In Fernandina Beach, FL, some homeowners have wallpaper in their homes and have grown tired of it. If your wallpaper is outdated or is damaged, you might want to remove it so that you can update your home’s look with a fresh paint job from Hall’s Quality Painting. As a do-it-yourself project, wallpaper removal can be especially frustrating and challenging. Here are 10 tips to make the job easier for you to manage.

Tips to Remove Wallpaper

Whether you want to paint your walls or apply new wallpaper, you will first need to completely remove the old paper. Old glue and paper can show through the paint, and newer wallpapers stick much better to clean walls.

1. Protect your floors

Before you get started, you need to prepare your floors so that they will be protected from the solvents and water. Line the edges of your floor that meet your walls with towels.

2. Figure out what materials are on your walls

You should determine what type of wallpaper and adhesive are on your walls. It is also important for you to take into account what materials were used to make your walls. If they are plaster, you will not have to worry about soaking them. If your walls are made of drywall, you will need to be more careful when you soak them and scrape them because you could damage the surface.

3. Work in one area at a time

Instead of soaking your entire wall at once, only soak and scrape one small area at a time. Oversoaking your wallpaper can make the task more difficult.

4. If you will add new wallpaper, you may not have to remove all of the old

If you don’t want to bother stripping all of the wallpaper, you might be able to paper over the old in all areas that do not have bubbles, curling corners, or loose seams. Remove those portions, sand lightly, and repaper over the top.

5. Scrape the wallpaper

After you have soaked the area, scrape the wallpaper. You can also try to pull it down by pulling at a 30-degree angle. If your paper is water-resistant, use a knife to score it before spraying it with water so that you can remove it.

6. Steam to help with wallpaper removal

Some wallpapers may not be easy to remove with soaking. If your wallpaper resists your efforts, try applying steam.

7. Remove the adhesive

After you have removed the wallpaper, there will be some adhesive left behind on your walls. You can use a solvent to remove it. Roll the solvent on your walls with a paint roller, and wipe it away.

8. Sand your walls

If you have bits of wallpaper that have resisted your removal efforts, sand them away with a coarse-grit sandpaper.

9. Let your wall dry

After you have removed your wallpaper and sanded it, let it dry completely before moving on to the next step.

10. Apply primer

Once your wall has dried, apply a coat of primer to it. Make sure to fill in any cracks, gouges or holes before you apply the primer. Let the primer coat dry before you paint it or apply new wallpaper.

Contact Halls Quality Painting

When you are ready to paint your walls, get expert help from the professionals at Hall’s Quality Painting in Fernandina Beach, FL. Call us today for your QUOTE or to schedule your service.