Worcester, MA · Member since 2016 · 13 posts · 4 votes
Hello, I've got an old apartment building from 1890 in Worcester, Massachusetts. The tenants just moved out and I'm deciding what to do with these walls. They are some sort of yarn or fabric strings that I've never seen before. Looks like they've been on there for quite some time as you can see with the red stains and staining around picture frames (possible smoker?). I'm not really sure what the extent of removing these would be but I've also considered trying to clean them first. I was also told they can be painted on with a roller? Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing?
Flipper/Rehabber · Worcester, MA · Member since 2015 · 22 posts · 14 votes
9y
Can you pull a corner up to see what's underneath? I've never seen that either, but knowing what's underneath will help you make a decision. It's most likely horse hair plaster, in which case you might be better off just covering the walls as-is with 3/8 drywall but that won't be cheap. Ideally, you can just paint them after a quick cleaning and prime with a stain blocker.
Investor · Post Falls, ID · Member since 2016 · 606 posts · 699 votes
9y
It looks to me like old Sea Grass or raw silk walls from the 1980s. It was quite the fancy designer touch. It went on in rolls like wallpaper, but I believe it was before the easy to remove wallpaper like we have today. You may have a lot of steaming and scraping in your future. You may also have the possibility that the Sea Grass was put up to hide ugly, cracked walls in the first place.
If it is still adhering well, I would prime and paint a sample and see how it looks. You might end up with a cool textured wall that could be the designer touch of 2017. Looks like you have plenty to keep you busy in the meantime.
Worcester, MA · Member since 2016 · 13 posts · 4 votes
9y
Thanks for the replies. The walls indeed were some type of wallpaper. It was peeling off in areas so I decided to just pull it all down. Luckily it was so old that it mostly came off in big pieces. Here are some pictures of pulling it down, removing the nasty rugs, refinishing the hardwoods, and primer-ing the walls.