wallpaper - help!!

kzzhar0

our new house has MUCH more wallpaper than we had realised. Every wall has been covered. We knew it was in quite a few rooms but its in the hallway/bathroom/living room but its been painted over. I've tried to peel some back a little to have a look and it seems VERY stuck. its a late 1920s semi so could be loads of layers. I've bought a stripper to start doing this myself little by little but does anyone have any tips? Anything I should be looking out for and making sure I do whilst doing this? We will get the walls replastered/skimmed afterwards but don't want to make the walls worse than they are. 

[Deleted User]

Have you got a steam stripper? it takes time, i suppose if you are re-plastering after pulling some of the plaster off isn't too bad

Le_Kirk

Be careful with a steam stripper!  You need to score the wallpaper with a stripping knife to let the steam get underneath (especially if it has been painted as you say) but beware of leaving it on too long as it could blow the plaster.
If you are removing the plaster (or having it removed), why are you taking off the wallpaper?

TELLIT01

Something like this https://www.toolstation.com/prep-wallpaper-perforator/p63466 will make life a lot easier, particularly when you have a lot of paper stripping to do.  The holes it creates in the wallpaper make it easier for the steam to penetrate.

kzzhar0

Le_Kirk said:

Be careful with a steam stripper!  You need to score the wallpaper with a stripping knife to let the steam get underneath (especially if it has been painted as you say) but beware of leaving it on too long as it could blow the plaster.
If you are removing the plaster (or having it removed), why are you taking off the wallpaper?

Well I'd hope that we can remove the wallpaper in the hope of just having the walls skimmed afterwards as we want to repaint? Sorry, i'm not sure what you mean as I thought we'd have to strip the wallpaper regardless of what we do?

kzzhar0

TELLIT01 said:

Something like this https://www.toolstation.com/prep-wallpaper-perforator/p63466 will make life a lot easier, particularly when you have a lot of paper stripping to do.  The holes it creates in the wallpaper make it easier for the steam to penetrate.

Thanks thats great, I didn't know we'd need that so I'll purchase one!

Jeepers_Creepers

kzzhar0 said:

Well I'd hope that we can remove the wallpaper in the hope of just having the walls skimmed afterwards as we want to repaint? Sorry, i'm not sure what you mean as I thought we'd have to strip the wallpaper regardless of what we do?

With care, and some luck, you'll hopefully get the walls back to a condition that's ready for painting without needing a plaster skim. If your walls are in good condition and the original skimming was done neatly, then that should be the case. You'll likely have a little preparation to do - filling a few holes, dents and scratches - and possibly a light overall sandning, but in most cases you should be good to go after that.

Removing wallpaper can sometimes be easy and satisfying, and other times a complete 'mare. Having being painted will push it more into the 'mare, but the idea is still to get the actual paper behind it damp, and then it should peel away quite easily.

TELLIT's suggestion of that little pricker is a good one - use it as gently or as firmly as required; keep an eye on the depth of hole it produces (you don't want to damage the actual plaster surface). I've used the other type they sell, and these had a clever feature in that the little spikes were 'hooked' at their ends, so punctured and lifted the edges of the wee holes they made. Nifty. Reading the reviews, tho', the one Tellit linked to seems very effective.

As said above, using a steamer needs care. If you hold the plate in one place for too long - I dunno, 10 seconds or so - you run the risk of 'blowing' the plaster skim layer. Each surface is different, so soke will be more susceptible to this than others. Bascially, start easy - hold the plate for 3-4 seconds, and then move it slowly along, giving each area that amount of time - see how that goes. Don't expect the paper to jump off right away - give it time to soak in; the water needs to go through these wee holes, and then 'join up' by soaking through the paper from 'rick to 'rick behind them.

Another thing you can try - and can be easier, less hassle and just as effective, is to use a pressurised garden sprayer which has an adjustable nozzle - you want a fine 'mist' spray option. Make up a solution with nicely warm water and add https://www.toolstation.com/wallpaper-stripper/p59091 This is a 'wetting' agent - it makes water wetter. Really.

Give the pin-holed paper a light misting and watch to see if it goes dry around each prickhole; that would suggest it's being drawn in. That's good. Give it another misting. Give each spray a couple of minutes to act - don't have the wall totally running with water. See how that gets along (easier than steamin')

Finally, once the paper has been removed, you need to remove EVERY TRACE of paste or else it'll react to the paint you apply (I know...) Yes, there are sealing coats you can apply first to prevent this, but that is just lazy... Get the wall thoroughly clean, dry, and give it all a light 120-grit sanding.

And post the results on here 'cos we need a good lau...er, happy story.

Le_Kirk

kzzhar0 said:

Le_Kirk said:

Be careful with a steam stripper!  You need to score the wallpaper with a stripping knife to let the steam get underneath (especially if it has been painted as you say) but beware of leaving it on too long as it could blow the plaster.
If you are removing the plaster (or having it removed), why are you taking off the wallpaper?

Well I'd hope that we can remove the wallpaper in the hope of just having the walls skimmed afterwards as we want to repaint? Sorry, i'm not sure what you mean as I thought we'd have to strip the wallpaper regardless of what we do?

It's just that in your OP you stated "replastered/skimmed" If you are having them replastered, just get the plasterer to knock off the old plaster complete with wallpaper.  If you are skimming, them just be careful with the steamer so you don't inadvertently blow the plaster you want to keep.

Jeepers_Creepers

Le_Kirk said:

It's just that in your OP you stated "replastered/skimmed" If you are having them replastered, just get the plasterer to knock off the old plaster complete with wallpaper.  If you are skimming, them just be careful with the steamer so you don't inadvertently blow the plaster you want to keep.

Good point - I missed that.

1920's? Any idea what state the plaster is in - have you exposed any original wall surfaces yet? If you do think the plaster is dodgy, loose, blown, crumbling and it'll need reskimming anyway, then - yes - get the plasterer to hack it all off! No advantage in first carefully removing the paper layer.

Of course, if the plaster is actually ok and can be touched up and painted, you'll save a fortune.

kzzhar0

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't updated...I also have a 6 month old baby so I've been mainly doing this post 9pm in the evenings once he's gone to bed and I've eaten. It's been really satisfying doing it and working well so far. I've shown images to a few people who think it seems in good condition (I think so too obviously seeing it in person) so I don't think it would need fully replastering. It may actually be fine with like has been said here, filling in the holes and a light sanding but in reality with a young baby I may not have the time to do this so we are going to get a quote for having them skimmed and weigh up our options! Also want to make sure it's done properly as we may want to move in the future. I'll try to post a picture below and see your thoughts. Thanks for all the advice as it was really helpful! 

kzzhar0

Obviously this isn't done finished and there are small bits I need to go back to but I've managed to strip most of the wallpaper/paint layers off and in some places it's gone back to the plaster which seems in good condition considering its age.