Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Flip

Original poster

paint horrid textured wallpaper or take a deep breath and strip it?

19 replies

RoobyMurray · 02/08/2011 08:40

We've just moved house and our lovely new hall has horrid textured wallpaper not unlike this in colour and style. It's not brilliantly hung and you can see lots of wallpaper paste shiney patches and there's some shrinkage meaning you can see each strip if you look closely.

It's a large area and we have other stuff to spend money on, but the oppressive darkness of the deep red is going to bug me.

So do I:

a) Cheapest option; paint on top of the paper and hope that this freshens it up and covers the shiney paste patches. Then at a future date (when??) strip it and do it properly. Does painting over textured paper look any good, or would it still look dodgey?

b) could be very expensive option; strip it and risk uncovering whatever horrors are hidden

Opinions please!

OP posts:

MrsMagnolia · 02/08/2011 09:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

OhHelpOhNo · 02/08/2011 09:29

I think I'd take deep breath and strip it now, although I completely understand about wanting to spend time/money elsewhere.

Is that a part of the wall covered by some furniture?? You could try stripping the paper from there then you'll have a better idea if how hard/easy it's going to come off and the state of the wall behind...

BertieBotts · 02/08/2011 09:36

I have painted-over textured wallpaper, and while it looked fine when I moved in, 20 months down the line it looks tatty as the paint has made the paper "stiff" and with the walls contracting/expanding slightly with the changing seasons it's shown up every single join.

Added to that, textured rather than flat walls do tend to absorb light rather than bouncing it into the room properly, so even with big windows rooms can seem quite dark, especially in the winter.

I think it would make a massive difference to paint it if it's that red though, so I'd do that and then think about stripping it later if you grow to hate it as much as I do

kellestar · 02/08/2011 09:40

It's harder to strip wallpaper thats been painted on. If you use a steam stripper it could be off in a few hours. Hire or borrow, they really make it quick. However if you do paint it, still use a steam stripper but score the wall paper lightly first with a stanley knife, this will get through to the paper layer and lift without much effort.

Our house was all textured wallpaper originally, painted over and over. So glad we got the steam stripper. Bought at a boot sale for £5, b&q hire them if I remember correctly.

Original poster

RoobyMurray · 02/08/2011 09:40

thanks for your opinions.

I suppose the question is whether you start off by settling into a new house with the cheapest options and then upgrade over time, or spend on one area at a time. e.g. to spend money on getting the hall/stairs/landing done properly and leave conservatory empty, or do it cheaply and have money for cheap conservatory furniture as well?????

OP posts:

starfishmummy · 02/08/2011 09:42

As Mrs Magnolia says a fresh coat of paint can work wonders but how dark is the red? How many coats of paint will you need to cover it? If it is a vinyl type paper then it might not paint very nicely (in spite of what programmes like 60 minute makeover tell you.....)

Original poster

RoobyMurray · 02/08/2011 09:45

good point starfish, I hadn't thought about how many coats - it is a VERY deep red. I'd imagine the little textures would be a PITA to cover properly too.

hmmm...

OP posts:

grumpypants · 02/08/2011 09:51

BUT we used textured wall paper to cover the terrible walls, which were going to cost a foryune to plaster....

echt · 02/08/2011 10:05

This is your lovely new house. Strip it and see what's underneath. Better now than later. We did this in a less, ahem, challenging situation and had the lot re-papered with top -notch liner - v.thick, and painted over. To be fair, no plastering problems emerged.

Oh, and we had a pro to do it as we were time-poor but cashed-up then.:o

Ponders · 02/08/2011 10:09

is it anaglypta type, or vinyl?

if it's vinyl it may be double-skinned paper, so you could strip off the top layer leaving the flat lining-type paper underneath, & then paint that. (& later you would be able to paper over it if that's what you'll want to do)

have a pick at an obscure corner

Ponders · 02/08/2011 10:11

oh, & if it is that type it's dead easy to strip - it comes off in sheets pretty much.

you have to be careful with edges & corners though as the backing paper can lift off too

noddyholder · 02/08/2011 10:12

Strip it You won't ever regret it

Kveta · 02/08/2011 10:18

oh, strip it, for sure.

our new house has flock wallpaper in most of the rooms, and we're stripping it all back. In our bedroom, it took DH 2 months of weekends to strip it back and get the walls suitable for painting, but it was so so worth it. the lounge/diner is the next task, and we're half way through stripping it. in theory, it's the paper that the top layer comes off and the underlayer can be painted. in practice, we've got a lot of gaping holes in the paper and it looks ragged. we're tempted to bite the bullet and get someone in to strip it, make it hole-free, and paint it PBW, but need to get some quotes first.

nocake · 02/08/2011 10:21

I say bite the bullet and strip it off. Yes, it will be a lot of work and you may need to repair some walls afterwards but you'll feel a lot better about it. I borrowed a steamer when I had to get rid of woodchip wallpaper and that made a big difference.

TheCrackFox · 02/08/2011 10:28

Strip the wallpaper off - it will be cathartic.

When I am prime minister (surely only a matter of time) the first thing I will ban will be textured wall paper.

careergirl · 02/08/2011 11:28

I had textured wallpaper on hall stairs landing painted over so much it had gone flat!! Thought it would be a nightmare to get off but my decorator did it in a few hours with a super steamer thingy.

I do have textured paper but it hides the walls which otherwise would need a coat of plaster. I keep it up to date and taken off every now and again and there are some quite attractive patterns now. I don't have a problem with it really works for me

linspins · 02/08/2011 14:28

Strip it, it's always going to bug you and will be a nightmare to paint/cover properly.

Original poster

RoobyMurray · 02/08/2011 16:27

Right, that's decided then! That wallpaper is coming down!

Thanks for your help with that one

OP posts:

Mandy21 · 03/08/2011 08:16

This is how I spent my day yesterday!

We had something like this throughout the hall / stairs / landing www.decoratingwarehouse.co.uk/buy/wallpaper/anaglypta/superglypta/anaglypta--dd--rd-0108-richard/741 although it was painted cream (which had gone yellow). We've lived with it for almost 18 months and I could stand it no longer so I stripped it off yesterday. As others have said, it comes off relatively easily. We had also thought of taking the top coat off and leaving the back of the paper in situ (almost like a lining paper) to paint, but when I painted over it with my paint tester pots yesterday, the moisture in the paint lifted it off the wall. We've therefore had to go back to the plaster.

I should also say that even though the bare walls are darker than the walls were with the wallpaper on, it all looks much lighter! I think the paper does tend to absorb light.

If you're prepared to do it yourself (and have the time), I'd strip it. I don't expect it would cost too much to re-line the walls with lining paper and then paint over it - thats what I'm hoping anyway!

Flip