Wallpaper removing

[calotherm]

Hey,

Just lookin for a bit of advise on removing mass qty's of wall paper - just bought my first house with the missus and we only rented before so diy was out of the question.

The chap who owned our house seemed to like this bobble foam style wallpaper and when i try to strip it, half the time it comes off ok but starts to rip then i need to start again on a new section - other times i seem to only take the "bobbles" off on the paper and it looks like some sorta brown parcel tape left on the wall with spots where the bobbles where. I have to dig in to the wall to get this out but that means messing up the plastering

Ok so now you know what the deal is, my ageing dad said to use a steam stripper but it would probably soak the floor and may not work well with the bobbles. Someone else has said to use a perferater as it wets the back of the wallpaper but not the front??

my mate said i could probably borrow/rent both as i own neither. So do i go and get one of these items or persavere with the hand tools? At any rate as i get higher above my head my arm gets totally knackard and i have 3 large rooms and a hall to do so could kinda use some machine help

Thanks in advance, Andy

 

[calotherm]

this is the wallpaper stripper perferater that i was told about i think, am sure everyone knows the steam head one but i have never seen one of these before - are they any good? http://www.mammoth-hire.co.uk/Wallpaper-Perforator-230025/ seems cheap enough to keep for a week or so i guess

thanks, Andy

 

[gregers]

id go for a steamer,gets the job done a bloody dam quicker,only draw back is if you leave it on one patch too long you can take the plaster off aswell as the paper.but £30 well spent.

 

[jondecs]

bobble foam style wallpaper

Hi. Sounds like Blown Vinyl paper. Are you using really hot water? Usal way is to pick at any loose bits first to see how face of paper comes off (to reveal the backing paper) It's worth soaking the edges of blown vinyl papers as the water creeps into joints and sometimes makes the face of paper easy to remove, which leaves you with the backing paper. Have your water hot, use washing up liquid, sugar soap, or my fav Diff wallpaper stripper cancentrate
http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=17

Use the flat of a big a brush as and soak 2 walls, leave to soak,(30 min or more sometimes) wet again and try see, if still svery stubborn then a steamer is the next stage

The perforators need care, as the spikes will dig into wall leaving millions of tiny blemishes which might show if your next paper is thin(?). A wallpaper tiger might be better, but I just bounce the edge of a scraper over the wall to leave lots of tiny tears thet the water will penetrate.
Good luck.
ps Hope its not Novamura

 

[calotherm]

Morning all,

Thanks for the advise here, i never thought about putting hot soapy water on the paper before and leaving it to soak in, was just scraping it off chisel style.
I see what you mean about the many mini holes in the wall after using one of them so probably not the best for what i need. I will grab a steamer and hope that helps me out some, its mainly above head height thats the real problem cause i get knackard so fast doing it (weakling lol)

the paper i have going on isn't too thin to be honest an wont need painting as its already patterned.

Will let ya know in a couple of days how i went on, probably back for more advise too cause the missus doesn't like the artex downstairs and wants it gone - i can just see that being a massive job too. :S

The joy of getting a cheap house!! all the replies are most appreciated thanks guys but must get back to work now