Real Estate Agent · Southington, CT · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
Has anyone ever painted over wallpaper with success? The only reason I ask is painters in my neck of the woods charge between double and triple extra to remove it, compound, and then paint.
This is a house in a middle class suburban neighborhood and is a raised ranch. Would you paint over wallpaper on a house to make numbers work or pass on the deal because of that?
We are talking 7-8k more to remove the wallpaper and get it painted. Looking forward to hearing some opinions on painting over wallpaper.
Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2013 · 347 posts · 191 votes
13y
I have not dealt with this on a flip property but I do have to speak up in defense of painting over wallpaper in some situations. It depends on the age of the property and the way in which the original wallpaper was stuck to the walls. My personal property was built in 1924 and had wallpaper on every surface including the ceilings. The ceiling paper came off in nice big sheets by just wetting it down. The paper on the walls however was put on with something much, much stronger and the paper itself was quite thick. Given this situation we decided to have the "mud guy" do a light coat of joint compound and cover the paper joins just like a drywall seam. Then that was primed with oil based primer. Then two good coats of nice flat Ben Moore deep color paint. Very lovely ten years later!
Investor · Cranford, NJ · Member since 2012 · 303 posts · 153 votes
12y
If the paper is really stuck on removing it will pull out big chunks of drywall or plaster.
You can encapsulate with a skim coat of mud but this requires some plaster/ compound skill to get a smooth finish.
Removal is a pain, but is just grunt work. We use diff gel thinned with very hot water and spray it on with 3 gal sprayer until the paper is saturated, then skim coat or just patch as needed.
I dont like tiger paws unless the chemical doesnt melt the glue on the walls.
There are primers that can paint over and supposedly seal the paper but never worked with one
Also HUGE warning/ red flag- when a guy is super cheap be very careful. DO NOT give a lump sum down payment on the total job. Pay for performance, break the job up into smaller pieces and get a payment plan that you can both agree upon and is fair.
Michael - I'd recommend NOT painting over wallpaper. Often it will bubble up and separate from the wall giving an awful appearance. If you're interested in doing it yourself, I'd recommend using a spray bottle with a mix of equal parts fabric softener/hot water. Let this soak in for a few minutes and the wallpaper should peel right off. Good luck!