Hi, I wallpapered the plasterboard walls (it's a new build) in our living room last year now i want to remove the paper, Shall i just sponge it off as it's just the one covering or use a steamer? just a bit worried as i don't want to damage the drywall underneath and a steamer seems a bit OTT. Any advice would be great Cheers Geoff
Have the walls been skimmed or papered directly onto the PB ? As above, a bucket of water should do the job in this case, whereas as steamer is great when there are multiple layers of paint or layers of paper in an older property Don't forget, add a spot of "elbow grease" and all should be fine Lightly scoring paper as well will aid when wetting ( not too deep as you don't want to score the plaster underneath )
The walls were just painted the usual magnolia when we moved in so i just papered over the top, Hopefully it'll come off easy!
Thats what i was worried about, I'd rather take my time than ruin the plasterboard underneath, Thanks for the advice will give it a go with a sponge & soapy water. Cheers
Steamers are generally fine to use with no issues and can speed up the job considerably Two areas when problems can occur; 1. Plaster in poor condition, ie, blown or full of cracks (steam gets under the plaster and blows it off wall) 2. Poor technique, ie, holding steamer in same position for too long, again blowing plaster I've used a steamer to strip loads of rooms and not had any big issues, except for the odd, small patch of plaster blowing As above, a lot depends on wall condition and technique
Just a point, if the wall has been papered would you then get a good enough surface to paint on, so you may need to re-paper in lining paper anyway.