Removing Woodchip Wallpaper

[Deleted User]

Soon to have the lovely task of removing woodchip wallpaper that covers EVERY wall of the house I'm buying.

Does anyone know of any easy way of getting it off without damaging the walls.

The house is a new-ish build of about 10 years so I'm hoping the walls underneath them are OK.

Cheers

Rachel

ariba10

Buy or hire a wallpaper steamer/stripper.

If the paper has a thick layer of emulsion on it, it might take a while but it will come off.

nearlyrich

I second the steamer idea, it is the work of the devil and must be removed urgently.

Good luck, I don't envy you !!!

[Deleted User]

nearlyrich wrote:

I second the steamer idea, it is the work of the devil and must be removed urgently.

Good luck, I don't envy you !!!

:eek: I'm not looking forward to it! On the plus, hopefully the walls will be in good condition underneath as the house is quite new. Secondly, the house has stood empty for a while and the paper has started to peel, perhaps this will make it easier.

I will try and beg/borrow a steamer. Do you think I'll just manage to scrape it off with a bucket of hot water and some fairy liquid or is that just wishing?

nearlyrich

I spent a long hot sunday with the water and scraper before someone suggested a steamer to me, ask around family and friends or put a request on freecycle. I think you can get one for about £20 new so you might get one for less if you do some research.

Lord_Gardener

We had this problem with our first house - 1970's build - lot's of soaking and steaming and scraping did the trick! Used lots of towels to soak up all the excess water running off the walls!

mexicanwaver

Remember not to apply the steam for too long, because it will penetrate the plaster and it will crumble. It may help if you lightly "score" the surface of the paper in a criss-cross pattern, to allow the steam to get through any layers of paint which may be on top of the paper.......then steam and scrape away!!!

quickstepqueen

Good luck rachelandgromit...

...we had woodchip in our living room when we moved in 4 years ago and it was a hellish job. We used a steamer as hot water and fairy just doesn't work on this type of paper. We would steam the top layer, peel the paper the steam the second layer. As mexicanwaver says don't try to steam the whole thickness off in one go as too much steam can damage the plaster underneath. (I must admit that we tried to score first but even the knife struggled to cut through the copius layers of emulsion on top of the woodchip )

I would suggest you get your fav radio station on, plenty and tea and biscuits on standby and be prepared for a very long haul. But remember, once it's off the walls it's off for good. A VERY long job but one you just have to persevere with. Good luck.

Aberdonian_At_Heart

ariba10 wrote:

Buy or hire a wallpaper steamer/stripper.

If the paper has a thick layer of emulsion on it, it might take a while but it will come off.

if you do have to buy /rent a steamer consider buying a wall paper scorer they usually have three wheels and by rolling it on the surface of wallpaper it leaves loads of little perforations for the steam to penetrate to the underside of the paper .These are usually available from the likes of b+q /Homebase etc for around £10 ish

Be_Happy

I noticed an advert yesterday for a Polycell product that seems to be painted on to woodchip or similar paper and smooths it out ready for painting over the top. Haven't used it, but it sounds very good.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the responses, I shall keep you posted on how things go!!! Like many of you have said, once its off, it's worth it.

Forget a painting party! How about a 'stripping woodchip party - welcome to bring a friend!'

Thanks again everyone for their advice!!