How to Remove Wallpaper

It's an ugly job. We can't make it pretty, simply nosotros can make it easier. Learn how to remove wallpaper

Time

Multiple Days

Complexity

Beginner

Cost

$51–100

Introduction

Removing wallpaper earlier painting is a tough job, only it doesn't have to be terrible. Learn how to make it get quicker and easier and how to make certain you end up with walls that are smooth and make clean.

Tools Required

Materials Required

  • Drywall sanding paper
  • Gel stripper
  • Joint compound
  • Painter's tape
  • Plastic drop fabric
  • Scoring tool

Mental Preparation

We're non going to sugarcoat it. Wallpaper removal is a messy, time-consuming and tedious job. We wish there was a nifty new product that will make old wallpaper removal easy. But there isn't an like shooting fish in a barrel way to remove wallpaper glue. And if you don't know what y'all're doing or you start to become frustrated, you tin can damage your walls, or stop before the chore is done. Here's how to fixed damaged walls.

The tips in this article won't make the job fun. Merely they volition assist you do it more efficiently, without damaging your walls. They'll also show yous how to get a wall perfectly clean, ready for a fresh coat of paint or new wallpaper. Removable wallpaper is on-trend in abode decor correct at present.

Do yourself a favor and have a total weekend to do the job correct. Assault the messy and hard stuff on Twenty-four hour period 1 and utilise the 2d twenty-four hours to prep the walls for paint or new wallpaper.

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Learn how to paint like a pro and pick upward some great tips for achieving a perfectly smooth and fifty-fifty paint job.

Projection footstep-by-step (vi)

Step 1

Protect the Flooring and Woodwork

  • Everything is going to go wet and sticky during this project, then carefully protect the floor, furniture and woodwork.
  • Take everything off the walls, including vents, outlet covers and switch plates, and mask the openings with plastic and record.
  • Turn off the electricity to the room at the service console and use loftier-quality piece of work lamps on extension cords to light your piece of work area.
  • If possible, remove the furniture completely.
  • If not, move it to the center of the room and cover it with plastic.
  • Record plastic to the baseboard, allowing it to overlap the floor about 2 feet.
    • Pro tip: Y'all'll want to protect the floors and preclude the water from running behind molding, baseboards and chair rails.
  • Do this past creating a plastic "gutter" to catch information technology.
  • Top the plastic gutter with more than plastic and so cover that with towels.
  • Press hard on the record to create a watertight seal.
  • Cover the draped plastic with more plastic and top that with towels to absorb the water every bit information technology runs downwards the walls.
    • Pro tip: Replace them with dry towels as necessary.

Protect the floor and woodwork

Step 2

Pull Off the Facing

  • Exercise this pace without using any water to begin the old wallpaper removal process.
    • Pro tip: The point is to remove the top layer of paper and leave the backing on the wall.
  • That manner, the backing will hands soak upwards water, making the rest of the wallpaper removal faster and easier.
  • Start at a corner near the ceiling or under a switch plate to begin. This is where the paper tends to be loose.
  • Use a putty knife to get the edge of the newspaper started, if necessary, and pull the paper back slowly at a 45-degree bending, applying moderate force per unit area.
  • You can sometimes pull downwardly entire sheets of newer wallpapers with this technique.
  • But the longer the paper has been up, the more than likely it is to come off in smaller pieces (or non at all) equally yous endeavour to skin off wallpaper.
  • If you just can't remove the facing at all, utilize a scoring tool before moving on to the next stride (see "Tough Tools for Tough Situations," beneath).

remove wallpaper

Pace three

Soak Bankroll to Soften the Paste

  • Apply the hottest water y'all can tolerate (wearable gloves!) to the wallpaper backing and the remaining facing to soften them and the adhesive underneath.
  • The hard office is doing this without dissentious the wall surface.
  • Plaster walls tin accept a lot of hot water without a problem.
  • But drywall has a paper surface that can exist damaged past prolonged contact with water.
    • Pro tip: It's OK to moisten drywall, but don't keep it wet for longer than 15 minutes at a time.
  • Work in pocket-sized sections so the bankroll doesn't dry out out before you accept a run a risk for wallpaper removal.
  • Utilise the water using a sponge (or a floor mop for the loftier spots).
    • Pro tip: This lets you control the amount of water you're applying each time.
  • Allow the backing absorb the h2o for upwards to 15 minutes, until it starts to pull away from the wall.
  • Y'all may have to apply h2o several times to soften the paste.
  • When the backing softens (use your fingernail or a scraper to cheque), yous're ready for the next stride.

Soak Backing to Soften the Paste

Step 4

Scrape Off the Backing

  • Apply an onetime, really flexible metallic spatula or putty knife with rounded corners to scrape the backing and remaining facing off the wall.
  • Using a flexible blade is key considering information technology won't dig into the drywall as much.
  • Plastic spatulas or scrapers don't work — they're too thick to get underneath the backing.
  • If you don't have a rounded putty knife, file the corners.
  • Don't exist too aggressive with the scraper. The drywall might be soft in spots and scraping too difficult tin easily gouge it.

Scrape Off the Backing

Pace five

Employ Gel Stripper on Stubborn Paste

  • This is the near important step, simply the ane that typically gets brusque shrift.
  • There'south going to be a lot of paste on the wall in one case the backing is gone, and it'due south going to have a lot of effort to become it all off.
  • Scrape off as much of the mucilage with a putty knife as yous can.
  • Then launder the walls thoroughly with a sponge and water.
  • Paste has a dark sheen to information technology and the wall will still feel sticky.
    • Pro tip: This is the moment when well-nigh people driblet the ball. You lot're tired, the wall looks make clean and you just want to be washed. So the temptation is to telephone call it a (very long) night and "not see" the paste that's even so there.
  • Spray a low-cal mist of h2o on the "clean" wall.
  • Agree your work calorie-free parallel to the wall and you'll see the paste that remains.
  • If you don't get it all off, when you paint the wall, the paint will eventually flake and crackle. Wallpaper that's practical over information technology volition chimera or fail to stick properly.
  • Use a gel stripper to become the last bits of stubborn paste and backing off the wall.
    • Pro tip: Y'all won't need a whole lot, so it'due south non going to break the bank.
  • Spray any remaining paste and bankroll with gel stripper and permit it sit for 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Since the gel clings to the wall, y'all can scrape off the gel and the paste at the same time with minimal cleanup.
  • After the paste is completely gone, rinse the wall with water until it's shine and squeaky clean.
    • Pro tip: Now go to bed.

Use gel stripper on stubborn paste

Step 6

Repair, Sand and Prime number the Walls Smooth

  • The side by side day afterward the wall has dried thoroughly, prep the wall for paint or new wallpaper.
  • Patch large gouges or holes from the scoring tools with joint compound.
    • If you take actually banged-up walls over a large area, trowel on a one/16-in.-thick skim coat of joint compound over the entire wall.
  • Once your repairs are dry, sand the wall until it'south smooth.
    • Sand the wall using a hand sander and 120-dust drywall sanding paper to smooth crude areas and remove any remaining bankroll or paste.
  • If you plan to put upward new wallpaper, use an acrylic primer that'southward formulated for wallpaper applications to make removing it easier the next time around.
  • If y'all're going to paint, apply a primer designed for that purpose.
    • Pro tip: Always prime a wall, even if information technology'due south painted, earlier putting wallpaper on it. If yous don't, you might remove the paper surface of the drywall when you effort to remove information technology.

Read more than almost wallpaper and how to hang pre-pasted wallpaper should y'all desire to wallpaper again.

Sand walls smooth

Originally Published: June 18, 2020