Wallpaper removal

What wallpaper removal covers

A lot of older Upstate houses still have wallpaper somewhere. A border along the top of the kitchen. A print in the dining room. A bathroom that hasn’t changed in a long time. Taking it down is only half the job. The wall under it has to be cleaned, repaired and primed before it can take paint and look right.

So when we take wallpaper down, the job includes:

• Removal of the paper and its backing.
• Washing off the paste left on the wall.
• Repair of torn drywall paper, holes and gouges the paper was hiding.
• Smoothing with joint compound where the wall needs it.
• Priming so the wall is ready for paint.

We do wallpaper removal as part of our interior painting work. It is priced on its own line, so you can see what the removal costs apart from painting the walls.

What’s under the paper

You don’t really know what a wall looks like until the paper is off. Here is what we often find:

• Torn drywall face paper. If the wallpaper was hung on drywall that was never primed or sealed, the paste grabs the drywall’s paper face, and some of it comes off with the wallpaper. Mud put right over torn face paper bubbles, so those spots get sealed with a primer made for it first.
• Old holes and repairs. Anchor holes, rough patches and cracks show up once it’s gone.
• Walls that were never finished smooth. A wall that was going to be papered wasn’t always finished as well as one that was going to be painted.
• Paste left behind. Any paste left on the wall can make new paint crack or peel. It all has to be washed off.
• More than one layer. Sometimes there is paper under the paper, or paper that was painted over.

We look for clues at the estimate, like loose seams, bubbles, or an edge we can lift. Some of it only shows once the paper comes down. We talk through at the estimate how that is handled.

Should you paint over it instead?

People ask if we can just paint over the wallpaper. It can be done, but it rarely looks or holds up as well as a bare wall:

• Seams and the texture of the paper show through the paint.
• The water in the paint can soften the paste, and the paper bubbles or lifts.
• Once it’s painted, the paper is much harder to take down later.

In most rooms, taking it down is the better call. We will tell you honestly what we see at the estimate.

How we do it

1. Walk the room with you. We look at the paper and the walls, check how it’s hung, and write up a price. A free color consult comes with every estimate.
2. Cover and protect the room. Removal means water and wet paper. Floors and trim get covered, outlet covers and switch plates come off, and furniture goes to the middle of the room and gets covered.
3. Take off the top layer. Some papers have a face that peels off dry and leaves the backing behind. Others get scored lightly so water can get through to the paste.
4. Soak and scrape. The backing and paste get softened, then scraped off carefully so the drywall isn’t gouged.
5. Wash the wall. Every bit of paste comes off, and the wall gets time to dry.
6. Seal and repair. Torn face paper gets sealed with a primer made for it. Holes, gouges and cracks get filled. This is the same work as our drywall repair.
7. Smooth and sand. Joint compound goes on where the wall needs it, then gets sanded flat.
8. Prime. The whole wall gets primed so the paint goes on even.
9. Paint. Cut in by hand at the ceiling, corners and trim, then rolled.
10. Walk it with you. Covers go back on, furniture goes back, and we look over the room together.

Which paint level fits

Wallpaper tends to turn up in kitchens, bathrooms, dining rooms and hallways. We use Sherwin-Williams at three levels:

• Essential (SuperPaint). Solid, good-looking paint for rooms that don’t take a beating, like a guest room or a house going on the market.
• Performance (Duration Home). Our most common pick. It holds up to scrubbing and scuffs, so it’s the one for kitchens, hallways and kids’ rooms.
• Showcase (Emerald). Top of the line. The smoothest finish and the best color depth, worth it in a dining room you look at every day.

Sheen matters too, especially in a bathroom. Our guide to choosing paint sheen room by room walks through what goes where.

What affects the price

Wallpaper removal is priced on its own line, by the amount of wall covered in paper. Here is what else moves it:

• The paper itself. Some comes off in sheets. Some fights you the whole way.
• Layers and paint. More than one layer, or paper that has been painted over, takes longer.
• The wall underneath. Torn face paper and hidden damage mean more repair.
• The room. Bathrooms take more time because of the tight work around fixtures. Stairwells and tall walls take more too.
• Painting the walls. Painting after removal is priced like any other interior painting.

Taking down dated wallpaper is often near the top of the list when you’re getting a house ready to sell. The estimate is free, and you get a written price before we start. Read more on how we price, and our guide on drywall repair and when to patch or replace. Every job comes with our 12-month workmanship warranty. We’re licensed (RBS 66117) and insured, based in Duncan, and we work across Greenville and Spartanburg counties, including Taylors, Mauldin and Spartanburg. Financing is available through Wisetack or Klarna.