Painting over wallpaper cost-effectively

[WallpaperPanic]

I'm an amateur repainting my mum's living room. We're aiming to repaint it quickly for the house sale, but the room is filled with impractically large and heavy antique furniture pieces. Steaming off the wallpaper is risky for the furniture, and the chemical stripping option is quite time-consuming.

Considering that the new owners will want to redecorate once they move in, I'm exploring the most cost-effective way to paint over the existing wallpaper. Would a few layers of regular white paint do the job in the short term, or should I invest in pricier primer paint for an undercoat?

 

[Chivas69]

Is the wallpaper already painted (blown vinyl/anaglipta)or is it patterned wallpaper that may need sealing first?

 

[opps]

Depending on the paper, the water in the emulsion may reactive the wallpaper paste and result in seams lifting. Additionally, any print might bleed through the emulsion.

The following primer will help, but isn't cheap.

Zinsser Wallpaper Cover-Up

Zinsser Wallpaper Cover-Up is a combined primer, sealer & stain blocker that covers smoke & water stains without causing the wallpaper to blister.

www.paint-direct.co.uk

 

[foxhole]

Don’t waste time , money on property for sale , new owner will likely gut the place and redecorate .
A poor bodged job is more likely to put buyers off .

 

[Koolpc]

As above.

 

[opps]

Don’t waste time , money on property for sale , new owner will likely gut the place and redecorate .
A poor bodged job is more likely to put buyers off .

In an ideal world, yes I would agree with you... but some buyers can't see past that. IMO a couple of grand to repaint the walls might equate to twenty grand when in comes to selling the place.

 

[foxhole]

In an ideal world, yes I would agree with you... but some buyers can't see past that. IMO a couple of grand to repaint the walls might equate to twenty grand when in comes to selling the place.

Can’t imagine any world where a coat of paints worth £20k to buyer .

 

[opps]

Can’t imagine any world where a coat of paints worth £20k to buyer .

I have seen that over the years, Some people/ potential buyers are very myopic.

4 grand (labour and materials) and you earn an extra 16k on the sale price- what is your problem???

Have you ever sold a property?

 

[foxhole]

I have seen that over the years, Some people/ potential buyers are very myopic.

4 grand (labour and materials) and you earn an extra 16k on the sale price- what is your problem???

Have you ever sold a property?

Several, most recent a year ago.
OP seems to be looking for cheap bodge option .

 

[Chivas69]

Several, most recent a year ago.
OP seems to be looking for cheap bodge option .

To be fair OP seems to have not bothered coming back to see the replies. It could just be already painted!
Maybe 20 grand in that London lol.

 

[WallpaperPanic]

It's patterned wallpaper

To be fair OP seems to have not bothered coming back to see the replies. It could just be already painted!
Maybe 20 grand in that London lol.

Apologies, was a busy day. I really do appreciate the replies.

To answer your initial question, it's patterned wallpaper. You say sealing may be necessary?

I admit it's an unusual and tricky situation, as in an ideal world I'd steam it all off, but I don't currently have the option of removing some truly massive and ancient furniture.

 

[Chivas69]

You would probably get away with sealing it with some Leyland acrylic primer. It's currently under £15 for 2.5l in toolstation.
Are there any current bubbles in the paper?
The new owners are highly likely to just whip it all off anyway.
The zinsser wallpaper cover up Opps linked earlier is the real way it should be done but will obviously cost more.
Does the paper have a backing to it. Could the top layer be removed by just pulling from the bottom, leaving a nice flat paper surface?

 

[Odds]

It's not worth the hassel, unless the colour's a septic green. It won't make a difference to the house price. As long as there's no structural problems or damp, just put up the sign.

 

[WallpaperPanic]

You would probably get away with sealing it with some Leyland acrylic primer. It's currently under £15 for 2.5l in toolstation.
Are there any current bubbles in the paper?
The new owners are highly likely to just whip it all off anyway.
The zinsser wallpaper cover up Opps linked earlier is the real way it should be done but will obviously cost more.
Does the paper have a backing to it. Could the top layer be removed by just pulling from the bottom, leaving a nice flat paper surface?

There are no bubbles, although there are places where it's loose that I've repaired, and unfortunately it won't come off that easily. I may have a look at that acrylic primer.

It's not worth the hassel, unless the colour's a septic green. It won't make a difference to the house price. As long as there's no structural problems or damp, just put up the sign.

It's a really unusual situation as the wallpaper was already missing in a large, visible area and it looked dreadful.

 

[Chivas69]

Can I just add, you mention antique furniture and problems steaming. I'm a professional decorator and have wallpapered hundreds of rooms in my time and it is very rare I have to use a steamer. The top layer normally just pulls off and then you just wet the underneath with a brush, leave it 5 mins and then scrape it off.
Out of my last 30 wallpaper stripping jobs I've probably used a steamer twice and that was on woodchip!