Is It Hard To Remove Wallpaper?

Ever hear of someone having a hard time removing wallpaper? Or wallpaper taking down large chunks of drywall when it’s peeled off?

This is because the walls were not prepared and sealed with primer before the wallpaper was hung. The wall prep was skipped and years later someone has to deal with the result.

Wallpaper is easy to remove if installed correctly. The paper is made to come right down in long flowing sheets. However, the surface of the walls needs to be cleaned, skim coated if necessary and sealed with a good primer.

The walls need to be as smooth as glass and there needs to be a barrier between the drywall and the wallpaper. Don’t just install wallpaper on bare drywall – you need to prime and seal it first.

Wash the walls, sand down anything sticking up, fill in the holes and prime/seal the walls. We recommend using Romans Pro-999. Zinsser B-I-N Shellac Primer is good too but some people hand handle the strong alcohol smell.

Only start hanging your wallpaper AFTER the walls have been sealed. We cannot stress this enough. 

Yes, it’s an additional step but it will ensure that the removal process is smooth down the line. Inexperienced or cheap installers will skip the wall preparation process. Why shouldn’t they?  It will be someone else’s problem down the line. However, wall preparation is a must if you want the wallpaper to be installed and removed without any problems.