Just bought a house with wall paper over wall board–no sizing or primer. Removing it is a disaster. We are doing much more damage than good. I talked to a pro and he gave me a price to test the paper by priming it to see if it lifts off the wall and if it tests sound, to either put a knock down finish or just paint over the primed wall paper. He would mud the seams and fix any loose paper or bubbles.
Question: Is this a good way to go? Or is there any better way?
Replies
Well you say you are doing "more damage than good " i would tend to agree because you don't know what you are doing full stop. You talked to a "pro " ??? have you yourself not already tested the w/paper and you want to pay him to comfirm what you already know. Do you really want a knock down surface or painted wallpaper surface . Have to know what type of surface finish you really want before i can comment further.
jaxon, welcome to breaktime.
You can paint wallpaper if you prime with a non latex paint. The water in latex will (could) loosen the wallpaper adhesive. A good paint store should be able to help you pick the paint that'll do the job.
But, it will look like painted wallpaper. I don't think i would ever advise knockdown over it. I guess you could tape and mud the paper seams, tho I've never heard of nor seen that done.
handy, show a little restraint.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Ok.
handy, welcome to you too. This is a good diversion to life as we know it. Enjoy.Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
But, it will look like painted wallpaper.
Exactly. I personally do not like painted wallpaper but who's going to argue with taste.
I guess you could tape and mud the paper seams, tho I've never heard of nor seen that done.
Then it would look like painted wallpaper with mudded seams. :)
Mud doesn't go well with wallpaper either. I heard of people who took out wallpaper with mud because mud is an alkaline and it holds moisture till it dries so it's an effective wallpaper remover. By the way it's a good way to use up previously frozen mud.
On the other hand I heard of some expensive paint jobs where they pasted light weight canvas on the wall and painted over. Of course you'll see the seams but those advocates say that's the beauty of it.
Our house has a couple of layers of wallpaper over a layer affixed to non-painted drywall. It is no fun to remove. We did one bathroom and came within an inch of tearing out the drywall and replacing it. Second bathroom went easier. Here's what we did (your mileage may vary...).
1. Buy a tool called a "paper tiger." You'll find this almost anywhere there are wallpaper remover supplies. Run it all over the wall. You want the little holes it leaves no further apart than about 1/2 inch. 1/4 is better.
2. Buy some sheet material called "wall wick". While you're at it pick up a gallon or two gallon garden sprayer. Using a spray bottle WON'T work.
3. Buy good enzyme and don't dilute it as much as the directions say. If it says one ounce to a gallon, add three.
4. Soak the wall wick in the enzyme. Even though the directions say it will stick to the wall itself, it won't. Use a stapler to put two staples on top of each sheet. Apply it like wallpaper so it sticks very flat to the wall.
5. After you have a section of wall done with the wall wick, SOAK the whole thing with enzyme from the sprayer. The wall wick will turn almost transluscent when you have enough on. Go back and spray it about every 5 minutes for 15 minutes or so.
6. Let it sit for a minimum of 1/2 hour, but 45 minutes is better. If you need to periodically spray to keep it wet, do so (you'll go through a whole lot more enzyme than you thought you would).
7. Pull off the wall wick, and use a good 3 or 4 inch putty knife scrape as much as you can. A lot of times you'll just peel off the top of the wallpaper, leaving a brown paper underneath. Soak this again with the enzyme.
8. From this point on, it is a matter of keeping the remaining bits of paper damp with the enzyme, and scraping with whatever works. We used the putty knives, an I found a razor scraper (changing the blades regularly) worked good, too.
9. Be prepared to apply some drywall topping compound where needed to fill gouges and scrapes, and to sand it smooth. Also be prepared to do this for two or three coats until you get it satisfactory.
10. Have a beer. Hell, have several. You'll need them to get the drywall dust out of your throat.
This is a nasty, tedious job. You can get pretty good results, though.
Alternatively, you could apply 1/4 inch drywall over what's there, but you have to mess around with all of the outlets, etc......
Good luck. I'd sure like to catch the guy who put up wallpaper without priming the drywall......
--Ken
ken is exactly right. if you don't fix the problem properly, you will most assuredly live to regret it. painting over wallpaper may look fine for about a year. and then you will be right back where you started. and any "pro" painter telling you that it's an acceptable fix is likely one who doesn't plan to take your phone calls a year from now.
SHG
Ken,
Thanks for taking the time to give me a thorough answer even though it was not what I wanted to hear. I am very uncomfortable with the "painting over approach" and you reply and others confirm my thoughts.
Back to the grunt work. The beers may help!
Bill Huff
I agree with your ten step program with one addition. I find that damaged drywall paper tends to bubble, blister and torn edges tend to float to the surface when covering with mud. I would recommend an oil or shellac based primer before priming to avoid this. Zinsser also has a water based primer designed for this - Gardz. It isn't available in very many places to you need to look around for it. I have never personally used it but it most Zinsser products work.
Kurt,You're right about Gardz. Another product that can be used over wallpaper is Bulldog.I can't remember which one, but one or both should be available at a Sherwin-Williams paint store.
Misery. Sometimes a steamer will work. Sometimes it's easier to put up a vaneer layer of wallboard over the whole mess.
Even worse than removing wallpaper with no sizing is removing wallpaper that has been painted.
wow wow hold on now Jaxon
sit down a moment and enjoy that beer you have been prescribed and look at this in its wholeness and exorcise your preconceived notions and consider that you may have received the best advice from the painter who entered your front door
I look at it this way : you can bang your head against the wall and "remove" the paper in the time it would take you to reframe the walls, run new wire, insulate and just about get all rock hung or you can look at it as if the wallpaper is a remedial paper facing on the rock and you have to improve upon it and get a depth of finish you will not get w/ the face of wallboard
your painter has the right idea - call him up and ask what he'll charge to paint out a 3 X 3' section of your wall w/ BIN shellac base primer and that you'll have the 1/2 ammonia 1/2 water solution ready to clean his brush in - if it holds strong and true you have a fine surface to work with
from here the world is your oyster but an effective way is to hot mud all vertical joints on walls and horizontal ones at base and ceiling ( or picture rail ) and then top and feather that out w/ topping mix ( this priming, hot mix and topping mix can all be applied same day when considering curing / drying times
maybe some silica sand mixed w/ your priming ( 2nd coat ) shellac administered w/ a deep roller and you are ready for some color coats
Thanks to all who responded to my question about painting over wall paper. Your advice was good and well taken. The only draw back is that I will never know if painting over wall paper works.
Bill Huff
Works great if you like the look of painted over wallpaper... :-)
There is a stuff called "wall liner" which is a thick wallpaper that is designed to be painted over. You apply it horizontally over existing wallpaper, cracked plaster, etc. Never used it, so don't know how invisible the seams are.
When the wallpaper (or -- worse -- cork tile, mirrors, etc) is just over a few walls, sometimes the simplest thing is to simply rip out the existing drywall and re-rock. Another option is to put up a layer of 1/4" rock over the existing, though that means windows and doors may need fixing.