Changed my mind about painting over wallpaper after a week from hell

I always thought you could just paint over old wallpaper if it was stuck on good. Big mistake. Last week I took a job in a 1950s house in Spokane, and the owner wanted the dining room painted. The paper looked flat and solid, so I gave it a quick sand and rolled on a coat of primer. Two days later, the whole thing started to bubble and peel like a bad sunburn. I had to spend the next three days steaming and scraping every inch of that wall, which added about $400 to the job cost just in labor. The old paste underneath was still active and the primer couldn't lock it down. Now I won't touch a painted wallpaper job without stripping it first, no matter how secure it looks. Anyone else get burned by a shortcut that seemed totally reasonable at the time?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim9631mo ago

Yeah wallpaper is a total trap, I learned that the hard way too lol.

walker.max27d ago

@kim963 used to swear by wallpaper but you guys totally changed my mind

black.pat1mo ago

My friend in Chicago spent three days steaming off a single accent wall. The real trap is how it traps moisture and ruins the drywall underneath. You don't just remove wallpaper, you start a full repair project.