drywall question

[Brett Hartwig]

I am removing wallpaper from my laundry room, going to paint it. Problem is, the paper is coming off terrible even with a steamer. I am ending up very marked up walls, even down to the cardboard of the drywall in some areas. Looks very rough, no way I can paint like this yet. Question is, I have read some on skim coating. Is this something I should do? Anything I can do myself instead to get back to smoothe walls? thanks

 

[Rich Stevens]

Either skim coat or go over the old walls with new thin drywall. Then you'll have brand new wall surface. This might mean getting jamb extensions and some molding changes but I think it's the way to go.

If using new drywall make sure to use plenty of primer before painting.

Good luck, show us some pics and tell us what your solution turns out to be.

 

[Michael Cacioppo]

There are some chemicals that can be used to "help" remove the paste from sticking. Putting very small holes in the paper with a product called "paper tiger" will allow the solution and/or steam get behind the surface layer of the paper. Your main problem probably was caused by not "sizing" the walls prior to applying the wall paper. Well that's in the past. You can use joint compound to cover the imperfections in your wall board. There are various types, but a "light compound" will dry a little quicker. Do not pile it on! Use thin smooth coats as required to fill the imperfections. Let completely dry then apply additional coats as required. Use a wide spreader and apply thin coats. Finish off with a light sanding. A damp sponge also works





That's my two cents. MikeC

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Skim coating will work, but it takes time and patience. The problem is that the people before you didn't Primer before they painted/ put up the wall paper. I had a room that was like that and what a mess. We ended up just texturing the joint compound on. Didn't come out bad, and was a heck of alot easier than replacing the drywall.

 

[Todd Z]

Can allways install the new bead board... It is only 1/8 thick, comes in colors and patterns and glues right to the old walls....



Great for bathrooms and laundry rooms..



Todd Z

 

[Martin]

I had the same issues in taking the wallpaper off my master bath.....I used a bucket of spackle, but it still looks like hell....the builder didn't use enough primer on the bear walls when they wallpapered it.



Thanks, Todd....I might try your idea to cover my walls with some of that bead board. Something to look into anyway.

 

[Todd Z]

yeah, it has nice trim that seals the seams and corners, I am doing my laundry room with it...



Todd Z

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

I've looked at the same stuff Todd said and it is realy nice stuff. They have some that looks just like tile and it has patterns in it. I'm looking at using it when we redo our bathroom downstairs. May be the way to go in your situations.

 

[Martin]

I think this is the same stuff my dad used in his bathroom....it does look good, it had patterns in it. He said it was the bare stuff and unpainted, but you could paint over it if you wanted to.



Maybe I'll have him fly out here to TX and do mine

 

[Todd Z]

Desert, The stuff I am talking about is completely finished and painted or coated...

Simply glue it up and your done..



Todd Z

 

[Martin]

The stuff he put up, had a tint to it as well...he was saying that you could paint over it if down the road you wanted to change the color....



In my bathroom, I have very high walls.....some uneven and kinda concerned that the stuff would have to be cut to fit. But still interested in looking into it

 

[Dre L]

I love how we learn about more than Tracs here.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Agree Nobleman. We are like a big family sitting around the table BS'ing. Can't always talk about "family" stuff, people in the family don't only have ST problems they need help/advice on. If someone here (that's not mechanically inclined) can help someone in other ways than automotive, great.

 

[TomT]

If the papers on real good, best to leave it on and just paint over it. Spackle the visible seams. Use a good latex primer/sealer, then slap on the paint. That's what I did and it looks fine. If you want it textured, get some mud and a texture roller.

 

[Richard L]

I had the sam problems when I remodelled our Kitchen and Bathroom. They did not prime the drywall and the wall paper ripped out chunks of the drywall paper.



I trowled on about 3 skim coats of drywall mud and sanded the walls down with a drywall sponge. I added a chair rail in the kitchen and papered above and painted below after priming the walls...It looks great, but now the styles have changed and it needs to be updated again ! I know one thing....No more wallpaper for me. I did the main bathroom twice, the second bathroom once and the kitchen once, and I never want to see a roll of wall paper again !!!!!!!



...Rich

 

[TomT]

If you ever do wall paper again look into Paper Illusions. My wife and I just did a bathroom with this stuff and it looks really cool and was actually easy and kind of fun to do.

 

[Johnny O]

Thin coat of light compound and smooth it with a stiff sponge in warm water. #1, gotta prime drywall. I do my own remodeling here, always use two coats of primer and two coats of paint. Even if I know I'm going to paper it, I'll still use two coats of primer and one coat of whatever paint I have laying around. #2, always use sizing before you paper so that the paper comes off without a chisel at some point. The wallpaper remover gel can help.