Top issues with removing wallpaper

Wallpaper is one of those words that incites visions of Stunning or Experiences of trauma from removing it from walls. There is not much middle ground. I do not know anyone that has not heard or seen horrible stories of wallpaper removal. You may be looking at a wall in your house right now, seeing wallpaper and asking yourself what are the Top Issues with removing Wallpaper I need to know before undergoing this adventure?

We are here to help! As a painting and wallpaper contractor, not only do we have the experience nad fun of installing new wallpaper, but we are hired to strip wallpaper form walls. Removing Wallpaper is not unique to just homes- business locations are also challenged with wallpaper removal.

So– you have wallpaper, Let’s go over some tools you need to remove wallpaper, how we remove wallpaper from walls, and some of the top issues with removing wallpaper you may encounter. You can read more about wallpaper removal here…

My wallpaper is falling off the wall!

Yes, this can be a problem when removing wallpaper. It sounds like a blessing until it is not. We had this problem happen in-house we were removing wallpaper and painting while in Gilberts, IL.

The previous homeowners were HEAVY smokers. Aside from the fact that the home smelled like smoke, the walls, wallpaper, wood trim, countertops, windows, and cabinets were just slimed with nicotine. (You can read more about painting over nicotine here)

This wallpaper fell off the wall easier than pulling a post in note from my computer screen. So – easy to remove- but awful to get paint ready. Oil primer to cover smoke and stains.

This was an issue of the homeowner (me!!) was not ready to commit to removing wallpaper while moving in.

The wallpaper won’t come off the wall!

Polar opposite of the wallpaper falling off the walls, is when the wallpaper wont come off the walls. We have had this problem several times. The most recent was a foyer we worked on in Naperville, IL. You can read more here about this problem job

While trying to take it down, it was clear the wallpaper would not come off the walls. Typically we have several methods to remove wallpaper such as;

• wallpaper steamer
• hot water
• fabric softener and water
• Diff wallpaper remover

We tried all 4!!

So.. in this case, We used a bonding primer to prime the walls. Bonding primer soaks into a surface and bonds, so any areas that do not adhere to the wall, the wallpaper will bubble. That didn’t happen. So we primed the walls, skim-coated the seams, primed those repairs, and painted. Looked great!!

Damage to walls after wallpaper removal

The most common issue with wallpaper removal is damage to walls. There are a variety of reasons that this can happen- and we won’t go into why, cause now you have to fix it.

So now that you have a spot on the wall that looks like a war zone, What the heck should I do now? Wallpaper removal – is a wild west type of home activity, you never know how things are gonna turn out. You painting contractor or wallpaper contractor will do their best to help you navigate these issues or be prepared for them- but until you see the carnage of drywall damage it never quite registers- how bad things are.

While we were removing wallpaper in a hotel in Elk Grove Village, the wallpaper was installed directly to drywall! The face of every single wall came off. That means the walls all. had to be re drywalled- they were damaged beyond repair.

Problems Removing Wallpaper Adhesive

The removal od wallpaper adhesive is the most time consuming and messy part of wallpaper removal.

This image is close up of a wall that has all of the wallpaper removed. As you can see the wall it looks like a Apollo landing site (unless you are a believer that the moon landing was staged- then I guess it would be a ash filled movie production studio?) anyway.. the wall it gross! MORE HOT WATER!!!

Get the walls wet with a sponge or weed type pump sprayer.

Allow the water to activate the adhesive. One it is gummy, you should be able to scrape it or wash it off.

I Will say this is MESSY!! While one of our employees was removing wallpaper from a Job Site in West Dundee- the old adhesive was so thick it took 2 of us 16 hours to scrpae away wallpaper paste from a 12×16 office!! Can you imagine? I have never worked so hard to remove wallpaper adhesive from wall in my life.

How much will it cost to remove wallpaper from a wall?

That is a great Question! I would love to say 321.50. But I cannot. We don’t know how long it will take to remove. Wil the face of the paper come off, will water work or do we need steam? How much repair work will there be.. all great things we have to be aware of- and so should you.

We can get you a ballpark, but at the end of the day, we are gonna say here is our best guess, and it may take more time, but it could take less.

Other Questions on wallpaper removal?

If you have them let us know!! We are here to help in the process of DIY wallpaper removal as well as hiring a contractor to remove wallpaper at your home or business.