How to remove wallpaper

Time to get that room spruced up? Create a new look by simply removing that old wallpaper and beginning again. Learn how to remove wallpaper here.

Level of difficulty

Level 2: Intermediate

What you need

• Stripping knife
• Wallpaper removal solvent
• Spray bottle
• Safety goggles
• Mask
• Wallpaper steamer
• Water
• Damp cloth
• Mild detergent
• Putty
• Putty knife
• Sandpaper
• Primer
• Paintbrush

The steps to follow

1. Move furniture away from the wall and cover the work area with dust sheets.
2. With a stripping knife, lift off a corner of the wallpaper and slowly pull it down.
3. If the wallpaper don’t peel off properly, try soaking it with wallpaper removal solvent or use a steam wallpaper stripper to remove it.

Stripping wallpaper with wallpaper removal solvent
a. Open all the windows to ventilate the room.
b. For the wallpaper to fully absorb the wallpaper removal solvent, score the wallpaper with a stripping knife. Make horizontal cuts of about 20 cm (8 in) wide.
c. Spray enough wallpaper removal solvent onto the first strip that you've just cut.
d. Let the wallpaper absorb the solvent. The paper should be fully soaked before you start stripping.
e. Slide the knife under the horizontal cut and move it upward at a 45 degree angle to scrape off the wallpaper.
f. Discard the first strip of wallpaper.
g. Spray more solvent onto the next strip of wallpaper and start scraping again with the stripping knife.

Note:
To strip wallpapers on drywalls, scrape it without soaking it in wallpaper removal solvent.

Stripping wallpaper with a wallpaper steamer

Note:
For this particular project, you can rent a wallpaper steamer from your local DIY shop.

a. Fill the water tank of the wallpaper steamer and let it boil.
b. Hold the hotplate against the wallpaper and let the steam soften the paper.
c. Try peeling a corner of the wallpaper to see if the paper will come off. You might need to steam the paper a bit more if you can't peel it off.
d. Slide the stripping knife into an edge of the wallpaper and slowly scrape it off.
e. Move the hotplate along the area and scrape the rest of the wall with the stripping knife.

4. Clean the newly stripped wall with removal solvent to remove any leftover wallpaper sealer.
5. Wash the surface again with a damp cloth and mild detergent.
6. Fill any wall cracks or holes with putty.
7. Let the putty dry and smooth the surface with fine grade sandpaper.
8. Next apply a coat of primer.
9. To finish off, you can repaint the wall with a new coat of paint or hang new wallpaper.