Will removing very old wallpaper bring down chunks of my wall?
Natasha | February 28 2018 | SW19 5QW
I have moved into a very old London home that seems to have been unmaintained for long periods and all the walls are covered in a plain wall paper. I painted over it before I moved in and some of the walls have bubbled. Most of the bubbles settled down once the paint dried but there are a few bad areas that now a few months on just look awful. I would like to get the wallpaper removed and walls painted as the worst area is the hallway as you enter so it is very noticeable. I have heard horror stories about wall crumbling as the paper is removed and how it can be a massive job but not actually sure what a ‘massive job’ means. Is it a case of just adding some plaster to smooth the walls? Assuming getting a tradesperson in you have the correct machinery needed to do the job quickly with least mess so you would steam off the paper and would this still damage walls? I live in a small London flat so it’s not a big hallway. At a guess how many days would be needed?
Comments (16)
it is likely that old plaster will crumble when stripping wallpaper, you can reduce chances of that by NOT using a steamer but just warm water instead. The worst that can happen is that you would have to get the walls remastered. Cost of plaster about 30mm deep would be about £50 per sqm, just skimming (5mm) about £20 per sqm, so it could be costly. Kris 07949220137
Plaster doesnt last forever instead of trying to cover it up. Rip it back to brick re board and skim then you will have no problems in future. Roughly 3 days work @ whatever the day rate is in london plus materials
Even if your paper comes off pretty easily,and the plaster remained intact, with just cosmetic damage ,ie crack filling ,etc with polyfilla,to get a decent finish I would line the walls with a 1200 grade lining paper(£5 a roll approx) and then paint the walls,a days work to line the walls ,pro rata London J R Gornall
The worst ways is back to brick if it's pretty solid will beable to skim over an paint couple of days
Try warm water with washing up liquid in it first if the problem persists then,unfortunately 're plaster is the only way forward
No one knows what is hiding behind the wallpaper. If the wallpaper is bubbling it has to be removed. No one can say for sure how much plaster will come off with the wallpaper ... So it could be a small amount of plastering or it could be a big job.
There is always the possibility of the plaster coming off, you could try tapping the walls if you hear hollow spots then it will come off when stripped. I would recommend warm soapy water in a spray bottle, soak the paper then scrap off. If you use a steamer you only increase the risk of the plaster blowing.
It should be about 3 days but the plaster just needs cutting out re-plasted and painted roughly. £400.00 plus travelling
You can make life easy and apply wallpaper paste with a roller (1 wall at a time if doing it alone) go and make a cup of tea and when you come back it will just peel off, and avoid polyfilla and use easifill it’s a very fine filler easy to rub down 120 grade sand paper ample enough, and reline wall horizontally (1400 grade) incase you want to put paper up at a later date Hope that helps Ian
Tap the plaster with a knuckle and if it sounds hollow, the plaster may be blown and will come away with the paper...using a steam stripper will make it worse. If the paper comes away easily...I would recommend lining with 1200 grade lining paper before decoration, often comes out as good as skimming and saves money and mess (Plastering always fills entire house with dust)
With 43 yrs experience, old houses are moneypits, you have 2 choices. 1 make good and look pretty. 2 totally restore. Either way, not cheap. For an honest opinion, call me for a site visit, honest tradesman.!!! Daniel Mc Naul. Inverness. 07762805890. Willing to travel. With expenses paid. PROPER DECORATOR.
Depends, give it a knock? does it sound blown, hollow? Does pressing lightly against it feel or sound lose? If it does then yes it’s likely going to be a mess and require re plastering or large filling/skimming, best to let a decorator look at it and give you an opinion
Quite a few opinions from different trades. As a decorator of thirty something years I'd say if it is not broken don't fix it. All walls with old plaster do get worse with time. God knows I have seen my fair share. If you remove paper and some of the plaster is loose take it back yo what is sound. Once you get to a solid area fill it (usually with easyfill 45 or similar filler) sand it and repeat until level. Once you sand it flat it should be OK. Sometimes it is advisable to line, that will just stop any small cracks from showing in time. If it's bad I'd usually get a plasterer in. You don't need to spend an awful lot to repair walls.
Hi and good morning, unfortunately the only way to be able to fully tell how the substrate is is to remove said paper then evaluate condition of plaster under the paper. As you can see alot of previous replies have also said as much then by looking at the plaster surface you can tell if it is cosmetic I.e scratches pin holes etc or major I.e blown plaster crumbling plaster etc and then see the full extent of work required. I hope this helps.
Just move
Posting job to tradespeople...