How long to remove many layers of old wallpaper

[Junegirl15]

Just wonders how long you think it would take to remove many layers or very old wallpaper off four walls plus the ceiling - top layer is woodchip. Been putting it off and really want to get on with decorating but….pondering whether I should just get someone in to do it as I am not the quickest at decorating! Room is about 8’ x4’

Depends whether you use a decent steamer or a cloth and bucket to get the wallpaper wet…. Could easily be done in less than a day with decent equipment of a week without. But beware what lies beneath!

If woodchip you really need to buy or borrow a steamer. Even then it will be a long slow process and you will be in tears by the end 😂

Would take a day with a steamer.

Woodchip wallpaper will absorb the moisture from the steamer and help with the layers underneath. DH is a decorator.

Sometimes multiple layers is easier than one... it kind of all sticks together and just peels off when you steam it.

Also recommend a steamer (Mine was about £30 on Amazon. They may be more now) but score the woodchip and then the underlying layers first to help the steam get underneath.

I'd also recommend a heavy duty scraper. We had painted anaglypta and I think I'd still be there now without it.

This is what I am envisioning! Last time I removed wallpaper one wall took me a week due to the many layers….it was a nightmare…….but I diffuse a steamer, I used the solution

Be careful with steaming solid plaster, you can bring solid plaster off, especially if you have breeze block walls behind it. Only steam for the minimum time you need to get each layer off. I just dampen with a sponge these days as I have delicate old plaster here- I put a little wshing up liquid in the water when using a sponge to help it break the surface tension. Takes longer to sink in to the point where you can scrape the paper off than steaming, and you may have to dampen it twice, but is less harsh on the plaster.
If there are many layers, is the house old? you may have lime plaster underneath, which is soft, so go easy with the scraper when you get to the bottom layers.
In old houses there may be a layer impermeable to water (like one painted with paint in a linseed oil base, woodchip painted with gloss, or a layer that has been painted with shellac). They're a nightmare, steaming won't work, nor will damping. I have a linseed paint layer in one room, I'm having to take it off with a multitool chisel, about a cm squared at a time. There are chemicals which can tackle those layers when you strip down to the offending layer, but they cost a lot, you need loads, and they are nasty- you need lots of ventilation.
Test a small section and see what comes off and how much you have to do to get back to plaster. That will also tell you what plaster you have.
Once it's all off, if you want to paint, give it a gentle scrub with a kitchen scourer using diluted Mangers or similar and sponge all the paste off or the paint may not stick properly- you can tell if you haven't cleaned it all off yet because when you touch the dry plaster with a damp hand, it feels sticky.

I'm on renovation number 3. I always use a steamer. Where plaster walls are prone to coming off with the paper I let it, I'd rather get the loose stuff off and skim over the patches, then you don't have to fanny around next time you decorate.

I’d hire a decent quality steam. I don’t get one from Argos.