Removing wallpaper

How To remove wallpaper! OR NOT! 

Most people who have done some home renovating or just updating, have run into the dreaded wallpaper removal. Although wallpapering is returning as a trend with bold patterns and stylish designs, that will someday also be torn down in disgust, it is not as easy to change as painting over a color, so it is frequently left on the walls for years and years becoming the "next owners problem".

So, to remove wallpaper, there are several approaches, and here is a basic rundown of the steps needed to remove it.

First method: STEAM

Removing a wallpaper mural with steam

1. Step one is to use a wallpaper scoring tool that can be purchased at any Home Depot, Lowes, or local hardware store. We used the PaperTiger tool shown below. *Note do not apply too much pressure as this will go through the paper and to the drywall.

2.  Step two is to steam the walls in sections and peel the paper off as you go. Scoring the wallpaper allows the steam to get under the paper to loosen the adhesive. We have a Shark steam mop which we used the flat attachment with

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3. Step three is using a multi tool or paint scraper to remove the paper as well as the adhesive layer.

4. Finally, a sponge and some soapy water should remove any remaining gooey leftovers.

Removed and ready for prime and paint

So all that is great, and many people know that information. Also, there are many sites and DIY Network can probably guide many people through the same steps to successfully remove wallpaper. But what if there is no way you can remove the wall paper?? Here are some steps if you have a room like we did where some truly ugly atrocious wallpaper was applied onto plaster.  

Second method: PAINT

1. Determine there is no steaming off the wallpaper. This may result in a mess if you attack the whole wall like we did below. My tip would be if you suspect there is no drywall, on an old house for example, test a small spot- either peel the paper back and determine if it was applied onto drywall, painted drywall, or plaster, or use the paper tiger and steam on a small section. 

2. Decide to paint over the wallpaper. This is a better option than drywalling over the area, but that can also be done with 1/4" drywall- for that option I would recommend a professional.

3. Step one to paint over the wallpaper is to SEAL all THE SEAMS

4. Using a multi-tool or paint scraper, fill in the seams with drywall mud. Ensure to scrape them clean, do not leave a thick coating over the seam, just enough to smooth the seam or gap.

5. Sand all of the seams when the mud has dried. Patch up any spots that don't seem smooth.

6. Prime and Paint over said hideous wallpaper!

First, use a good primer, we used two coats to try and even out the lumps and bumps. You could use a better brand that only requires one coat, but I wanted to make sure the smoothness was there.

When primer coats are dried fully, paint over with final paint color. Again one or two coats depending on the paint. Using red, it is hard to get a solid first coat, so we made sure to buy premium paint since we didn't want to do this large room twice. Two coats of primer also helps with this. 

You will also notice the white woodwork has been painted. Follow my "how to paint wood paneling" for instructions on painting woodwork such as this for a bright white result! 

ENJOY the FINISHED RESULT:

A truly awesome rec room!