Darned Woodchip

elisabeth76

Is it ever acceptable to paper over woodchip?? Maybe a lining paper then wallpaper? Has anyone successfully done this. Nearly every room in our house has previously been decorated in the stuff, we have over the years removed most of it, just 2 more rooms to do but age is wearying me! I believe the walls are sound, they have been in all the other rooms and the choice was made as it was fashionable and not to hide poor plaster.

Doozergirl

It's not going to look much better, is it?  Might as well paint the woodchip again. 

Or knock all the plaster off and start again 😂

Norman_Castle

A friends flat had vinyl paper over woodchip, it looked like vinyl paper over woodchip. If you live in a cheap rented property it will look appropriate.

A steamer and two handed scraper makes it easier to remove. Try different amounts of steaming time. Try doing a wall a day, move the furniture away from one wall to work on it then you can tidy up and have a few days off before tackling another wall.

I recently stripped woodchip off my bedroom ceiling which I'd been avoiding doing for decades. Most came off easily but some on repaired plaster was a pain. Even with the extra work of tidying the aged and tatty plaster it was worth it. The room looks vastly better and bigger. There will be no better time than lockdown to strip woodchip.

yorkiechick

Score the paper with a stanley knife to help the steam penetrate the paper. Whoever invented that stuff wants stringing up!

FreeBear

yorkiechick said: Whoever invented that stuff wants stringing up!

That may well be Hugo Efurt ((born 13 February 1834, died 4 March 1922). The stuff didn't really become popular in this country until the late 1960s. Woodchip is no worse than Anaglypta or it's predecessor, Lincrusta - Once painted, they are all pigs to strip from a wall or ceiling.

Slinky

FreeBear said:

yorkiechick said: Whoever invented that stuff wants stringing up!

That may well be Hugo Efurt ((born 13 February 1834, died 4 March 1922). The stuff didn't really become popular in this country until the late 1960s. Woodchip is no worse than Anaglypta or it's predecessor, Lincrusta - Once painted, they are all pigs to strip from a wall or ceiling.

I recall hearing of somebody who lost a finger after getting blood poisoning from a piece of woodchip jammed under a fingernail whilst stripping it off. Unlikely to happen with anaglypta.

Cash-Cows

Woodchip we had on the ceiling was actually holding it up. You could say that's pretty awesome. 

Le_Kirk

Be careful with using steamers, it is too easy to leave it on too long and then you find you are stripping plaster not just wood-chip .............. and I speak from experience!  In fairness the plaster was pretty bad anyway but if you don't have to replaster or repair, so much the better.

babyblade41

Le_Kirk said:

Be careful with using steamers, it is too easy to leave it on too long and then you find you are stripping plaster not just wood-chip .............. and I speak from experience!  In fairness the plaster was pretty bad anyway but if you don't have to replaster or repair, so much the better.

Happened to me many times .. and even managed to electrocute my self on one refurb project 

Le_Kirk

babyblade41 said:

Le_Kirk said:

Be careful with using steamers, it is too easy to leave it on too long and then you find you are stripping plaster not just wood-chip .............. and I speak from experience!  In fairness the plaster was pretty bad anyway but if you don't have to replaster or repair, so much the better.

Happened to me many times .. and even managed to electrocute my self on one refurb project 

I hope Risteard doesn't read that!

Owain_Moneysaver

Garden hoe will get woodchip off :-)