 | Shellie Blevens has 17 years of experience in the window covering and decorating field. She may be reached at 620-231-5440 for a free consultation. The Home Place at 616 N. Broadway is a full line Hunter Douglas dealer and appointments can be made to meet with Shellie Blevens, the owner and professional decorator to determine what would work best for you. They also carry custom window treatments by Graber and Comfortex. Custom made fabric beddings and window treatments can also be made at the Home Place, and there are many, many fabrics to choose from. The Home Place has been in business since 1983 and Shellie Blevens has owned it since 1996. |
Home Furnishings
2011-06-01 12:22:00
What’s the best way to remove old wall paper? - part 2 – plaster walls
Question: We live in an older home that has many rooms of wallpaper that we want to update. What is the best way to remove the old paper and improve the walls with new paper, paint or texture?
Answer: Last month, we touched base on the removal of wallpaper from drywall. Plaster walls are a bit different. If you have plaster walls, most likely there may be several layers of paper, because it was common to paper every couple years due to soot, which would build up on wall from the heat source used. But the paper was usually very thin. If the paper is older, usually you can soak it with warm water and it will scrape off with a large putty knife. If it is newer paper with a vinyl coating, the top of the paper may pull off, but there may be a paper backing left, which you will need to soak and scrape off. When taking paper off plaster walls, you can use more water to remove it than on drywall because it is a harder surface than sheet rock. Usually, if the plaster wall under the paper is in relatively good shape, the paper will scrape off nicely. If the wall has bulging areas, you may want to reconsider removing the paper because the plaster has most likely pulled away from the lathe in those areas, and the paper may be what is holding the wall together.
After working so hard to remove the old paper, you may not want to put new paper up because you don’t want to go through that work again in the future. However, the new wallpapers are not your grandma’s wallpapers. New papers are designed to go on easy and come off easy. Wallpaper companies have heard the complaints, and now many types of wallpaper have easy match marks and will pull off without a lot of effort. There are hundreds of beautiful designs to choose from.
Painting is still an option, but be sure you walls look good enough to make the paint look good. Flat paints will show fewer imperfections in your walls than paints with a satin or gloss look. You may need to have a professional re-texture your walls or you can pick up a textured roller to add your own. However, sometimes doing it yourself may not have the finished appeal as hiring a professional.
Whatever direction you choose, new wallpaper or paint, a new look will brighten your home and make it feel new again.
