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The best way to save money on a wallpaper removal
project is to do it yourself. If the paper
was installed correctly and is only a single layer this usually isn't a problem.
Don't worry if
you start something you can't finish as I don't mind taking over were you left off if the project
becomes to
difficult.
TOOLS YOU WILL NEED
A putty knife &
broad knife
A garden pump type sprayer
5 gallon bucket
Sponge
Rags
Towels
TOOLS YOU MAY NEED Paper
Tiger Wallpaper scoring tool
Specialized
wallpaper scraping tool MATERIALS YOU WILL
NEED Wallpaper
Remover (not the gel type)
Garbage Bags
Plastic
Paper & Tape
TSP GETTING STARTED Wallpaper
removal can be very wet and messy so you want to make sure everything in
the room is
moved away from the walls where you will be working. Remove outlet covers, lights,
and other fixtures.
If the removal is taking place in a bathroom or kitchen that has a vinyl floor or tile no preparation to
protect the flooring is needed providing you keep the floor clean as you
go. If the removal is taking place
over a wood floor or carpet you
will need to tape plastic to the baseboards to prevent water from
absorbing into the carpet. Keeping the water off the carpet is a
little tricky as moisture tends to
loosen the tape.
The first step in actually removing the wallpaper is to find out exactly
what is on the wall. With a fingernail
or putty knife pry a piece of the wallpaper up from a seem and attempt to pull a strip
off. In most cases the
paper will come off the wall in sheets. If this is the case you will find a backing paper that
is left on the
wall. This backing paper must also be removed
before you can reinstall wallpaper or paint. To remove
this
backing paper simply mix warm water and the remover solution (according
to manufacturers
instructions) in the garden sprayer. To minimize
water on the floor always spray from the ceiling and
work your way
down. If you apply the solution carefully most of the
remover will absorb into the paper
leaving very little to go onto the
floor. Wait about 10 minutes and apply another coat of remover to
the
backing paper. After waiting an additional 10 minutes lightly
scrape off the backing paper with a broad knife
(4" - 6")
being careful not to gouge the wall. After the paper has been
removed you will need to wash the
walls down with a solution of TSP to
be certain all of the paste has been removed. Not
all strippable papers leave a backing paper on the wall. Some
cloth backed vinyl wallcoverings
will come off in strips and won't leave
any paper on the wall. If this is the case you simply pull off all
of the wallpaper and remove the glue with either wallpaper remover or
TSP. In most cases it is best
to spray wallpaper remover on the
glue then scrape that off prior to washing the walls with
TSP. In some cases the wallpaper will only
come off in small pieces. With the right tools you will find these
wallcoverings aren't that difficult to remove either. If you
sprayed wallpaper remover on the face of the
existing surface it would
have no effect on the wallpaper, as the paper is protected with a vinyl
coating.
The wallpaper remover needs to come in direct contact
with the paste to work correctly, so you will
need to score the surface
of the wallpaper to let the solution soak through. Many years ago
people
would use and old saw blade to score the surface but now you can
pick up an inexpensive little tool
at your local Home Depot called a Paper Tiger. This tool makes it
easy to score the face of the
wallpaper with minimal damage to the
wall. After the wallpaper is scored simply apply two coats of
wallpaper remover as mentioned above, scrape the wallpaper off, and wipe
the excess glue off the wall
with a solution of TSP. If
you find multiple coats of wallpaper, run into problems, or simply don't
want to deal with the mess give
me a call and I'll give you a free estimate.
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