wallpaper and borders

Instructions to Peel off Wall paper and Borders

Removal of wallpaper and wallpaper border needs extra care and should be done correctly. In age-old houses the wallpaper borders are stuck to the wall with glue, and it is a tough task to remove such borders. When old wallpaper is painted over, the job of removing it becomes all the more difficult.

It is important to check on what type of surface the wallpaper and borders are stuck. Sometimes it is stuck on the painted wall directly and in some cases it could be stuck on the old wallpaper.

There are different types of wall on which the wallpaper can be stuck. The wall can be a dry wall or a plaster smoothed over plank. Dry wall is made of prefabricated material like plasterboard. Drywall generally will sound hollow when tapped and it is less smooth and even. Wallpaper on dry wall has to be removed carefully without using much water, as excess water can damage the wall. Scrape the paper carefully as dry wall gets damaged easily and faster.

If the wallpaper is glued on a painted wall, then the first step in removing is to wet the lower layer with warm water and allow it soak for sometime. There are solvent available in hardware stores, which can be used as an alternative for water in removing the wallpaper stuck on the painted wall. Once the wall is considerably dampen start scraping the wallpaper.

In removing borders, first check whether the border is made of porous material. Borders with porous material will absorb water and removing it becomes easy when it is soaked for long time. Sometimes borders are made using foil, vinyl coated material and acrylic. These materials are not porous and needs different method for removing. For non-porous borders first scratch the surface of the border. Sometimes it can be perforated or pierced to make the surface rough. Then wet the entire area with water or solvent to break through the glue or any adhesive used. A well-damped border can be worn out easily.

There are different techniques followed in removing the wallpaper border. First check for the kind of wallpaper used and nature of the surface of wall before applying any technique.

The different techniques are
• Dry Stripping: This technique is used when peelable wallpaper is used. The top portion of the decorative paper comes off easily and backing paper and adhesive needs to be scraped off.
• Soaking and Scraping: For non-strippable paper borders you need to use water and wallpaper removing solvent to dampen the wall. Use a paint roller or spray bottle to dampen the wall. Allow the wall to soak for sometime. For non-porous paper borders use perforators or scrapers to scrap the border. But extreme precaution should be taken while using scarping tools on wet borders.
• Steam bath: Steam bath technique is used when wallpaper is painted over, wallpaper glued onto old wallpaper, or when the borders are not scarped off easily. Using steamer on walls ensure that the wall is not damaged. Steamers can be hired or bought.