Wallpaper removal has been very common for us for several years. Wallpaper installation, not so much. We have not installed wallpaper in a residence for over five years. We still install it on commercial projects several times a year however.

Removing wallpaper is not difficult. It can be time consuming. The best approach is to first protect the floor near the wallpaper and then use a “paper tiger” to score the surface of the wallpaper. It’s best to only puncture the paper and not penetrate into the drywall. You control this by how hard you press on the paper tiger.

What we will try next is usually just hot water. We will spray a small area with a Hudson  sprayer. Let it soak for a bit and then try removing the paper. If this is not successful we will pull out the BIG GUN, FAST wallpaper stripper. This is a very effective product. When we use it we mix small batches using very hot water. We also normally double the mixing ratio. We spray it on, let it set (also keeping it wet) and then remove the paper with wide drywall knives.

It is not uncommon to have to do some drywall repair and skim coating after the wallpaper is removed.