How do you remove wallpaper?

Removing wallpaper is a very tedious and time-consuming job. Many painting companies provide wallpaper removal as a service because it is difficult for the average homeowner. There is a process, however, and you as a customer need to be made aware of the process prior to making the decision to remove it yourself or have a professional remove it.

First, wallpaper removal and the ensuing wall preparation are very unpredictable. Sometimes the wallpaper comes off easily in large sheets, while other times it needs to be chipped off inch by inch. Normally a solution like DIF or Piranha is used to assist in wetting the walls before removing the paper. Once the wallpaper has been removed, the condition of the walls can be in varied states. Occasionally, the walls are fairly smooth and need a minimum amount of surface preparation, other times they need several coats of spackle to skim coat and smooth the surface. Because of the unpredictable nature and to ensure that you are getting the best value, we recommend that you consider doing these jobs on a time and material basis. If you would rather a firm proposal we normally calculate a rate “per man-hour”, with a removal range of 25 – 35 square feet per hour. There are instances, however, that that rate can go more quickly.

The wallpaper removal and wall preparation stage includes removing the paper, sanding and removing the glue, spackling the walls, sanding the walls, re-spackling the walls and re-sanding the walls. In addition to this lengthy preparation process you must use special oil-based primers so as not to reactivate the glue. Additionally, wallpaper removal typically creates a significant amount of drywall dust from sanding and unpleasant odors from the chemicals and primers used.