Stripping woodchip

Svenena

I'm going to attempt to strip the woodchip wallpaper in my new flat later in the week, and have a couple of questions. Hoping you lovely people can answer them for me.

I'm going to use a wallpaper steamer - do I just put water in this, or should I add some kind of product to it? I've read through old threads, and know I need to score the paper first, and work from the bottom up.

I want to paint the walls afterwards - will I be able to paint straight on to them, or should I use some kind of primer first? Do I need to wait a few hours(/days??) for the walls to dry or something?

How do I stop sockets getting water from the steamer in them? Would putting some of that silver tape (electrical tape?) over them help?

The sockets have got paint on them (someone else's bad DIY). Any MSE tips to remove this? Do I have to buy some kind of paint stripper, or is there a cheap household product that will get it off?

When painting (this is going to seem like a very stupid question, but this is the first time I've painted walls), how many coats should I do? How long do I need to leave it between coats? How long will it be before it's finally dry?

Thanks for your help in advance!

Plasterer

Hi,
Im no decorator so can't help you there. However be aware that when you take the woodchip off the walls may need replastering if they are in bad condition. (Just something to bare in mind)

Svenena

Yeah, I'm just crossing my fingers that won't be the case, lol!

Anyone else able to answer my questions?

westiea

Hi

I am answering purely as an old diy'r with 6 houses (old and new) behind me.

1. Just use water and leave your windows open! The stripping is dependent on how old the plaster is. If old you will inevitably pull off the old (damp from the steamer) plaster when you strip.Then it is case of plasterer or if small area paint with a diluted PVA (glue) and leave 24 hrs then fill with a polyfilla (or equivalent)and sand smooth.

2. The walls will need washing with sugar soap to get rid of the old paste. Do it when the plaster looks dry after stripping (a week perhaps?)

3. Don't worry to much if you do not have anything attached (or will use) the sockets - if it is getting very 'drippy' then tape a bit of 'j' cloth above the socket with some MASKING tape. DO NOT use 'silver' tape (gaffa tape) you will just leave huge marks from the glue and its a real pain to remove.

4. I wouldn't dream of trying to strip the socket covers, very difficult and potentially dangerous. Turn off electric to the socket and replace (if in doubt I plug a hairdryer in then you can hear when its off) - info here - and cheap from Wilkos etc. If however you you have raised socket boxes then try scrubbing with a non stick scourer pad and washing up liquid, again turning electric to the socket off.

5. Coats depend on paint quality/type and depth of colour. Say its white to light blue prob 2 coats enough. From red to white may need 3 or 4! You will know when its dry, should not be streaky and the colour should be true.
Each coat needs 12- 24hrs roughly to dry(that is emulsion- gloss/satin will take x2 at least), I do the finger test - i.e if it feels dry by touch.

Good luck and have fun!

phill99

If you have ever sinned, you are now about to pay the pennance by having to remove woodchip paper. It is the devils own job. A steamer is good, but you may well need to get the walls reskimed. If the paaper comes off OK, clean the walls down with sugar soap. Fill holes with a decent filler ('Easyfill' is a good product for this. Sand the filler down with a medium grade sand paper.

Once you are happy with the finish, apply emulsion. If there is a lot of filling, you will be better to apply a mist coat which is a 50/50 mix of matt emulsion and water. This effectively seals the walls. Then apply 2 or 3 coats of colour. Its only a couple of hours for each coat of emulsion to dry (not 24!).

latecomer

We had some horrific looking wood chip paper in our house when we moved in and it was the only room that was easy to do!

I agree with westiea. Replace the sockets unless they are special. Replacements are dirt cheap so in general its not worth the effort.

If you are worried about blowing the plaster you can always use cold water and a sponge - scoring paper first. Its hard work but is kinder to the plaster.

Starrystarrynight

I don't know anything about painting the walls afterwards, but I scored the old woodchip paper, used a steamer and it came off a treat! Probably easier than other types of wallpaper. Didn't leave the walls a mess either, I only needed a tiny bit of filler.

Svenena

Great, some useful tips here. I'm going to be starting tonight, so will see how I get on. Thanks everyone!

loracan1

Depends what the sockets have been painted with, I'd give them a light scrape over and see if it peels off before replacement (no water just a wallpaper scraper)

Just be careful using the steamer above light switches, to make sure there aren't rivulets of water dripping down.

Sometimes the woodchip is the only thing keeping the wall in one piece (been there)

Occasionally the wall underneath is a peculiar hardboard substance that will not strip unless you peel the outer layer off (been there, ended up leaving patches and putting thick lining paper on. It's a dark corner)

If you're lucky, the wall underneath has had some sort of decorated finish that makes the paper almost slide off.

I've had all the above in this house

stef73

We had wood chip on every wall when we moved in (26 bin bags full) i used a paper tiger http://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/z/ZINPTT/ and steamer best £10 for DIY i ever spent.

WestonDave

If you are using a steamer keep it moving - often a fragile wall will take a bit of steaming but if you keep the steamer plate in one place for too long you'll here a crack which is the top plaster blowing off the wall. Whether it comes off with the paper or stays on as a bubble is largely academic - either way you'll have some filling to do (or reskimming if enough of it comes off!). Woodchip isn't always that bad - it really depends how many layers of paint its had on top - some of the vinyl wallpapers are worse because the steam doesn't penetrate and you end up trying to melt the glue with the heat from the steamer.

If you are planning to paint the wall be careful scoring it as you may end up seeing scratches in your finished paint.