We are in the process of redecorating our back bedroom and the steamer is making hard work of getting the wallpaper off the wall which is unplastered plasterboard.
Is there something we can buy which would help us?
Or any cheeky techniques?
Thank you
I find slashing the paper with a Stanley knife before steaming is effective at getting the steam behind the paper. Unfortunately, it is as likely that any technique is going to be as effective removing the paper face of the plasterboard as any subsequently applied wallpaper. You may find it easier to simply remove and replace the plasterboard at a few quid a sheet and a few more for filler.
Christian.
Thanks Christian, is it technically difficult for a newbie DIYer to replace the plasterboard?
Thanks
S
Assuming it is plasterboard on a stud partition, then it is extremely simple. It just requires enough strength or a helper to manoevure the board into position and a good battery drill to knock in the plasterboard screws. Dot'n'dab drylining is harder to replace, though. Use "taper edge" board and then tape and fill the joins. Because the tapered depression is narrower than the float, it is easy to get a flat surface with a bit of polishing. It is nowhere near as difficult as real plastering.
Christian.
I think I'll get the brother in law round, a man who knows about these things!
Thank you
managed to remove 3 rooms of wallpaper from plasterboard and it went OK Removing the plasterboard is messy, time consuming and looks a real mess if you don't joint it properly (which can then end up cracking/bubbling leaving you with unsightly joins which are very difficult to remove if you're not a pro!).
What I did: Remove vinyl top layer of wallpaper Using a steam stripper, work on very small areas (stripper * 1 and a half) Don't make the plasterboard too wet or this can cause a real mess! A sharp edge scraper (pref with rounded corners) to scrape the damp backing paper off. If the wall was emulsioned before paper, watch out for lifting paint. This will happen if you've over steamed the area, the paint wasn't applied to sealed plaster if the wallpaper adhesive is extra strong. If the paint starts bubbling, push back into wall and roll with a wallpaper roller. After you've stripped it all off, clean off with sugar soap or equivalent. You'll probably need to fill in the bits that are now looking bad (digs, scrapes, paint loss, etc.) I used Polyfiller Finishing Filler (or whatever it was called) for the small problems and Polycell Covertex for the deeper problems! The former is workable down to a finished without sanding whilst the latter is OK and quite easy to sand down. Before painting, seal the walls with thinned emulsion/PVA. Remember that when up close a wall can look quite bad but from a passing distance, you'll not notice every little fault!
Hope that helps & best of luck whatever you decide!
Thank you, interesting what you say about don't make the plasterboard too wet, we had a man round yesterday putting in some new windows who was a bit of a boy and gave the advice "just give it loads of steam son", we'd been doing that last weekend but it does make it a little messy, I will (or get the wife to) try the "less is more" approach!
Thank you
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