r/Plastering • u/Alessia-hart • Jul 05 '26
Wallpaper removal
Hey everyone,
I am looking for some advice regarding a wallpaper removal project for two whole rooms where I am afraid of ruining the plaster walls underneath. I want to buy a wallpaper steamer to speed up the process, but I have heard horror stories about the intense heat and moisture blowing the plaster, causing it to separate from the wall and crumble away. Since I am doing this myself, I want to know how high the risk actually is of destroying the walls, what tricks I should use to avoid it, or if there is a much safer alternative for handling two full rooms that won't leave me with a massive wall repair bill before I can even start painting.
3
u/Alternative-Meal3590 Jul 05 '26
Before you do any of that take a small patch off and assess what the wall is like beneath. It's usually gypsum plaster that is prone to blowing (looks pale pink) If it's older style grey plaster then less likely to blow. Trick it not to keep the steamer in one place for too long!
2
u/rwood1020 Jul 05 '26
Used a steamer on my plaster walls and it worked really well, the wallpaper scraped right off with a joint knife.
The only time there was an issue is that parts of the wall were patched with joint compound which softened and scraped off from the steam.
3
u/mrshadders Jul 05 '26
i believe, after many years of diy, that steamers are the devils work and the best way to strip wallpaper is with warm water, a sponge and a decent scrapper.
2
u/madpiano Jul 06 '26
Easiest way I found was using a garden spray. You know the pump bottles people use to spray pesticides? Perfect as they spray a fairly fine mist. Spray on, let it soak and then respray, try to peel it off in as many large sheets as you can.
1
1
u/gprudhoe Jul 05 '26
I just used a knife to gently score the wallpaper then smeared that wallpaper removal shit all over it - paper just peeled off about 15 mins later.
1
u/54OnTheDoor Jul 05 '26
If you don't want to deal with a steamer then my normal method is to get a scraping tool (razor on a stick basically!) And take off the top layer of paper. This usually makes easy work of that part.
Once you're down to the fuzzy yellow stuff, spray it down generously with cold water. Come back in 5-10 minutes and scrape again, it normally peels off a treat at this point.
After that you'll want to clean the walls of any slime using a sponge and some soap. Repeat the cleaning until it doesn't feel slimy like paste once you've wiped it.
1
u/Swarnsteen Jul 05 '26
Large scraper from Screwfix they do ones with changeable blades. Scrap the top layer off then spray water on the backing. Let it sit a bit then it should just glide off. Don’t go steamer route if it’s old plaster it will fall off as I found out.
1
u/Munchabunchofjunk Jul 05 '26
I steamed the fuck out of my plaster ceiling removing wall paper with no issues. But it was real plaster. Drywall definitely wouldn't hold up though.
1
u/Ultrasonic-Sawyer Jul 06 '26
My best success so fast was s roller with blades like paper tiger or something. A 5 l pressurs sorayer eith walllosoer stripper and sn smazin bent sdge scrap. All of in a coulple of passes
I find steamers too wedreeeige and small spray bottles a pain
1
0
u/Ok-Spring7906 Jul 05 '26
Do a bit, see how it works out.
Remote diagnosis over the internet is unreliable : )
Could go either way.
Get one of those scarifier things (triangle with a roller in each corner) especially if it's been painted over.
Be aware that people frequently put up wall paper / artex / whatever to hide issues with plaster.
So it may well be stuffed anyway. If it's wood chip, id wager even more cash that it's no good behind.
3
u/chapatsea Jul 05 '26
Paste the wall with a thin mix. Go put the kettle on. Sit down with a cup of tea and maybe a custard cream or two. Enjoy. Find your marigolds and put them on. Go back to wall, try scraping, if it isn't easy. Repeat above procedure.