# wall liner over wallpaper?



## RunningGirl (Jan 27, 2009)

Hello! I am new here. I am working on a room that has wallpaper covering old (1920s) plaster walls. I would like to cover the walls with a wall liner and then paint. Is it ok to do this without removing the old wallpaper? I'm afraid if I take the old paper off I will hurt the walls.


----------



## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

Is the old paper adhering to the plaster? Are the edges of the paper 'rolling' or pulling away from the wall? If it was drywall behind the paper, you could use an adhesive behind the spots that are loose and make it stable enough to hang new wall liner, but with old plaster, I'm not sure what's available, if anything, to get the paper to adhere well enough to put another layer on. 

Is the liner you want to put up pretty thick? I'm just thinking that if there are places where the old paper is loose, if you could cut the loose spots out and paint over the just the plaster with a couple coats of good primer. That way the liner would have something to adhere to on the exposed plaster and if there is only one layer of paper, it doesn't seem like it would show up through a thick liner. Just a thought, I could be way off.

There are probably new products that have come out since the last time I did any wallpapering. 

I rented an old farmhouse with old, old wallpaper on the walls. But the problem was that there were at least 4 layers and it had been rolling up around the edges of the doors and windows. It didn't really matter anyway, the landlady and her husband liked it and wanted us to leave it the way it was. That's what we did.


----------



## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

Paper wallpaper over plaster walls is the easiest situation for removal. You just get a, "paper tiger" and go over the walls with it. It puts tiny holes in the paper so the water/vinegar solution gets behind the paper and dissolves the paste. A simple scraper will remove the paper and leave the walls undisdurbed.
Ron


----------



## 4just1don (Jun 13, 2008)

what 'liner' are you thinking of installing? What I did over old plaster that would NOT hold paint or repair,,,was to screw 1/4 or 3/8 inch drywall right to it without removing extensive wide pine trim, plate rail,or other trim I didnt want to throw away,,,for its looks. Taking old wide trim off and reinstalling,,,usually dry,cracked and damaged,,,wasnt an option for me,,,so I went inside it all,,,caulked the slight crack to the wood,and it looks 100 per cent better than the OLD plaster ever did!! Must cut drywall to very close tolerances.

not necessary to remove underlying paper then.


----------



## robut (Aug 22, 2007)

*This is a small chore but worth it.*

It's funny you ask this very question, I too asked this same one this past Dec. /08 
My home is well over 110 years old. :thumbsup:
The walls are a rough plaster under the old wall paper.
I had the same condition, the edges would roll up from being dry for about
60 years. I decided to remove the old paper, wall by wall. I found that water made it harder to remove. So I just scraped it and scraped it dry.
In one day I was done I double washed it with TSP rinsed it twice 
because paint will not stick well to tsp film. We decided to spend the 
$34.00 on paint and if we didn't like it well we can WALL paper again.
As it turned out we really like the look we have had people say you have been in this house 30 years " what took you so long " We thought this was going to be a real big Job " A chore yes " painfull no
So after all this story telling I say strip it and rip it. do the job right.
you will not be sorry. you can change colors every couple years.
email me your decision ! and if I was wrong too.:thumbup: 
Deck hand


----------



## robut (Aug 22, 2007)

*This is a small chore but worth it.*

deleted


----------

