I've just stripped vinyl wallpaper, peeling off the top layer and using a sponge and water on the remaining layer then left it for a few minutes to soak and it peeled off easily.
supernova2,
Jan 2, 11:25pm
At what cost?
Ive stripped wallpaper off houses built in the 1950's without the gib causing problems.
Cost to strip wallpaper - only time so free. Cost to regib, extra power points, insulate, obtain building consent etc - bit of a guess but lets say $3000 per room as an average.
Regib requires the removal of mouldings, architraves and so on. Might even have to lift the carpet to get the skitings out. Will the ceiling get damaged removing the cornice? Can you reuse all those bits of trim or will you damage them? So now you need to paint strip, reputy, repaint. Where do you say that's not a cost effective way to soak off a bit of old paper?
kiwimade64,
Jan 3, 12:03pm
the hottest water you can stand and laundry powder mixed together. My dad is a paperhanger and this is what he uses. If the wallpaper has been painted over then scratch the paper so the water can soak in. Leave for a bit then scrape carefully so you don't take the wallboard with the wallpaper.
ayjay1,
Jan 6, 10:37am
From my experience ! Some times you wins and sometime you looses""" with wallpaper stripping. Some jobs come of easy and some dont. Doesn't matter how you do it. But I like the soaking and cup of tea method myself.
benthecat,
Jan 10, 10:28pm
We've just re-jibbed one room, putting insulation in the outside wall. Had issues with the architrave and skirting - too old and dry to come off in one piece, so had to replace which was hard work. Have since been told of a trick to try with the next room - remove the old jib only from around 20cm below the architrave, down to 20cm above the skirting. replace the jib, and stop them together nicely, and leave the skirting and architrave in place. Sounds much easier and is what I will try with the next room. FYI - in another room I used my steam mop to help strip the wallpaper - worked great.
bluecat1529,
Dec 29, 7:42pm
Has anybody got any tips to make this easier. I have got a steamer but maybe some of you have some good hints
yorkie13,
Dec 29, 7:58pm
from a tradey point of view. strip the top layer (if it's vinyl) soak and keep soaking. when you begin to strip with your scraper try using the blade crossways rather than up n down,sometimes it's easier.personally i don't use a steamer cos it can blow the gib board. be patient,put drop sheets down and soak. there's no easy way really.
wine-o-clock,
Dec 29, 8:29pm
get a wallpaper tiger
andyb2,
Dec 29, 8:39pm
I have tried the tiger. Waste of time. Go with #2 and contain the water. Lots of water !
jenny188,
Dec 29, 9:42pm
Warm water is best and saturate the old paper. Also the more steam the better. Wet, wet , wet. Strip with a flat 4inch scraper or trowl
happychappy50,
Dec 29, 10:31pm
A steamer & be PATIENT,I have done this several times,the paper on the Gib board will be ok if you don’t scrape too much,the steamer dissolves the glue.Make sure you remove most of the old glue,give it a good pole sand after the paper dries,re stop any joints,a coat of sealer then paint if your choice
aredwood,
Dec 29, 11:05pm
Have just finished stripping a bedroom worth of painted over wallpaper. luckily mine was beginning to peel at the edges in places, and using a knife with a curved blade, (old fish gutting knife) I was able to scrape off just enough to grab on and pull. The paper then separated into 2 layers, and I was able to pull off reasonable sized pieces. I still need to remove the inner layer of wallpaper that is still stuck to the gib board. That layer just looks like really thin brown paper, so should come off easily with water or wallpaper remover.
rednicnz,
Dec 30, 11:55am
My Mum's technique is to wet it and the go make a cup of tea. Wet it again and drink the tea. Then have a go at scraping it off. If not coming off easily, have another cup of tea!
shanreagh,
Dec 30, 12:24pm
Sounds like a plan. Or you could substitute wine for tea if it was late enough in the day and then after the third you could critically look at the wallpaper and say to yourself 'this clearly needs more time' and leave it for the day!
Yes all jokes aside. you do have to leave it to soak in and leave for longer than you think and your Mum's timing is perfect. I often have another job on the go when stripping so I can mix and match.
dbab,
Dec 30, 3:48pm
A bit of dishwash liquid in the water helps.
vomo2,
Dec 30, 4:03pm
We use a couple of cups of white vinegar to a 5 litre sprayer. Magic!
cameron-albany,
Dec 30, 7:04pm
How old is the wallpaper? I renovated a 50's house a few years ago and tried to strip the wallpaper using all the methods above (plus more). I must have gone to Mitre 10, Bunnings, Kennards and everywhere else about 20 times buying and hiring everything I thought would do a better job than the previous attempts. I lost the will to live. My painter at the time basically told me not to bother. The wallpaper had essentially become part of the drywall. It gets to a point where the effort and money and time you're spending trying to scrape the paper off would be better spent on covering it up (professionally, using a very specific product) and then painting over it. That's exactly what I did with my 50's house and the result was absolutely stunning (and a hell of a lot cheaper). However if the paper you're trying to get off is a lot more modern and just stubborn then I'm sure you'll find one of the solutions above will work! But bear in mind if you're hacking and scraping and labouring to get the paper off then the walls will need re-stopping and that is expensive and time-consuming (even if you don't want a paint finish).
bluecat1529,
Dec 30, 8:27pm
Thanks All. We have given up. We were planning on stripping the wallpaper and having the walls skimmed but it's not happening Time to regib and insulate at the same time :-)
zak410,
Dec 30, 8:48pm
Best option if you can. You may also get new power-points ?
supernova2,
Dec 31, 12:43am
That's a very expensive way to remove wallpaper.
As others have said just soak it and with a bit of patience and the right scraper it will just about fall off.
gabbysnana,
Mar 22, 10:11pm
old gib deteriorates in the stripping process, better to regib, re wire and insulate
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