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Wallpaper Applying Wallpaper Q's & A's Wallppr & Paint | Wallppr & Tile | Wallppr & Paneling | Prepping for Papering | Post-Papering Problems Can't find a solution to your problem? Post a question in our Forums. Wallpaper and paint Our house was built back in 1853, and there is a lot of old wallpaper in it...under the wallpaper is plaster..being as the house is old, the plaster is cracking and the wallpaper is cracking and some of it is sagging off the walls and ceiling (Yes, the ceilings have paper on them as well...) I was wondering how I could go about painting the walls...Do I have to remove the wallpaper, and re-plaster everything? I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to do that. Or can I just paint over the wallpaper...my mother told me that if you paint over wallpaper, the weight of the paint will pull the paper off of the wall..Is this true? I really don't have the time or the money to remove the paper and re-plaster everything...I was thinking I could just pull off the loose paper and re-plaster whatever is exposed...Would that work? As you can see, Im very confused, and would appreciate any help anyone can give me... Advertisement Contact me to place your ad here You have already received fairly good advice, even from your mother. You didn't mention if all of your walls are in bad shape. Removing wallpaper is not all that difficult or expensive. Of course what you find underneath can be. Walls that are in fairly good shape can be cleaned up but I believe you'd be best off repapering them with a vinyl type wallcovering. If you really want painted walls then the easiest fix is to cover over all existing paper and plaster with a new covering of 3/8 drywall. If screwed in place it gives you a new finish to either paint or paper just like new... Although sometimes you lose some of the architectural detail. Only you know what shape the walls are actually in but you do have options.     Painting over wallpaper I would like to redo my kitchen and currently the walls have 12 year old vinyl wallpaper. The walls were not prepped correctly and now all the spackle is coming off with the wallpaper. Is there a way I can prime the rest of the wallpaper since it is bonded securely to the wall and just paint over the primer? Or am I stuck having to rip it all down and apply joint compound over the walls? I think you are best off taking it all down and not painting the wallpaper. Even with the best of prep, you can't be sure the paint won't make the wall paper come down... and that is a lot of work to have to patch up or redo. Applying Wallpaper After Removing Tiles I've removed tile from our bathroom walls. The tile was put directly over the drywall. After removing the tile all the dried glue is still on the wall from when it was applied with a trowel. How should I prep the walls to apply the wall paper. I was thinking about using a vibrating sander to sand the glue down so that it is flat, ie. no ridges of glue. If the sander removes all the glue, then that is a good way to go. You DO want to remove it all so the surface is perfectly flat. ANy bumps will telagraph right through the paper. Short of removing that section of drywall and starting over, this looks like your only option.   Wallpapering over paneling I would like some advice on how to wallpaper over paneling. It is in my kitchen, and I would like to know what all is necessary for a successful and attractive completed job. Is it necessary to fill in the groves in the paneling, or can a heavy weight paper be sufficient for the task? First make sure panelling is cleaned, I papered over paneling once and the stain came through, luckily it looked good, but was a bad choice. I would also prime paneling with a sealer so no bleeding through. You have 3 choices on wall preparation. The first is to line the wall which is a bit of work and costly. The second is to spackle all of the panel cracks, then prime. The third is to prime and paper and don't worry about the cracks, expandable vinyls do a very nice job, and if perfection isn't your thing I believe that's a nice way to go. But please do prime, so no bleedthrough from stain. What you may be dealing with is painted wall paper. But if it peels off in sheets it isn't just paint. Use wallpaper remover. Or you can rent a steamer that is used for just that purpose. After getting it all off, spackle (joint compound) over any holes, rough spots imperfections. You can buy it ready mixed in a small bucket. You spread it on, and sand it smooth. Then yes, prime before painting. It is worth it. For one thing, primer is cheaper than top coat. You can ask where you are buying it, to have them tint the primer to the topcoat color. Generally, this way you will get excellent adhesion and coverage in the two coats. (one primer, one topcoat) And always use top quality paints. They are worth the price in coverage, washability and how long the last. I have some other tricks as well. First, there is a tool(forgot what its called)that will score or cut into the wall paper. it looks like a hand sander. you local hardware store should be able to help. not the giant mega stores. second, use a garden sprayer to apply any stripping chemical you might need. Protect your flooring of course, but you should be doing that anyway. Primer is a must. Even if you are just going to paint.

Wall Papering Paneling

How would you wall paper Paneling?

The best solution is to first apply a liner paper. Liner paper is available from wallpaper suppliers but is expensive. About $18 per singe roll. It is glued to the paneling, and then the wallpaper is applied over that.

Another option, cheaper but more labor intensive is to actually spackle all the lines in the paneling, then sand, prime and paint...then paper.

A final solution is to simply apply the paper over the paneling, first cleaning it with TSP, sizing and pasting as normal, but there is no guarantee the lines from the paneling won't show through.

Wallpaper

How do you measure a room for wallpaper?

It all depends on the wallpaper itself sometimes as like fabric wallpaper has a pattern repeat you need to consider. So that I totally do not confuse you to no end I would suggest you take in all your wall measurement and doorways and window measurement to a wallpaper store and get them to figure it out for you.

Wallpaper Seams

The seams in the wallpaper in the 1/2 bathroom are starting to open up and I was wondering what the best way to fix this would be? There is no moisture problem or anything and I'm not sure why the seams are beginning to open up. The house is about 8 years old and the wallpaper was put up when the house was built. Any ideas you can give me on fixing this would be appreciated.

I would, pull paper gently as far off as it wants to come, reapply wallpaper paste and brush out. Then end with a seam roller, do not pull paper off just ease what is truly loose, Use regular wallpaper paste not activator as their is no paste left on the paper It is not unusual for the seams to lift, the paper may have originally had dry seams with less adhesive.

Bubbles/Blisters in Wallpaper

Our house is nine years old. Five years ago, when the hallway was painted it sucked up the paint. The painter speculated that the walls may not have been properly primed. This time around we decided to wallpaper the hallway rather then paint it. The walls were prepared with a one-step universal wallcovering primer/sealer. Once the paper was hung, the next day bubbles appeared throughout the wallpaper, especially the paper on the walls that had readily absorbed the paint 5 years earlier. My husband has wallpapered our kitchen and bathrooms and never had this problem. We don't believe that too much adhesive was used. Any suggestions on what the problem is and how it can be resolved?

Did you 'size' the walls after priming? This is necessary when wallpapering. Creates an adherable surface for the paper.

However, even properly primed and sized walls can bubble and blister if you have a bad brush technique. Even so, the type of paper matters...A Vinyl paper will be very difficult to remove bubbles from...'paper' papers are easier to work with and will usually exude trapped air.

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