What's the general consensus on wallpaper removal machines? Waste of money or invaluable aid? I've seen a couple at the local Focus for about £20-25 (didn't recognise the brands). Any advice much appreciated - I've a hell of a lot of painted over wallpaper to remove over the next few months!
a
Do you mean a steam stripper? Yes, indispensible! Together with one of those funny hand-held devices with spiky wheels in which you run all over the paper first, to perforate the surface to allow steam under.
David
I presume your talking about steamers.
Well worth it, will be at least three times as quick if not more, so do your sums.
Sorry, yes, I do mean steamers. Interesting about the spiker ... I didn't see any of them, will have a look on Screwfix, etc.
Any good results with particular brands of steamers?
a
Pretty sure Sfix don't stock them. Try B&Q etc though.
Basically they're just glorified kettles so not a huge amount to choose between them. As it happens, my old Earlex model (B&Q, about 15 years old) broke recently, and I've just replaced it with the Bosch from Screwfix. Haven't used it yet, but it does look good; also incorporates a pipe/cable tidy and a slot to store the steam plate - sounds trivial but the Earlex (a 12" square cube) really irritated me with all its bits always disgorged all over the place! On the other hand the Bosch looks quite low capacity, so may run out of H2O too soon, I don't know.
David
Well worth it but be careful not to "blow" the plaster. That is easily done until you get the hang of it.
I take it that happens if you wet it too much by being too slow?
a
Invaluable - I bought one two days ago to strip the wallpaper in the bedroom, in fact, several layers of wallpaper. I started with wet cloth and scraper and it was so painful, I drove straight to Wickes and bought one for ~£20. I also bought a wallpaper scraper & spare blades which helped considerably.
Only problem I had was that it also lifted some of the plaster off the wall in a few places. This was just finishing plaster over a painted wall. I came across a few patched holes anyway so I'm guessing it was a poor plaster job in the first place and it needed to come off anyway.
Cheers, Rob.
PS. Not sure how effective on painted paper though.
I did that in a few places but it was so unpredictable across all four walls that I assume the plaster was poorly attached anyway. Still, it's only skimming plaster.
Cheers, Rob.
Yes, that will happen but I think it often highlights poor adhesion in the first place. I assume there's an air gap behind there that the steam heats up causing the plaster to flake off.
Cheers, Rob.
Which leaves two options - patch up with Polyfilla (assuming the holes are relatively small and not "areas" of plaster!) then sand fine or re-skim the walls and ceiling (never tried it and I assume it's not that easy since most people seem to hold it as something of a black art!).
Of course I could paper over again, but I really don't want the hassle! Paint on smooth plaster is much nicer.
a
It's easy enough to patch largish areas with finishing plaster as long as the undercoat is sound and you damp it down first.
I was tempted to give the exposed wall a quick coat of PVA/water solution to give the plaster something to bond to first.
Cheers, Rob.
I have used both the Bosch and a heavy duty Earlex achine for the last few years.Both are excellent although the Bosch is extremely portable and costs £25-30 in B & Q. I wouldn't be without a steamer. Incidentally I have found the plaster to get damaged when people try to score the paper too heavily before removing it. The orbital scorers are much better as you do not apply too much pressure. You can pick these up in most of the DIY sheds for about a fiver
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