COVID-19 UPDATE -Auckland: All stores are closed to the public. Essentials are available online for contactless home delivery. Rest of NZ: Stores outside Auckland are open with extra safety protocols in place. Visit our Covid-19 Update page for details. Trade Customer FAQs here.
How to remove wallpaper
There are a lot of walls out there covered with ugly old wallpaper that, quite frankly, needs to go. Getting rid of it can instantly update the look of your room. This guide will show you how to remove it yourself, so you can give the walls a paint, and instantly freshen up your room.
When removing wallpaper the first thing you should do is try to remove the paper without any water or stripper. If the paper peels off easily then continue until it’s all removed.
Spray
If the wallpaper is very difficult to remove then fill up a weed sprayer with hot water and spray the walls. This will help release the wallpaper paste from the backing paper. Before you do this, tape over any power sockets, or turn off the fuse to the room.
Start spraying at the top of the wall and work your way slowly around the room, ensuring it soaks in.
Once you have sprayed the wallpaper try to remove it. Start at a top corner and peel away slowly, using the spatula to help assist the paper removal.
If it is not coming off very easily then you may have to spray the walls again.
In some situations there may be a backing paper glued to the wallboard under the wallpaper, so repeat the same process by wetting and pulling off.
Remove
Ensure to not gouge out the wallboard. You do not want to remove any of the surface paper of the plasterboard as this will compromise the structural integrity of the board. Using a spatula with rounded corners will help.
If you find that hot water is not doing the job then you could try using a wallpaper scour to puncture the face of the wallpaper so the hot water can penetrate though to the wall board.
In some situations you may need to use a wallpaper steamer, combined with a scour. Place the steamer on the wall for a few seconds and peel off with the spatula. Ensure not to leave the steamer on the wall for too long, as you don’t want to soften the wallboard cover paper.
Wallpaper stripper can also be used if some areas are very difficult, alternatively you can use fabric softener in a bucket of hot water.
Once all the paper has been removed, use a sponge with warm water to remove the wallpaper adhesive residue from the wall.
You can now start prepping the wallboard for whatever your desired finish.
