Need help removing wallpaper if the walls weren't "sized"!!!!!

[MELSMICE]

I am trying to remove wallpaper in our home & the walls were not sized before the paper was put up. It was done on drywall that the builder put & had used the builder's flat paint. WHAT A NIGHTMARE!!!

I am using a steamer at this point & be very, very careful so the walls don't flake & pit, but it is going to take me hours & hours & hours (which, of course, will take me away from the DIS).

Anyone have any ideas on how to make this easier? TIA!

 

[Laurabearz]

Drywall over it???

(((hugs)))

 

[Nancy]

That happened in my dining room, but I had the old plaster walls. We ended up filling and sanding, what a big pain!

 

[Christine]

This happened in my kitchen. Took me 3 entire weekends to remove it. I think I even came to the DIS and asked for help!! I tried everything--the fabric softener/water mixture, the vinegar/water mixture. What worked best for me was the storebought solution (Dap, I think?). It was still an awful mess. Not sure if it would be any better than a steamer though.

 

[MELSMICE]

Thanks for the replies. Oldest DD was helping the other day & said if you steam it quite a bit & then let it dry it seems to peel off rather easily.

I guess I'll try that, but thought maybe someone else had some ideas.

 

[SC Minnie]

Another reason I will not put wallpaper on my walls again!

 

[minkydog]

Ugh! I feel your pain. We had this in our kitchen. It took days and days and days to remove. Unfortunately, we also removed large portions of the top layer of drywall, so we had to repair the drywall, then seal it, then re-paper.

Then we moved on to our 4' x6' hall bathroom. Some nitwit had primed the walls with a kind of paint which pulled off with the paper. Not only that, the paint was stretchy and pilled up when you sanded it. We ended up having to hire someone to take care of that one. It was just too big a job--it took two professional painters 9hrs to complete My DH will probably never do wallpaper again!

 

[Servants of Evan]

Builders will use flat paint because it is the cheapest, and because it is better at hiding wall imperfections. This way they can be cheap and lazy... Yes, it sucks if it's papered over and I'm afraid there's no easy fix for removal of the wall covering. Take it slow and steady, and be prepaired for some drywall damage. Scoring the surface with a paper tiger and using a removal solution may help, but don't rush the process. When you finally get the coverings removed, wash the walls a few times to remove all traces of adheasive, then give the walls a good coat of a bonding primer to seal them. After that has dried for two days, go ahead and size the walls and hang your new paper.

 

[Feralpeg]

I saw a wonderful thing the other day on DIY network. There is a new product for removing wall paper. It is a cloth like substance. You put the clothes in a bucket filled with wallpaper stripper. Then, you put the clothes up over the wallpaper just as if you were hanging new paper. You leave it for a few minutes. When you come back, the wall paper peals off very easy. I'm sure most wallpaper places would carry this.

I totally understand what you are going through because my builder did the same thing in my last house. It was horrible. I ended up patching and sanding a ton of drywall.

Good luck!

 

[Sonya]

I feel your pain, our last house was like this, and when we started looking for a new house the #1 thing on my list was NO WALLPAPER! If we went into a house that had it I would turn and walk right back out.
We scored it first, sprayed it with a LOT of vinager and water, then used scrapers on it. Yes we tore up a lot of the wall but spackle is easy. Good luck!

 

[alliecats]

Will never buy a house with wallpaper on the walls again.

After doing several rooms and having to patch and sand (I am sure that if there is a hell, you have to sand sheetrock there 24/7) all the holes we made, we got a system that worked for us.

In the kitchen, the latest room we did and the biggest, there were 3 coordinating pieces of wallpaper. It was a nightmare--they overlapped and just...ugh.

Our friend, the Paper Tiger--rolled over the wall--not too hard because it will poke through the paper into the wall. Then DIF gel sprayed on the wall. Stock up on this, it goes fast. Let it soak in, then start pulling. While you pull, keep a spray bottle of warm water on hand for dry spots and spots that aren't coming up as easily. I also had a warm wet washcloth to help get it to let go. I don't believe I made any holes this time, and it is a very big kitchen. Good luck!

 

[goofy4tink]

You sound like me last fall...what a nightmare. But, my living room and entrance hall look gorgeous now. I had the exact same issues and tried all that stuff. What finally worked was the DIF concentrate. Mix it with hot water, and slop it on with a big sponge. Be sure you have scored the old wallpaper first...I think I used that Paper Tiger also. Then let it set for a bit. Then scrape it off using a scraper with a holder. That saved me a bunch of work and pain in my hands/arms. Then I had to be sure to clean the walls down with TSP solution. It was a huge amount of work, and I will never put up wallpaper again. I also had the problem of paint coming off with the wallpaper in one area...some came off, some didn't. I used a lot of spackling compound on that wall!!!!
Take your time and don't get discouraged. You'll be so glad you did it the right way, albiet the long way!!!!

I did use the DIF gel solution in the spray bottle but my hand started cramping from squirting it after about an hour!!! But I did find the concentrate actually worked better for me anyway.

 

[MELSMICE]

Thanks so much for all your replies!