Dealing with painted over wallpaper

Remove the wallpaper and have some mold/mildew killer from Lowes handy because if you had wallpaper in the bathrooms, you will have mold behind it. Don't panic, it's perfectly normal especially if your house was built in the 1970s/1980s.

My home was built in the 1970s and two bedrooms and the kitchen had painted over wallpaper that looked like shite. I was able to remove it in the kitchen and one bedroom and then skimcoat the walls but the other room was impossible to remove the wallpaper without destroying the drywall. I tried skimcoating it after myself but it was too big a job. I ended up calling two Mexican drywall guys (very professional and fast, by the way) to finish the job for me. They did it faster and more efficiently than I ever could have myself. Very happy I called them. Cost me $700 for them to do the entire room and ceiling (it had popcorn that needed to be scraped and refinished).

Back to the mold --

I used Concrobrum Mold Control from Lowes to remove and KILL the mold in and on the drywall after removing the wallpaper. Use a mask while you remove the wallpaper and try to seal off the room and air vents to prevent mold from spreading too much throughout your home. Do not skip this step and do not just use bleach. Bleach won't do the job completely like Concrobrium Mold Control will.

Honestly, it's probably just going to be worth it to hire someone to do it for you. After doing two rooms myself and hiring someone to do the third for me, I felt dumb for going through all the trouble myself.

There's a pretty fair chance the moisture from the drywall mud will cause the paper to lift a bit where it is torn and the sheetrock under it is exposed, but you can float over that once the original skim coat dries to even it out most times.

The problem with trying to remove the wallpaper is a lot of times they don't prime the wall before hanging the paper. Trying to remove it will often cause the outer paper of the sheetrock to be removed with the wallpaper, and that can be a huge PITA to deal with.

If you want to try to remove the paper, get one of those tools that fit in the palm of your hand and has little spur like rollers that perforate the wallpaper. Then just use a pump sprayer to wet the paper and let that soak to loosen the paste holding it to the wall. You'll find out quick just how hard, or easy, a job it will be.

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There's a pretty fair chance the moisture from the drywall mud will cause the paper to lift a bit where it is torn and the sheetrock under it is exposed, but you can float over that once the original skim coat dries to even it out most times.

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I've skimmed and painted over old wallpaper numerous times with good results if the wallpaper is adhering well to the walls, i.e. difficult to remove.


Like the poster above advises, you may get some areas where the wallpaper lifts due to moisture when you put the mud.

For this reason, before skimming, I first prime with a product called Larsen "Plaster Weld" and then cut-out and/or caulk any of the edges that may still look loose.

Still possible to have a few spots where paper lifts and you need to cut it and re-skim but sealing the edges and getting Plaster-Weld into any crevice/joint eliminates a lot.

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I first prime with a product called Larsen "Plaster Weld" and then cut-out and/or caulk any of the edges that may still look loose.

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May end up just trying something like this. Don't mind priming it and letting it sit for a couple months to see how it holds up then skim coating it.

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I first prime with a product called Larsen "Plaster Weld" and then cut-out and/or caulk any of the edges that may still look loose.

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May end up just trying something like this. Don't mind priming it and letting it sit for a couple months to see how it holds up then skim coating it.

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It'll be the skim coat layer that would give you any issues due to moisture.

The Plaster-Weld, if you haven't used it, goes on very liquid so it's easy to get into crevices. It's designed as a first coat for glueing crumbling/ cracking plaster so works well to glue down any edges of wallpaper you need to cut out. (I always roll back over it quickly to smooth out any drips and globules to make the skim coat easier.)

It'll dry in a day to see where you stand but unless the wallpaper is already compromised and easy to pull off right now, I think you'll be fine.

Ahhhh thanks ok. Good to know.