Do I have to

[Jerry Freedman]

about 15 years ago I papered a room with a flowery paper. The room is now used by my 9 year old son who is not thrilled by the flowers. I wallpapered a lot of my house in those days and the idea of wallpapering is not intimidating but the idea of stripping the paper off does. My kid has already pealed of some, (not the backing) out of disgust. One of the wall was in tough shape last time and I had to do a lot of plastering and sanding to make it useable. Do I have to strip the paper? Its not embossed, flat surface, not coming off anywhere except where my son has peeled it. Can I paper over? I am somewhat afraid of messing up that difficult wall and having to plaster and sand again.

[Tim Bodine]

If the wall was primed with a pre-wallcovering primer before you hung it, it should be fairly easy to remove. I always opt to remove it unless it is an impossible task, and will completely destroy the wall.

[Bill Archibald]

Jerry,

Do you HAVE to strip the old paper? Well, that's a tough question. I mean, does Gov Mitt HAVE to be so smug? Do the Celtics HAVE to break our hearts every winter? Does the new tunnel HAVE to leak? No, none have these things HAVE to be.

No, seriously. You do not HAVE to strip the paper, but the chances of encountering greater problems is increased and then you will have TWO layers you have to strip. A couple of years ago, a customer in Chestnut Hill INSISTED that I hang right over the existing paper in a bathroom as they planned to be in the house for only a year. After STRONGLY objecting, I gave in. I applied a prep coat over the existing paper and hung. Large areas of the first paper loosened and would not restick. It was wretched. I was embarrassed to have my name on the job.

It sounds like the area where you are having trouble was not primed properly, is this correct? Not meaning to lecture but only to inform, when walls are prepared with a suitable prep coat, wallpaper will strip easily and be ready for re-installation with minimal hassle.

We often run across situations in which a cheap-ass contractor has hung paper right over raw sheet rock - no primer. The paper is now literally 'one' with the sheetrock and impossible to strip. That is about the only scenario in which I will recommend a penetrating wallpaper prep (Gardz is the only one available in this area) and then hang on top of that.

So, if you can possibly strip this paper, do so. Repair the wall and apply one or two coats of a good primer. I think Zinsser 1-2-3 would be an acceptable choice. And install the new paper. When your 9 year old reaches age 16 and wants new wallpaper, it will be no problem to strip and hang something new.

BTW, about a year ago at the Norwood Home Depot, I bought a sanding "system" that greatly reduces the dust. It's name is "Sand & Kleen". It consists of a five gallon bucket which you fill partially with water, a sanding pad, and a couple of long hoses. One hose goes from a vacuum to the bucket and the other from the bucket to the sanding pad. There are many holes in the pad. 95% on the dust ends up in the bucket and not all through the house. It cost $40 and has saved me much time sanding walls that have needed lots of joint compound repairs. I've seen this at numerous other HD's in the area.

good luck.

-Bill

[Phil Perry]

This looks like a good place to share my latest experience in hanging paper over existing paper.
Customer calls wanting new paper installed. Walls already have two layers of paper. I tell her all the existing paper needs to be stripped. She objects, and i kindly show her how the corners and seams are loosing adhesion over the original wallpaper. She still objects saying she'll just call me back to "touch-up" if that happens to paper I'll install. Just then I was lifting a curled up corner and an 8' peice of paper drops to the floor. She just shook her head and said "fine, just strip it". Now I'll have a great story to tell all the rest of my future costomers who object to stripping.

[Jerry Freedman]

Originally posted by Bill Archibald
Jerry,

Do you HAVE to strip the old paper? Well, that's a tough question. I mean, does Gov Mitt HAVE to be so smug? Do the Celtics HAVE to break our hearts every winter? Does the new tunnel HAVE to leak? No, none have these things HAVE to be.

No, seriously. You do not HAVE to strip the paper, but the chances of encountering greater problems is increased and then you will have TWO layers you have to strip. A couple of years ago, a customer in Chestnut Hill INSISTED that I hang right over the existing paper in a bathroom as they planned to be in the house for only a year. After STRONGLY objecting, I gave in. I applied a prep coat over the existing paper and hung. Large areas of the first paper loosened and would not restick. It was wretched. I was embarrassed to have my name on the job.

It sounds like the area where you are having trouble was not primed properly, is this correct? Not meaning to lecture but only to inform, when walls are prepared with a suitable prep coat, wallpaper will strip easily and be ready for re-installation with minimal hassle.

We often run across situations in which a cheap-ass contractor has hung paper right over raw sheet rock - no primer. The paper is now literally 'one' with the sheetrock and impossible to strip. That is about the only scenario in which I will recommend a penetrating wallpaper prep (Gardz is the only one available in this area) and then hang on top of that.

So, if you can possibly strip this paper, do so. Repair the wall and apply one or two coats of a good primer. I think Zinsser 1-2-3 would be an acceptable choice. And install the new paper. When your 9 year old reaches age 16 and wants new wallpaper, it will be no problem to strip and hang something new.

BTW, about a year ago at the Norwood Home Depot, I bought a sanding "system" that greatly reduces the dust. It's name is "Sand & Kleen". It consists of a five gallon bucket which you fill partially with water, a sanding pad, and a couple of long hoses. One hose goes from a vacuum to the bucket and the other from the bucket to the sanding pad. There are many holes in the pad. 95% on the dust ends up in the bucket and not all through the house. It cost $40 and has saved me much time sanding walls that have needed lots of joint compound repairs. I've seen this at numerous other HD's in the area.

good luck.

-Bill

Thanks for the quick reply. The wall in question was in bad shape before I papered it. My wife, my mother-in-law and I sweat blood preparing it. It was plastered, sanded primed etc and teh wall paper is adhering wonderfully. The only places on the wall that are having trouble is where my son has pulled off the paper. I am afraid that if I strip that bad wall, I'll have to do all that nasty stuff all over again

[Chris Murphy]

Originally posted by Jerry Freedman
I am afraid that if I strip that bad wall, I'll have to do all that nasty stuff all over again

Not necessarily. Life's short, Jerry, so try a test area (where it's been peeled already), say 3' X 3'. The key to stripping is patience; in technical terms, that means the water and/or stripping solution must have the volume and time to penetrate and reactivate the paste underneath: re-wet every 5-10 minutes for 1/2 hr. or more. Use a broad knife ('taping knife') to scrape; if the paper starts releasing, wet it again and see if that weakens the bond further.
You could do this while, say, catching the Red Sox game- and successfully appeal to the household powers that be that you are, in fact, working.