VOT! Wallpaper glue removal from drywall (long)

A

AngelofSin

New member
Yes, my question is Very OT, and there's a whole bunch of collective
knowledge & more with this wonderful group here at RFC :-) The 'other'
(upstairs) bathroom of my home is getting a complete 're-do' - and I do
mean complete!

Main question is - how can thick, nasty wallpaper backing and
adhesive/glue be 'easily' removed from the drywall?? Details follow, as
do links to tinypics. Keyword is 'easily'! :> [Note: "easily" doesn't
include payment for someone else to do the job!!! Don't I wish though,
except I haven't won the BIG lottery, yet ]

The flooring (ancient industrial vinyl tile of the worst sort!) has been
removed as has the subfloor (tile base -- "lu-an"?? however it's
spelled/pronounced??). Almost all of the atrocious late-1960s or
early-1970s wallpaper has been pulled off as well.

Just for reference - here's a 'before' photo - tinypic
http://oi51.tinypic.com/fu72f7.jpg - where some floor tiles and a bit of
wallpaper had been removed when I thought to take any 'before' photos!
Here's a tinypic link to the 'after' removal -
http://oi53.tinypic.com/vhym1d.jpg - notice that the 'white' wall on the
lower right is where adhesive material & glue have already been removed
using the method mentioned below.

A trick(?) I learned many years ago to remove wallpaper glue is to spray
a mixture of water combined with dishwasher machine detergent on the
residue (some sorts of enzymes?), then use a lot of elbow grease to
remove said gunk! Is there any method easier than that - other than the
option to hire out the (wo)manpower?? AND, don't forget to use gloves -
this mixture of dishwasher machine detergent & water is very nasty,
quite caustic!

Thanks ever so much for recommendations ;)

Sky, who's an amateur at (re)decorating!

P.S. Thankfully, the painting afterwards will be so much easier!!! :))

--

Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice!!
 
On Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:30:52 -0600, Sky
wrote:


I think HGTV says to use a mixture of fabric softener and water.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2279480_remove-wallpaper-fabric-softener.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080223164824AALfG56

The bigger question is "what's a neutralizing solution?" It seems to
be either TSP (which is caustic too) or vinegar. I only spent a
minute researching, so you might want to spend a little more time
doing it.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
"Sky" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

We used a steamer when we removed ours. It didn't really work so well.
Ended up resorting to scraping it off. It was messy and took forever. I
then vowed never to have wallpaper again. I really hate the stuff.

But... Our current house has some in it. A little in the kitchen. And one
wall in one bathroom.
 
Sky wrote:

A couple of years ago I took on the big effort to remove wallpaper
that I'd painted over when we moved in. I was worried that the
paint would cause a problem. Nope. What caused a problem?
The one big wall that they had papered only they never sized or
primed the walls. Arghhh!!

Other than that, it wasn't a big deal. You have the paper off get
a spray bottle, fill it with hot water. Spray a section you can work
with. Wait a couple of minutes. Using a wide scraper, the stuff
will come off no problem.

The floor will be a slippery mess, be careful. Wipe down the
walls with a sponge when you're done. You have the hard
work behind you!

nancy
 
sf wrote:


Fabric softener is supposed to be good to remove the paper.
The paper is already off, adding softener now will only add to the
gluey mess.

nancy, didn't find the softener useful anyway
 
On Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:30:52 -0600, Sky wrote:



You can rent a wall steamer really cheap, steam the old wall paper and use a
drywall knife(scraper) about a four inch wide to remove the wallpaper. This
steamer will also soften the glue enough to remove most. Use TSP to remove any
residue, and then prime with zinnser, then paint. There isn't a really easy way
to remove it, still require some elbow grease.

--

Stu

So much more than just a recipe website

Recipe of the week "GARLIC PEPPER VEGGIE BALLS"
http://foodforu.ca/recipeofweek.html

The "Stop Usage Based Billing" Petition is at
http://foodforu.ca
 
On 2011-02-10, Sky wrote:

Sky, you'd be better off posting at a couple other groups. I highly
recommend alt.home.repair for great amount of general experience. You
might also try crossposting to rec.wookworking, which, despite its
seeming narrow focus, actually has a lot of professionals in the
trades, specially home remodeling.

There is a group, alt.home.interior.decorating, but I have no
experience with it, so have no idea of the real amt of traffic.

nb
 
On Feb 10, 1:30?am, Sky wrote:

I JUST finished my bathroom last week, so I am fresh from the trenches
on this kind of project.

Are you using a scorer first before you spray on your solution? It's
the little handheld thing that you roll over your paper to make little
holes in it. Score the h**l out of it, then spray well, let soak in
5-10, then use scraper to get off.

If little bits of backing paper are still left behind, and there
usually are, steam them off. I used my Bissell steam cleaning
handheld machne, which came with a scraper accessory. Worked like a
charm,

Finally, sponge the walls clean to get off all residue. I used a
vinegar water (1 cup vinegar to one gallon water) solution and sponge
it well. Let dry and feel if it needs more, repeat if needed.

Then you should be ready to paint!

Hope this helps,
Kris
 
On 2011-02-10, notbob wrote:


Forgot to mention, currently a long running thread on vinyl vs tile
for bathroom floors. Many pros and cons on both and many excellent
points being put forth, many I'd have never thought of, not that I'm
any kinda expert. I highly recommend you look at alt.home.repair,
Sky. They are one of the few newsgroups that equal, if not surpass,
rfc for shear volume of traffic. Like rfc, mostly knowledgeable well
meaning ppl. I see a lotta rfc regulars there, too, so you should
feel right at home.

nb
 
On Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:07:13 -0800, "Julie Bove"
wrote:


Aren't modern wall papers supposed to be "strippable"? I guess it's
just a matter of scrubbing the remaining wallpaper paste off the wall
and IMO TSP will do the job. Vinegar would only be slightly better
than plain water.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
On Thu, 10 Feb 2011 07:36:01 -0500, "Nancy Young"
wrote:


That's good to hear because we've painted over wall paper. The only
wall paper that didn't come up in spite of a steamer and lots of
muscle turned out to be texturizing wallpaper that had been set
permanently onto the plaster (the original walls are lath and
plaster).

So, did you slash the painted over wallpaper or what to let your hot
water to do its part of the work?

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
Sky wrote:


Often with older houses removing wall paper leaves the sheet rock
badly damaged with dings and gouges and even after patching and
several coats of good paint your walls will still look lousy, painting
will only make they look worse... they wre probably papered to hide
teh awful condition of those walls. Since you don't have all that
much wallpaper (from the pictures those rooms are not very large) you
may want to consider having the sheetrock in those areas removed and
redone... at the same time add lots more insulation to exterior walls.
It may cost a lot less than you think, with this economy, especially
in the building trades, lots of sheetrockers and spacklers are begging
for work. I'd swap out those ancient bathroom fixtures too... right
after you bust your butt making everything spiffy one or more leaks
will develop and ruin it all, and besides those bath fixtures are
horrid... if you are going to leave them you should have left the old
wall paper too.
 
sf wrote:


I didn't get a paper tiger (the wallpaper scoring tool) until I found
that big unprimed wall was going to make my day miserable. I really
didn't have any trouble with the rest of the paper and maybe the paint
held it together for all I know, because it just came down with not
a lot of water spraying after I'd peeled off pieces here and there.

I learned to take it easy with that scoring tool, it left some holes
in the wallboard that I had to patch.

nancy
 
On Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:45:22 -0500, "Nancy Young"
wrote:


The scoring tool is a good idea. I'll assume that it's easy to find
if you can remember what it's called.

You patch holes too? You're sounding like a home improvement pro!

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
sf wrote:


I can't imagine any paint store wouldn't have it.


Sometimes I surprise myself. Then I remember all the stuff I can't
do and I get over it. Heh.

nancy
 
On 2/10/2011 10:09 AM, notbob wrote:

Thanks for the alternate newsgroups suggestions, nb, especially
alt.home.repair. They've been very helpful to read. Work continues
with the bathroom remodel. Tub has been removed, but hasn't yet made it
downstairs. Gotta get some extra 'muscle' to get that monster down the
stairs ;>

Sky

--

Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice!!
 
On 2/10/2011 4:42 PM, Brooklyn1 wrote:
(snip)


The bathroom is about 100 sq ft or so. All the wallpaper has been
removed. It's the wallpaper 'backing' and the glue that have to get
removed with lots of elbow grease (ugh). There are some places where
'mud' will be generously applied to repair the places on the drywall
where its surface layer pulled off with the wallpaper. Some drywall
will be replaced, also. The tub and its surround have been removed.
Nearly all of the fixtures will be replaced with new ones, including the
sink, vanity, tub, and new surround.

Get this, whoever installed the original plumbing did not include
shut-off valves for the H/C water supply to the tub (!!!!). Not to
mention, the access to the plumbing pipes was "BEHIND" the tub surround
- do what???!!!!! Reference http://oi51.tinypic.com/24v4nzl.jpg for
photo. Shutoff valves will be installed after the entire water supply
to the home has been turned off, and future access to the plumbing/pipes
will be conveniently located on the backside of the wall adjacent to the
commode.

Extra insulation on the side wall(s) and attic was added years ago when
the home was purchased.

Sky

--

Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice!!
 
On 2/11/2011 10:36 AM, Sky wrote:
When we had our master bath remodeled the company came in with a sledge
hammer and broke up the cast iron tub and hauled the pieces out. Made
more sense once I realized what a pain it would be to get that monster
out of the bathroom and through the house to the company truck. I'm
pretty sure the cast iron got recycled.
 
On 2/11/2011 11:13 AM, Sky wrote:

We washed and washed to get the wallpaper glue off the walls in the
guest bath. Finally put on a dust mask, goggles, and left the shop vac
running while I used an electric sander to take it off. Nothing else
would touch the stuff.


Our house was built in 1974 and the builder put no shut off valves
anywhere on water lines, including the main line into the house. Over
the last 21 years I have gone in and put cut off valves everywhere.
Prior to this you had to turn the water off at the city main, a real
PITA. Be sure you get quarter turn ball valves for shutting off your
water, a bad leak is no time to be messing around trying to close a
rising stem valve.
We now have two bathrooms that actually work like they're supposed to.
Our handyman is painting the inside of the house now and very soon we
will be ready to put it on the market. I saved all the receipts for 20
years of remodeling and was astonished that we had put almost $40K into
this house. Of course the insurance after Hurricane Rita paid $16K of
that but it's still a chunk of change.

Good luck with your remodel.
 
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