# Drywall or Wallpaper removal?



## Slicendice (Jan 13, 2005)

I have an old Victorian house with plaster walls and about 9 layers of wallpaper some of which is 100+ years old. I do not want paper on my walls but I have to decide what I am going to do about it. Remove the many layers of wallpaper and repair the plaster wall beneath--because there are surely cracks and there will be damage from paper removal. Or install .25 inch drywall over my walls and start over fresh. I have never done either so I am uncertain of the pros and cons. Anyone have any experience here?


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## walldoc (Feb 7, 2005)

Overlaying 1/4" board will save alot of mess and fuss, but will most lokely create some work. Trim pieces, (baseboards, crown & chair rail) will have to be recut to be fit properly after the new board is hung and finished.

There are some other systems on the market that you might have an interest in, here's some links to check out.

http://www.newtex.com/wall_paint.html

http://www.flexiwall.com/pages/products_home.htm

http://www.roosinternational.com/


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## Glasshousebltr (Feb 14, 2004)

If you do decide on paper removal, they make a 'paper tiger' that will assist in your efforts to remove.

Bob


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## giddonah (Mar 16, 2005)

Pfft. I wrote this post last night, but it didn't take. Round 2:

I know this is old, but I've been doing this for a year now. My favorite is to rip it all down to the studs and start fresh with sheetrock (often need to shim to keep the wall from getting wavy). Upside is that you don't lose any more space (yeah, not a great argument, but sometimes I need that inch) and fixes are much, much easier when something goes "bump" right through the wall. Plus, you have the wall open and can now get to the electrical and whatever else. Downside: plaster is heavy. Unless you have somewhere to dump it as fill (separate out the nails and lathe) you're looking at some landfill charges (but who doesn't either have a bumpy driveway or know someone who does?). Also, plaster dust isn't nice. Get a respirator (and leave the paper filter in the coffee maker).

Second option: Paint the wall paper. We almost did this but the seams would show through. Would have left a cool texture though.

Third option: Pull down the paper. If there isn't any water damage, then the paper should come off pretty easy (at least what I've experienced does). Then you're left with the glue. You can paint that for texture (we'll be doing that in a couple days), or you can remove it with DIF. Wash it on, walk away for 20 min and scrape it off. This part is messy, but works good. Scrape cracks clear of loose plaster with a screwdriver and fill in with new plaster (work quick, that stuff hardens fast). Then skim the wall with spackle to get the little dimples and smooth out the crack patching. Sand and paint. If you do come across water damage or the plaster has just gotten loose, patch it with sheetrock. Get a mason blade for a circular saw (or a rotozip) and cut a square patch and replace with the sheetrock. Spackle, sand, paint.

Downside to leaving the plaster: You'll wish you got rid of it if you want to redo the electrical. Upside: Much less work and materials.


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