Prime wallpaper then texture?

Prime wallpaper then texture?

Contractor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 432 posts · 221 votes

Hi BP, I have a handyman coming tomorrow, and I have to decide whether I want him to strip all the drywall in the upstairs of the house off and us re drywall everything which involves taping, 2 coats of mud, sanding then texture and a little more sanding, ooorrr... does anyone know if I can prime the wallpaper then texture over it. In the past I have had difficulty trying to go over wallpaper with mud (joint compound), because it gets the wall paper wet, then the wall paper comes lose and bubbles, then I’m left with bubbles that I try to smooth over, but my second coat of mud gets the wall paper moist again and it bubbles more in other areas etc.

My technical remodel question is: is there a positive solution to going over wall paper? I imagine if I eggshell or satin sheen over it, it might seal the wall paper and keep it from the moisture of the drywall mud. This would save me tons of time if I can just prime the walls instead of tear it down, rehang, tape, mud finish etc. If there’s a way to get to drywall smooth texture over wallpaper stuck to drywall or plaster, please let me know your ideas. This would save a lot of people some time if we can get this one figured out.

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Rental Property Investor · Douglas County, MO · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Matt M.:

16 years as remodeling contractor, and wallpaper is one of my biggest headaches to deal with.

 The only good wallpaper is that which is lying curled and rumpled on the floor . . .

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  • Contractor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 432 posts · 221 votes
    7y

    @Sam Shueh the day I’m concerned about getting sued for mudding over wallpaper on my own home I’m flipping is the day I’ve become too rich, or need to become ceo of my own company. Flipping a 1940’s house involves a lot of decisions on how far you will take it. Replacing everything wouldn’t work ($) and the neighborhood would continue to see the inhabitable house with weeds growing up head high. Who is going to sue? Plenty of testimonials on technical ways to leave the walls

  • Joe SplitrockPro Member
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    Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
    7y

    Another option is they do make wall textured paintable wall paper. So you strip off what is there and put up the textured wall paper. It is actually designed to be painted. The texture may not directly match the rest of the room, but it will look better than old wall paper painted.

  • Investor · searcy, AR · Member since 2016 · 147 posts · 111 votes
    7y

    @Jonathan Greer just pull all of th trim and covers it with thin 1/8 plywood or thin sheet rock then re-trim it. The room will be hard for a tenant to put a hole it and it solves the nasty mess of tear out dewallpapering.

  • Colleen F.Pro Member
    Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    7y

    First of all,  is it over drywall or plaster?  If it is over plaster methods spraying vinegar/hot water or fabric softener/hot water are cheaper and easier then anything else to try to get it off first with a scourer and Metal scraper. Get behind the top and work your way down.  If it is actual drywall you have to be careful about moisture or you wind up removing the drywall paper covering. Use Gaurdz for what is sticking after a good wash.

    If is beaver board or Masonite sorry you just have to sheetrock over it.

  • Contractor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 432 posts · 221 votes
    7y

    @Joe Splitrock it’s not easy to compare any job to another when dealing with a 1940 house in early America country. It’s an upstairs area that has many variations to the drywall including 45 degree sections and part over the staircase etc. on top of that, the insulation is old and lose behind the drywall, so if I remove it, I’ve then bought myself more clean up, and more r 30 insulation. I do a lot of high end remodeling and believe that the shellac recommendation makes sense to

  • Contractor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 432 posts · 221 votes
    7y

    @Joe Splitrock ... to put shellac on the wall to seal it from the moisture of the mud. I’ll try to include some photos soon. I am seriously contemplating throwing some 1/2 drywall over it even though the handyman already did some removal of all the lose stuff. If I want him to put shellac primer on I’ll have to buy a $35 mask to handle the fumes and the house will be unbreathable during that time.

  • Contractor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 432 posts · 221 votes
    7y

    @Colleen F. .. good point. It’s drywall. Thankfully the plaster downstairs just has flaking paint. Thanks for the tip and nice to hear many people have solved this problem through tricks and the right material.

  • Member since 2019 · 45 posts · 11 votes
    7y

    Taking the wallpaper off the drywall is going to be super annoying, but it's doable and probably much cheaper for you.

  • Investor · Youngstown, OH · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    Wallpaper should be outlawed...

  • Member since 2018 · 3 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    @Jonathan Greer hey I’ve been doing drywall for 10 years. My opinion is this. You can do two things:

    1. Peel paper, killz type primer, skim the walls then finish. I feel like this requires a lot of effort, but its cheap on materials. Lots of hand work to get walls ready for texture. It’s going to bubble a lot on your skin coat and it will probably end up looking bad unless you’re good. Might be a nice choice if you don’t care how it looks and want to save mone because again it’s cheap on materials and lots of labor.

    2. Scrap the old sheets, rehang ,then finish like you said. It’s gonna be more expensive in materials. However, it should be a lot easier (less labor$) than option one.

    New walls are really easy to work with and with tools it takes only a couple hours to coat a house. Plus it will look way probably look way better.

    Also if it’s smooth walk then rehang or it’s gonna look terrible and it will be a nightmare!

  • Contractor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 432 posts · 221 votes
    7y

    I ended up replacing most drywall after waisting $ paying handyman to scrape. It’s just so easy and quick to tape and texture new drywall vs old jagged scraped wallpaper walls. Some of it was 45 degree ceiling and a harbor freight lift did the trick. The plaster down stairs so far is staying as much as I can keep it.

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