I am preparing my house for sale.
by
Sherri
+3
Would like to remove wallpaper- originally put up 10 years ago - prepasted at the time. How do I remove it? Thanks!
6 answers
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Sherri, removing wall paper depends on how well the wall was prepped prior to installation of the wall paper on the wall. Let's take for instance the walls were prepped well, then you will need a wall paper remover available in any home improvement store. This is a good product - http://tinyurl.com/3sy2fnb Additionally you will need a putty knife to scrape the paper off after spraying the solution. This topic has been discussed several times here on Hometalk among other DIYers, this link may help guide and inspire you as well. http://www.hometalk.com/feeds?filter=wall+paper+removal&search=posts Good Luck and let us know if you succeeded!
Yamini LEED AP at Urbanmotifs
on Sep 06, 2011
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Hi Sherri, We get this question ALOT. Like Yamini said, depending on well the walls were prepped depends on how easy it will be to remove. There are a variety of paper strippers on the market you can try. Or a wallpaper steamer might work. Otherwise, thoroughly soak it with hot water (as hot as you can stand, without fear of burning yourself of course). Use a sponge to apply the water. Use a LOT of water. When you think to yourself, "Wow, I used a lot of water," apply more water. Keep the area you are working very wet. You can use a little tool called a Wallpaper Tiger (made by Zinsser) to score up the paper and allow the stripper/water to penetrate to the glue behind. Note though that this will also score up the drywall and it will need to be patched up. Peal the paper away as much as you can and use a putty knife for the rest. Use drywall joint compound the skim smooth any damage to the wall. Good luck and let us know how it works out.
Dan's of Central Florida, Inc.
on Sep 06, 2011
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If the drywall was primed first, you are in good shape. Assuming the wallpaper is vinyl coated, sand the paper to make it porous. Then take a pump up garden sprayer full of hot water and mist the walls. Do this several times around and around. The more water that soaks in, the easier the paper and glue will be removed. When the paper is softened up, you are ready to remove it with a 3-6 inch flexible metal drywall knife. If the paper is ready, it should peel off with little effort. Then wipe the walls with a sponge of all residual glue. This part is important because the glue is hard to see, so wash it thoroughly, keeping you sponge clean. If any glue is left and painted over, it will crinkle the paint and be hard to fix. In my experience, the wallpaper tiger only leaves holes that need patching and wallpaper remover is just something more you have to wash off the walls. Did I mention use lots of water? Best, Charles
Peace Painting Co., Inc.
on Sep 06, 2011
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Taking down the wallpaper is the right choice and the steam/hot water has been really successuful for my clients int he past. Scoring it prior or during the removal makes it go much smoother. I know that this is a time consuming, daunting task but you will see the reslults when you try to sell the home. This has become a make or break item on the list of items that will kill or seal a deal. Hope this helps
Terry Haas
on Sep 06, 2011
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On 'Designed to Sell' we ALWAYS use a 50/50 solution of water and vinegar in a spray bottle when removing wallpaper. The acidity in the vinegar cuts through the old adhesive, causing it to pull off of the wall. GOOD LUCK!
Shane Tallant
on Sep 06, 2011
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The biggest tip I can provide is take your time. Using a paper tiger to score the paper helps get the chemicals under the paper faster and helps soften the glue. I use DIF with the hottest water I can get out of the tap. I put the chemical in a garden sprayer and spray away. After the wall is wet I wait, then spray then wait. The paper if its properly wet down will come off just like it did when it went up. If not, your rushing. Once it begins to come off wait. Have s good quality sponge and 4 or 6 inch plastic putty knife. Then just take off one row at a time. Once its off, spray lightly again with solution, and using the plastic scraper remove as much of the softened glue as you can. Then spray again and wash with sponge to remove any left over glue that you can. Then do the next section. Repeat for each one. You may need to keep wetting the paper down to keep the glue soft but its worth it. If you rush and take to much off at a time, the exposed glue will begin to harden and that is when people run into trouble and end up scraping and sanding the walls to fix the damage done by removal of hardened glue. If this does occur using cheesecloth soak it in the removing chemical and place it on the wall like wall paper. It should stick and keep the wall wet enough to re-soften the hard glue again. But if you take your time once everything is off the walls, your just about ready to start painting once the wall dries. If you rush you can plan on a few more days of wall prep to make it look good enough to paint.
Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com
on Sep 07, 2011
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