How to Remove Wallpaper
Lay old sheets over floor and anything else you want to protect., Shut off all circuit breakers to any room outlets and lights., Keep the covers in place and tape over the exposed area., Figure out your walls are made of., Determine what type of...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Lay old sheets over floor and anything else you want to protect.
Use small nails to attach to wall edges if necessary, but keep in mind that drop cloths move around a lot even if you nail them.
Moving furniture out of the room to be stripped will make your life easier. -
Step 2: Shut off all circuit breakers to any room outlets and lights.
If you intend to do this at night, invest in a halogen work lamp and a long extension cord. , This keeps water from getting inside during the removal process.
Even outlets without power are dangerous to get wet and can pose a fire hazard.
You may remove the paper underneath towards the end of the process. , This let you know how gentle you have to be while stripping your wallpaper.
Most walls are made either of plaster or drywall.
While plaster is hard, durable, and fairly water-resistant, drywall is nothing more than paper-covered gypsum and shouldn’t be allowed to get too wet.
The easiest way to tell the difference is to tap the wall in various places; if it sounds hollow, you have drywall.
If you use a wallpaper removal method that involves liquid or steam, go easy on your drywall. , There are many kinds of wallpaper, but the removal process will go a lot smoother with the strippable type or peelable-top-layer type than the traditional varieties.
To test this out, work your putty knife under a corner of the wallpaper, loosen it, and try to peel it back with your hands.
If the whole thing peels away in one piece, you have strippable wallpaper.
A bottle of champagne is in order.
If, much like a cheap label, only the surface layer peels away, leaving a papery bottom layer, your wallpaper has a peelable top layer.
This isn’t as easy to remove as strippable wallpaper, but you should still consider yourself lucky that you don’t have the traditional kind.
If you cannot peel your wallpaper away from your wall by hand (or can only peel a thin strip away at a time), you have traditional wallpaper.
You will have to remove it either with stripping solution or a wallpaper steamer. -
Step 3: Keep the covers in place and tape over the exposed area.
-
Step 4: Figure out your walls are made of.
-
Step 5: Determine what type of wallpaper you have.
Detailed Guide
Use small nails to attach to wall edges if necessary, but keep in mind that drop cloths move around a lot even if you nail them.
Moving furniture out of the room to be stripped will make your life easier.
If you intend to do this at night, invest in a halogen work lamp and a long extension cord. , This keeps water from getting inside during the removal process.
Even outlets without power are dangerous to get wet and can pose a fire hazard.
You may remove the paper underneath towards the end of the process. , This let you know how gentle you have to be while stripping your wallpaper.
Most walls are made either of plaster or drywall.
While plaster is hard, durable, and fairly water-resistant, drywall is nothing more than paper-covered gypsum and shouldn’t be allowed to get too wet.
The easiest way to tell the difference is to tap the wall in various places; if it sounds hollow, you have drywall.
If you use a wallpaper removal method that involves liquid or steam, go easy on your drywall. , There are many kinds of wallpaper, but the removal process will go a lot smoother with the strippable type or peelable-top-layer type than the traditional varieties.
To test this out, work your putty knife under a corner of the wallpaper, loosen it, and try to peel it back with your hands.
If the whole thing peels away in one piece, you have strippable wallpaper.
A bottle of champagne is in order.
If, much like a cheap label, only the surface layer peels away, leaving a papery bottom layer, your wallpaper has a peelable top layer.
This isn’t as easy to remove as strippable wallpaper, but you should still consider yourself lucky that you don’t have the traditional kind.
If you cannot peel your wallpaper away from your wall by hand (or can only peel a thin strip away at a time), you have traditional wallpaper.
You will have to remove it either with stripping solution or a wallpaper steamer.
About the Author
Edward Peterson
Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in practical skills and beyond.
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