain sections of the room, and put a price on it. Smaller sections were worth a quarter, bigger ones a dollar, the really heinous ones were worth $5.00or more (I didn't say his parents were generous!). Anyway, any tricks?
posted by Heather O. at 4/14/2006 10:36:00 AM
7 Comments:
Some wallpapers can be primed and painted over, leaving a nice texture under the paint. If this is an option, that's what I would do.
I'm with Tracy M. That little tool with the teeth is what I used to strip down the wallpaper in my parents house when I lit the kitchen on fire (I was only 15 and I didn't know that oil combusted when it got too hot). Most of the damage was from the smoke and my "punishment" was to strip all the wallpaper. It wasn't easy, but it worked. I think I got some nice upper arm definition from it as well.
Wowee, that sure is pretty! :)
When we moved into our house, there were only 2 wallpapered rooms - the kitchen and master bathroom. I recently pulled the paper off in the kitchen and what a difference! All I did was get a big spray bottle full of water, spray the paper enough for it to soak in, and then peeled it off. Sometimes, the printed part of the wallpaper came off and left the under-paper (Not sure how to describe), so I just sprayed that with water and it just peeled right off very easily.
I would try peeling and using water first before buying anything - it may just work for you and save you money!
Good luck!
Tracy, you sure sound like you know what you are talking about! Ok, first thing when we close, I'll head to Home Depot and get the Wallpaper Tiger. After, of course, I soak everything, like Mary suggested. No sense in making a lazy gal like me break a sweat if there's no need!
Oh, another question. What does the wall usually look like under wallpaper, and what do you have to do to it to make it ready to paint? Do you have to sand it down, or just prime it?
Oh, and Tracy, I'm sorry you're around to comment. I'm not sorry that you did, just sorry you're not in the hospital pushing out Maybe!
Heather, we are in the process of doing this very thing in my son's room. There was green and white taz on the walls when we moved in, not a pretty sight, no matter how much you like taz. Anyway, we used the wallpaper tiger and then sprayed a half/half combo of water and fabric softner (hint: pick a scent you can live with for a while) and sprayed the walls down really well and then peeled the wall paper off (jacob can also help with this because there are no strong chemicals). The problem we found was the people that put it up used joint compound underneath the wallpaper so the the finish was smooth. That has made the process very frustrating and long. We just finished using more joint compound to smooth out the walls were there were gouge marks. And we found some texture stuff that you mix in with the primer and paint that on and then finish with you color of choice on top. Good luck and post pictures when you are done!
I did a search for removing wallpaper:
http://magazines.ivillage.com/goodhousekeeping/heloise/heloise/qas/0,,284574_291833,00.html
I figure if its good enough for a magazine it just might work?! Good luck, and good for you for still having the house in the running for you....I would have run away...fast (way too much work for us/me!)
Post a Comment
<< Home