Down with wallpaper!!!!!!

[RitaZ.]

I'm finally done... All the wallpaper in the living room is gone!

When I got up this morning, I really felt like I wanted to do this TODAY! I figured that the "mood" would not strike again any time soon , so off I went to rent the steamer. It was only $25 for 24 hours, so that wasn't bad. The job itself... well, I hated that part.

Next step is to remove the glue... I'm doing that tomorrow!

 

[HollyJoy]

Way to go!!! Wanna come over here tomorrow and take mine down? Now that you're a pro, that is!

 

[RitaZ.]

You know, I don't have to return the steamer until 1 p.m. tomorrow...

Seriously, I hate removing wallpaper. My desire to take it down today was really unusual/odd. But, I'm so glad it's done! When DH got home, he said, "What are you doing NOW ? He never knows what he'll find when he gets home.

 

[dizneenut]

Wanna come take down my bathroom wallpaper?

 

[RitaZ.]

Originally posted by dizneenut
Wanna come take down my bathroom wallpaper?

Sherry, if I'm gonna do your bathroom, I'm gonna have to rent the steamer for an extra day.

Ladies, as tempting as your offers sound, I'll have to decline.

 

[GlennandAnn]

We bought a house full of the ugliest wallpaper I have ever seen. It was in every room except for 2. DH and I spent a looottt of time peeling it off, so I feel your pain. I'll join the I Hate Wallpaper Club!!


Ann

 

[faithinkarma]

Next time lose the steamer and use fabric softener diluted with water. Score the paper, and wet it. It comes right off.

 

[RitaZ.]

I have heard about the fabric softener trick, but I wanted to minimize the mess. I did and have tried the Tiger Paw gadget before and I didn't like how the paper comes off in small pieces, too messy for me and takes longer to remove.

With the steamer, the mess was minimal and entire sections of the wallpaper were easily removed.

 

[KimRaye]

Please tell me more about this removal system. I have 2 rooms in DESPERATE need of having wall paper removed. And, what about this glue removal? A whole other step?? eek

What are you doing to the walls AFTER you're done?

TIA

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by RitaZ.
......When DH got home, he said, "What are you doing NOW ? He never knows what he'll find when he gets home.

I know the feeling.

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

Originally posted by RitaZ.
I figured that the "mood" would not strike again any time soon , so off I went to rent the steamer. It was only $25 for 24 hours, so that wasn't bad.

WAIT! Do you still have any time left on the steamer? My pants are all wrinkled from sleeping on the couch. If I bring them over, can you steam them for me? I tried wearing them in the shower to see if the steam there would dewrinkle them but all I got was soggy.

Jeff

 

[RitaZ.]

Jeff, there is still time!

Kim~ I'll send you a pm.

Dan, if we get to meet up with you, just ask my husband about my various projects.

 

[jrydberg]

Ya know, I bought my townhouse in September from a single woman. The place was kinda "girly" in decor, particularly the wallpaper in the dining room. So after great procrastination, I finally started taking down the "girly" wallpaper... guess what's underneath?

Pink paint.

 

[Towncrier]

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought you were talking about Trading Spaces and that Hildie has done a room using "down with wallpaper".

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

Can I ask for some wallpaper advice?

We've got some really ugly paper in the foyer. I want to get rid of it. Once the paper is removed, is there anything special I need to do? I want to just paint the walls, not re-paper. TIA

 

[jrydberg]

Just give the walls a good cleaning before painting. If the wallpaper is relatively new it should come off without too much trouble. If it's a pain to get off, then you'd probably have to spend more time cleaning (warm water, a little soap and a sponge should do the trick). Just want to make sure there's no residual wallpaper glue or bits of wallpaper still stuck there.

 

[JayCT]

Ten years ago we bought our house. Out of 8 rooms and a finished basement, there were only two walls that were not wallpapered. When we bought we thought the paper was okay, but as the years went by we began to dislike it all. We have made an effort to rid ourselves of it. So far we have removed the paper in the living room, dining room, front hall, the master bedroom and the hall bathroom. We stilll have a ways to go. We have replaced the paper in the kids rooms. The paper in the family room and basement rec room are muted, so they are liveable. The master bath isn't too bad, but is starting to look worn. The kitchen is okay (DW likes it), but it is getting dated. I am eying the upstairs hall as the next place to tackle. The guest room is okay but a bit flowery for our tastes. We will see.

Anyway, I bought a steamer. It wasn't expensive and with so much wallpaper to remove, it was more than worth it. All of the wallpaper in our house is relatively new and some of it was easier to remove than others. It also depends if the walls were properly prepared before they papered them. You need to start pulling it down to see how easy it will come off.

The upstairs bath was a nightmare. The paper came down in pieces and left the glued backing on the wall. So I had to steam the wall twice and then scrape them with a plastic putty knife. Finally i had to sand the entire room to smooth the walls out. Even with all that they still aren't the greatest. The master bedroom, which is pretty big, wasn't half the work because the paper came off easily and the walls just needed a little sanding. Good luck, jay

 

[Megan's Mom]

I feel your pain. I removed wallpaper from a bathroom about a month ago. I don't think I will do that again. I bought a small steamer at Lowe's. I discovered a trick. The wallpaper was in two layers so pull all the colored off and you can do this without any steam. etc. then use the steam to take the second layer with the glue off. I got tired of being burned on the arm by the steam and I had a spray bottle so I tried the fabric softener and water. It really worked better than the steamer. I just sprayed an area well let it sit for a minute and then it pulled up in sheets. It really worked better for those hard to get to places as well.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

Thanks for the tips. The wallpaper is really old, probably from the 40's. It is peeling in some spots now.

 

[RitaZ.]

Jay, you're a brave man to have done all that work!

I'm almost done removing the glue... It was definitely worse than removing the wallpaper.

Good luck to all of you with your wallpaper projects!

As my new tag says, the wallpaper is now dead! :thewave: :thewave: