Hi there, Do you know what they tried so far?

They said they soaked the area with hot water in small sections, and then tried peeling the paper and alternately using a scraper. Too tedious to continue, they stated.

Do you have to worry about what is under the wallpaper with a steamer? I've never used one.

No, there is not a worry about what's under the paper, but their budget is limited, and they may not want to totally replace all their sheet rock in order to paint once the paper is removed. Any rough estimates on what professional removal of the paper in a small galley kitchen would cost here in the U.S.? Thanks to all for the comments and questions so far!

Have they tried Dif and a steamer?
Dif is a product made for this.

http://www.thepaintstore.com/

Hire a pro. A pro can access your problem and tell you the best way to solve your problem. We have dealt with this problem for years and there is no easy solution.

I think Dif gel is now called Roman Piranha and if you use it with the paper tiger, it works wonders! I've removed TONS of wallpaper using it. Just be careful not to gouge the sheetrock. It will be tedious, no matter what, but you'll be glad you stuck with it and get it removed. Just do small sections at a time. A steamer is great or also a misting bottle with VERY hot water in it helps too. Use a flexible plastic scraper with a good size head on it instead of a metal scraper. You've gotta be patient as it is a trying project, for sure.

I too had kitchen wallpaper and since it had a vinyl coating on the front, was not easily penetrated. I managed to remove a small amount but it took a long time so I hired a pro to do it. If the paperhanger did not properly prep the walls before hanging the wallpaper, it is extremely difficult to remove

If the drywall isn't damaged, and it was previously properly primed and sealed, then you should be able to paint over it again. I've had to prime the walls before painting again, but no real repairs were needed in the ones I've done. Every project is different though, different surfaces, different consttruction methods, etc. We are all learning on here. :)

Thanks for the product tips, Judy M and Charliebeth!

I should have elaborated that a Paper Tiger is used to score the wallpaper first. It cuts tiny little holes in the paper so that the wallpaper removing gel or the hot water can penetrate the paper to start breaking down the wallpaper adhesive.

vinyl paper is the easiest to remove. Just peel in sheets the vinyl layer, then spray warm water on it. Wait about aminute and it scraps off with a flat scraper very easily. No Dif or paper tiger necessary. Paper wallpaper removal is much harder since you can't separate the layers .

cgmorley...I'm definitely NOt a pro but I've been hired by plenty of people to remove their wallpaper. It must be a sickness, actually, because I enjoy projects like that and I'm very detail oriented. It suits me, i guess. Lol!

I think because it can be very tedious and time-consuming, especially with paper wallpaper,(as scutterbug mentioned) a lot of people get very frustrated with it and just give up.

If the wallpaper is installed over unprimed sheetrock it can be impossible to remove with out a lot of damage to the sheetrock. In this case if you want to paint it use smooth paintable liner paper installed with vov. The liner will in essence create a new smooth wall. If you want to paper over this surface prime it twice before hanging paper so you can remove the new paper later.

I'm with you, cgmorley! It takes no skill, only patience -- and it doesn't have to be that difficult. Get that scoring device and go for it!!! I did four rooms in our previous house and it was so satisfying.

If your paper is solid on the wall, I decided to prime it ( talk to your local paint store), and did a beautiful paint job (faux finish). It solved the problem , and saved removing paper in a large bdrm 24 x12. Much quicker, and the best option if you have paper wallpaper that is secure. It looked great!

Exactly, charliebeth. That's exactly what happened to the couple with the dilemma. I had actually been hoping for some new magic product, I guess, but it appears that although there may be a few newer products, the removal of the old non-strippable wallpaper hasn't changed that much in several decades! Still tedious. LOL.

In my house, after we removed all the wallpaper, the walls were unpainted plaster. The house was built in 1931 and the walls had always been wallpapered until a couple years ago. Now I have wallpaper above the tile in the kitchen and the upstairs bathroom and painted all the other rooms - much easier to update now!

We have used numerous tools but the best luck we had on the plaster walls was very hot water in a garden sprayer and mist sections of probably 6 to 8 square feet at a time. We also had good luck with a commercial garment steamer. All in all, there's no magic potion, just lots of elbow grease

Downy with water in a spray bottle works remarkably fast too. If you are unable to use a steamer.

I have long ago (thank God) memories of removing paper with a steamer. It really worked well and was not that difficult.

Sometimes you need a pro. Mylar wallpaper applied professionally is extremely difficult to remove.

Some vinyl-coated papers are very time-consuming to remove because they have to be scored before they are soaked or steamed.

cgmorley, did you ever get the feeling that no one is listening to you? If I ever need to strip wallpaper I will promptly hire a steamer! I'll join you in the wallpaper removal business btw, I could use bags of money! I'm still a bit confused over the drywall, dryrock, drylining issue. I live in Australia, and in the west most homes are double brick built which is then rendered and plastered. We would then apply a coat of sealer before we paint. If you have stud walls, which are lined with a dryrock then you seal that with a different sealer before painting. It's all very confusing, and frustrating when no one is listening :-)

cathieg and cgmorley, you're too funny. Sheetrock (drywall, gypsum) here has a thin paper back and front - we don't plaster over it. The sheetrock is taped where the sheets meet then joint compound (or mud and there are several grades of mud) is applied over the tape but the majority of the rock is exposed. If the wallpaper was applied directly to the sheetrock without priming as one pulls or scrapes the wallpaper off it's nearly impossible not to take some of the paper from the sheetrock, or bits of rock with it, even as you steam. You steam too much and the sheetrock paper or joint compound gets too wet and the wall is ruined. Sometimes it's a smaller job to put up new sheetrock or just leave the paper on, texture and paint over it.
In the western US it's common to spray texture on walls so a homeowner must prep the wall flat for wallpaper then when it's time to remove it, it comes off easily with a steamer.

THANK YOU MAGUIRE! The folks here from across the pond and down under needed an even more detailed explanation of the Sheetrock here in the U.S., and I do not have the expertise to provide it. The wallpaper I originally asked about was applied in the early 70s and is definitely not "strippable" as most papers are today. I'm certain that the surface (Sheetrock) was not primed properly either, and the paper is seriously "stuck!" Since painting over the old paper will not be an acceptable option in this case, I think I will advise them to hire a professional, especially because they have already tried the removal and got too frustrated. I'm all for DIY, but there is a limit at times. Damage to the Sheetrock is another issue. Thanks, Houzzers for all your help!

As an American who has spent some time looking at property in the UK, I can attest to differences between the housing. As described above, the construction methods are different. Almost all UK properties are masonry walls while this construction method is very rare in the U.S., especially in properties built in the last 50 years. Plus, standards are different - I have seen some very cracked and rough walls just painted or papered over in the UK where that would never be considered acceptable in the U.S. I remember a property consultant complaining that Americans expected that floors wouldn't squeak, old windows would open and close and walls wouldn't be cracked and crumbling.

While we describe wallpaper as one product, it is actually many different products some of which are easier to apply and remove than others. There are products from other eras which are different than those sold today...try removing some of the foils from the 70s. Another product difficult to deal with is a certain type of paste used in the late 50s/early 60s that doesn't dissolve when steamed. Most professionally applied wallpapers are reasonable to remove as professionals used sizing before applying paper but many homeowners didn't do proper prep before applying the wallcoverings

I know many painters who occasionally remove wallpaper for customers and virtually all of them do it on a time and materials basis. Most also have their personal horror story of a removal job that was much tougher than expected. Some painters I know just won't touch wallpaper removal; they either prime it with oil and skim coat or require homeowners to remove it and the painters then do whatever wall prep is required.

I am not very handy but have successfully removed wallpaper many times. I score the paper first and then use a steamer and scraper. If it is vinyl then it comes off in two layers. I just removed wallpaper in my dining room and it took about 3 hours. My kitchen took me almost a month but it had 3 layers on it . I can't believe people just paper over old wallpaper. Of course that went a lot quicker after I bought a steamer.

I believe what the pro here is saying is that hot water and/ or steam is not breaking the glue down. There are may little gizmos - one that comes to mind looks like a pizza scorer, you roll it all over the paper then steam, another is a round prickly one, you press it over the paper making little holes for the steam to enter and elbow grease and scraping and steaming and scraping....

There is in USA wallpaper glued directly onto sheetrock that steam will not break down. It is nearly impossible to remove without damage to the wall. The 70's was absolutely notorious for cementing wallpaper onto sheetrock with no plaster, paint or primer. You try to take it off and you'll get the sheetrock paper and sheetrock bits leaving behind an ugly, pitted, torn wall.

I would either take off the sheetrock and replace it, or buy a heavy duty paintable textured wallpaper and apply it over the old paper. It's unfortunate but explains why in older homes you see wallpaper over wallpaper. I had a kitchen I had to re-rock and counted 13 different wallpapers on top of each other and a particularly challenging dining room that took me 3 weeks - I wish I had just re-rocked it would have been less time and work.

You can line these walls with paintable liner paper. You can have it installed in such a way that will be the new wall to work on. As a pro we would have known right away what direction to send you in. To install new sheetrock is no easy task if it is done properly

cgmorley...You seem to have a chip on your shoulder. You asked me (with numerous exclamation points) if I have ever even used a scraper. First, this is not even for my house, and if the owners choose not to spend their valuable time and elbow grease trying to remove the old wallpaper, then that's their right. I was just trying to find out for them if there might be any other options, per their request. Secondly, I really wish I could use a steamer and numerous other devices. However, I am on medical leave from my job after a very bad accident last November, am confined to a wheelchair and can't even walk. While at home while I'm healing, I choose to help individuals with some design, etc. ideas, which is a passion of mine. Maguire's comments are right on. You might reread his last statement in particular, and maybe display some kindness.

CGMorley - I don't know how many American properties you have been in, but I've certainly been in enough UK properties to feel qualified to make some comparisons. Of course, I haven't been in as many as you, but between the ones I have stayed in, the ones I have looked at for sale, the ones I looked at for rent, and the houses of friends, family and the children's friends, I have been in many UK properties. from the ritzy areas of London to some rather more downmarket areas. While I have seen some properties with wonderful craftsmanship, I have seen a lot where the quality of workmanship comes no where close to the level I expect from the people who work with me. Perhaps the professional I quoted should have been described as a relocation consultant, not a property consultant, but he did show me many high priced places which I didn't consider high quality properties.

I don't appreciate the insinuation that the pros I know are out to gouge customers or are lazy. But every person in this business has horror stories about workmen...and, the horror stories I tell involve some of the workers I met in London. Those guys smoked liked a chimney, then needed additional breaks for drinking their tea or coffee and knocked off right on time even though they didn't show up until after 9:30 a.m. When the guys I work with here start at 7:00 am and work until it is too dark to see (about 8 pm this time of year)and show up and do it again the next day, I'm not about to describe them as lazy.

Maguire, you were absolutely right, I shouldn't have posted. But, I dislike being described as gouging customers and I certainly disagree with anyone who says I would deliberately mislead another. I might cop to being at times wrong, inexperienced (ask my scars and my muscles!), outdated (ask my kids!), misdirected (ask my business partner) but dishonest, no, never

I also find it very insulting for another to dismiss your motives for participating in the discussions and to condescendingly disregard the circumstances which allow you to spend time in the discussion forums.

This thread looks like the Housewives show- jabbering about nothing important. cgmorley - take a rest , you don't look too bright right now.

madaboutdesign0924 I hope we can get your post back on track. Still looking for a method to remove drywall other than those mentioned above. Thanks all.

see above...Judy m ,charliebeth, kable,linda, cathieg, nursecrt, cgmorley all report success with a steamer, maybe you ought to just try that . - only a suggestion ,not meant to be offensive or anything.