Over time, gluing wallpaper to the ceiling loses its relevance. And many are faced with the problem of dismantling the old ceiling finishing during a new renovation. They are removed not only because they are going out of fashion, but also because they may become unusable. In addition, enough alternative materials have appeared. In this article we will tell you how to remove wallpaper from the ceiling.
Removing wallpaper from the ceiling
The adhesive can make them quite difficult to remove. The work performed must be of especially high quality in order to properly prepare the ceiling for putty. Any repair work should begin with preparation. Ceiling treatment should begin before finishing the walls. If done in a different sequence, the wall finish may be damaged.
The process will be quite messy. The floor should be covered if possible. For example, polyethylene. Keep in mind that the protective coating will have to be thrown away immediately after the ceiling repair is completed. Otherwise you will spread dirt. You also need to cover windows and doors.
It is better not to carry out such work if the room temperature is less than 5 C. Cover the outgoing electrical wiring. Remove the chandelier and cover the wires.
Wear protective clothing, glasses and gloves. Be sure to cover your hair.
Tools you will need:
- Spatula (may become unusable after work).
- Construction roller with long pile.
- A bucket of warm water in any container.
- Ladder.
Let's get started
If the wallpaper was double-layered, remove it dry by prying it off with a spatula and tearing it off. If the method does not work, you need to wet them with water or a commercial water-based solution. You can wet the wallpaper with a roller. Wait until the water is absorbed. If they are not wet enough, wet them again. Using the spatula again, try to remove the wallpaper.
If the material is waterproof, then make notches so that water gets under the wallpaper itself. After this, you will most likely be able to remove the wallpaper. At least almost everything. Residues can be separately wetted and removed with a spatula.
Knock off any loose plaster using a hammer. Widen the cracks to 1 cm and fill them with putty. If you find fungus, treat it with an antiseptic several times.
Once any ceiling defects have been repaired, apply a deep penetrating primer.
Tsugunov Anton Valerievich
Reading time: 4 minutes
Wallpaper is a wonderful finishing material that allows you to quickly change the appearance of your apartment beyond recognition. But many of those who are faced with the need to remove old trim find this process a real problem. What to do if you really want to update your interior, but the wallpaper just doesn’t want to separate from the ceiling or walls? Let's look at all the ways to remove outdated finishes, and also find out how to tear off old wallpaper if it is “tightly glued” to the wall.
If the wallpaper was recently glued, then there should be no problems with removing it at home, since modern starch-based adhesives are designed for subsequent easy removal of the finishing material.
Tools and materials
The choice of tool depends on the type of old finish that needs to be removed. Here is the most complete set of tools and devices that will help you quickly peel off obsolete wallpaper that has lost its former attractiveness:
- knives, spatulas, scrapers;
- “wallpaper tiger” or roller with nails;
- steam generator;
- wide roller with extension handle (for ceiling);
- hard brush;
- spray;
- special liquid for removing wallpaper;
- drill or grinder with a brush attachment;
- old blankets, film or packaging cardboard to protect furniture and floors;
- gloves and headgear;
- scotch;
- old rags or sponge;
- container with warm water.
You are unlikely to need a full arsenal, but it won’t hurt to stock up on most auxiliary equipment.
Before removing old wallpaper, do not forget to remove everything unnecessary from the room, remove curtains, take out carpets, and seal sockets and switches with tape to prevent moisture from entering them.
Methods for removing wallpaper
There are several standard methods for removing wallpaper material.
When a wall is being prepared for pasting not ordinary paper wallpaper, but vinyl, non-woven, or washable wallpaper will be used, it must be cleaned of the old coating especially carefully.
Method number 1: use water
The process of removing old finishes from walls or ceilings without extra effort is not complete without a faithful assistant - warm water, and consists of wetting the walls to soften the layer of glue. The work can be done with a sponge, rag, roller or spray.
Tip: Add detergent to the water - this will increase the effectiveness of soaking.
Most often, after the glue has soaked, the thick paper material is very easily and quickly removed from the walls. It is better to do the work starting from the corners or from the bottom up. To do this, use the edge of a spatula or other working tool to pick up a corner of the wallpaper sheet and pull it towards you, simultaneously lifting it up.
Instead of water, you can use wallpaper remover, the principle of which is to destroy the adhesive structure. It is sold in hardware stores in concentrated form and diluted in the proportions indicated on the label.
Method No. 2: water + mechanical impact
How to remove wallpaper from walls if it does not absorb moisture well or is not capable of doing so at all, for example, washable, non-woven, vinyl? In this situation, it is necessary to make cuts or holes throughout the entire covered area. This can be done with a sharp corner of a spatula, a knife, a roller with nails protruding from it, or a “wallpaper tiger” - a specially created device for applying scratches to wallpaper.
After the vinyl or other durable wallpaper is cut or perforated, you will again need warm water, which you need to wet the covered wall with and wait 15–20 minutes. Then the same steps are performed as in method No. 1, aimed directly at removing the coating from the wall.
Method number 3: hot steam
You can make glue and paper swell using a steam generator, a steam mop, or even an iron with a steam function. After exposure to steam, most coatings can be removed from walls and ceilings quickly and easily with a wide spatula or scraper.
Removing non-woven wallpaper
Non-woven wallpaper is very durable and has a waterproof coating, so we will remove it using method No. 2, violating the integrity of its surface with any of the above tools and generously moistening the wall with water. The glue should swell fairly quickly (after 15 minutes), allowing the canvas to be separated from the wall or ceiling.
When removal is difficult, it is better to use a steam generator.
With vinyl wallpaper on a durable non-woven base, you can separate only the top layer and leave the bottom layer on the wall, gluing new sheets directly onto it.
Removing washable material
Since washable wallpaper does not get wet, to remove it you will need a roller with nails, a “wallpaper tiger”, a knife or a spatula to scratch the material. In this case, the glue will soak longer; you will need to wet the wall several times.
Radical method of removal
If you need to tear off material from the walls or ceiling that is glued very tightly, for example, preserved from Soviet times, you may encounter serious difficulties. Previously, during repairs, carpenter's glue, bustilate, and PVA were used, which are capable of gluing wallpaper to the wall for centuries and are completely resistant to ordinary soaking.
A drill with a brush attachment will help, with which the coating can simply be mechanically removed from the wall. This method has a drawback: a stiff brush will remove not only wallpaper from the walls, but also a layer of putty, and possibly pieces of plaster.
How to Remove Wallpaper from Drywall
If the walls or ceiling covered with plasterboard were not treated with a special primer before gluing, any wallpaper, non-woven, washable, vinyl and paper, will stick to it incredibly firmly. In addition, the top layer of drywall can be easily damaged, and it is also not friendly with water. This material can be used to remove the coating.
Despite the widest modern variety of materials and technologies for decorating indoor walls, wallpaper has been and remains the “champion” in popularity. And this despite the fact that in terms of the long history of their use, they are also among the leaders - this method of decorating walls in rooms has been practiced since time immemorial. The explanation is simple - with the help of wallpaper you can very quickly and efficiently completely change the interior design. And the gluing technology, although also replete with nuances, can still be mastered by any home owner, that is, such cosmetic repairs are quite affordable to carry out on your own.
By the way, all professional finishers, and even those many “amateur class” craftsmen who have already tried to do this kind of finishing of premises, will not let you lie: it’s not so much time and effort that it takes to prepare the wall surfaces for this operation. And sometimes one of the dirtiest and most tedious tasks is removing old decorative coatings. In particular, if the room was previously covered with wallpaper, then the old canvases must be unconditionally removed.
There’s no need to brush it off as if it’s a nonsense question. Sometimes something so simple, at first glance, turns into “hard labor.” Let's see how to remove wallpaper from walls quickly and efficiently.
Let’s note right away that things don’t always work out quickly.
Or maybe not remove the old wallpaper?
No matter how beautiful the wallpaper may seem initially, sooner or later you realize that it’s time to change it. There can be many reasons. For many owners, new fashion trends become an important motivation. They grow up, and in their room they also have to change the decoration in accordance with their age and with their personal preferences. Wallpaper can get dirty, wear out, fade, and lose its aesthetic appearance over time. Often, pets – cats or dogs – also make their “mite” in approaching the need for cosmetic repairs.
So, the task has been set - we need to re-glue it. And often there is a temptation - maybe not to “bother” with deleting old ones? Maybe stick it directly on them - it will take very little time?
Such doubts may partly arise also because many people are familiar with pictures where there are entire “archaeological deposits” on the walls. That is, many layers of old finishing, through which you can trace the history of repairs over several decades.
Maybe we should do that? No, this is highly undesirable! This was possible in those days when all wallpaper was exclusively paper-based, did not vary in thickness, and did not have special protective coatings or impregnations. And the requirements for the quality of finishing, we admit to ourselves, even twenty years ago were completely different, incomparable with modern ones.
Of course, no one can forbid the owner of an apartment, if he is carrying out renovations himself, to paste new wallpaper without removing the old ones. But then all that remains is to hope that, as they say, it will “carry over”, and the finish will turn out to be both neat and durable.
But it can also happen differently:
- Applying glue to old wallpaper often causes it to swell, and as a result, achieving a smooth new finished surface is simply unrealistic. Obvious wrinkles and bubbles appear on the walls.
A very common consequence of sticking new wallpaper over old ones is the appearance of wrinkles and bubbles, which are extremely difficult to deal with - It is not always possible to know for sure what kind of glue was used when gluing the old trim. That is, it is difficult to predict what its reaction will be with the composition that will be used when gluing new wallpaper. It is possible that the next morning after the repair, all the wallpaper will be lying on the floor, that is, hopelessly damaged.
- The paint on many old paper wallpapers is not durable. That is, when it gets wet again (when gluing it on top of new canvases), it may well seep through and appear in spots on the fresh finish.
- It has already been mentioned above that the requirements for the evenness of walls in past times are still not comparable with modern ones. Previously, they often tried to hide even very significant surface defects with wallpaper - cracks, chips, sinkholes. And some defects could progress over time. And to close it without even inspecting the wall and without carrying out repair work, if necessary, is not at all businesslike. In addition, there is a high probability that after gluing the new finish, these flaws will appear and spoil the entire impression of the newness of the interior.
- Whatever one may say, the old wallpaper has already become saturated with fumes and odors, and it is hardly worth carrying all this “wealth” with you “to the future.”
- Under the wallpaper, pockets of mold or mildew may appear on the wall. At the initial stages they may be invisible, but in the future they will definitely make themselves felt. That is, it will never be superfluous to check the wall for its “biological health”, and, if necessary, carry out appropriate antiseptic treatment.
So, it has been decided that the old wallpaper must be removed. How this is done will be described below. And here, depending on your luck, completing a task may require an hour of time and turn into a very protracted action. But nothing can be done…
How to prepare to remove old wallpaper?
The preparation is no different - it is necessary, firstly, to free up a working space for yourself, so that you have access to all the walls in the room. And secondly, to protect the things remaining in the room, interior elements or already finished surfaces from unnecessary contamination or getting wet (water will be used quite widely during the removal process).
Everything is very simple:
- Furniture, of course, even more so - with the prospect of subsequently covering the walls with new wallpaper, it is better to take it out of the room. If this is not possible, then it is moved closer to the center of the room, so that there are fairly wide passages along all the walls in which it will be possible to work without interference.
- All pieces of furniture are covered with a thin film - such a protective coating, intended specifically for such purposes, is easy to purchase in a store.
- Of course, it is better to cover the floor with thicker plastic film so that it does not tear under the soles of shoes. A thickness of 75 microns is usually quite sufficient. To avoid slipping on the wet film, you can also cover it on top with pieces of packaging cardboard or even just old newspapers.
- Skirting boards are often forgotten. If you do not plan to remove them, then the preservation of the appearance can be ensured with strips of applied masking tape. By the way, they can also fix the film laid on the floor around the perimeter of the room.
If it is not possible to completely empty the room of furniture, then it, like the floors, should be covered with film - To prevent dust and dirt from spreading throughout the premises, a damp cloth should be placed on the threshold. You can keep the doors closed, or cover the doorway with a piece of damp cloth.
- Removing old wallpaper, preparing walls, and installing new trim involves removing sockets and switches. There are “wet procedures” ahead, so you need to protect yourself from electric shock. Either the room is completely disconnected from the home electrical network, or steps are taken to reliably isolate current-carrying parts and wiring.
You need to immediately prepare the necessary tools so that they are already at hand. It is difficult to give an exact list of all the required “arsenal” - much depends on specific circumstances. So, depending on the type of wallpaper pasted and the strength of its retention on the wall, the following can be used for work:
- Spatulas, narrow and wide (up to 250 mm).
- A container for water, detergent or other ingredients, which will be discussed below. It is convenient to apply water to the walls with a spray bottle.
- Sponges or foam roller, rags.
- To perforate waterproof wallpaper, you will need a needle roller or a special tool - the so-called “wallpaper tiger”.
- Often you have to resort to steaming glued fabrics. Here you can use an iron, regular or, better, with a vertical steam function. Special wallpaper steamers (steam strippers) are very convenient, and if you have the opportunity to rent such a device, you should not neglect it.
- A sufficient supply of garbage bags should be prepared so that the removed linens and rags should be immediately placed in them.
- A considerable proportion of the total volume of work will be carried out at height, under the ceiling. This means that you will need a reliable stepladder or, which is much more convenient, sawhorses.
- It is better to carry out wall cleaning operations while protecting your hands with gloves.
The list may be broader if, for example, it comes to harsh mechanical cleaning of old canvases that cannot be cleaned properly.
Basic methods for removing old wallpaper
If you're very lucky, the wallpaper comes off on its own.
Not themselves, of course, but separating them from the walls does not require any special means, moisture, or any significant effort. The canvas is picked up from above and gently pulled towards itself and down.
If the wallpaper comes off easily, then the work will not require much time and effort. By the way, it is not recommended to make great efforts. Over time, paper webs can acquire a certain fragility and begin to tear if they are pulled too hard. You should try to remove the entire sheet completely, from top to bottom. “Resisting” areas should be cleaned immediately with a sharp spatula or even a knife.
It is not excluded, of course, that in the course of such a successful “dismantling” there will still remain separate “islands and continents” that do not want to part with their place. Well, then the finishing on the main area is removed, and for these “rebels” we will use one of the more radical methods, which will be discussed below.
Water comes to the rescue...
The case described above is one of the exceptions. This usually happens if the wallpaper was initially glued not very well, and the owners were simply lucky that it lasted so long.
And the most common method, which most often helps out, is to blot old wallpaper with water. Firstly, the canvases themselves swell, and this already contributes to their separation from the wall. And secondly, abundant moisturizing leads to the dissolution of the old adhesive layer, and it will no longer hold the wallpaper dead on the surface.
Another advantage of this method is that the worker does not have to “swallow” clouds of dust that inevitably arise when removing wallpaper using the “dry” method. True, as a cost, it is difficult to avoid the formation of wet dirt on the floor. But if there is film there, everything can be easily removed.
So, the task is to saturate the canvases themselves as much as possible with moisture and cause the glue to dissolve. To do this, it is recommended to use warm water, which is applied with a sponge or foam roller. For many, it is more convenient to use a spray bottle attached to an ordinary plastic bottle for this purpose. They try, of course, to apply water with a certain moderation, so as not to create streams along the walls and, accordingly, puddles on the floor.
Moisturizing old wallpaper on the wall can be done using a sponge, foam roller or spray bottle After moistening, it is necessary to take a short pause so that the moisture is well absorbed into the structure of the material and softens the adhesive layer. For simple single-layer paper wallpaper, literally five to seven minutes is enough, and you can start removing it. Multilayer ones will require more water and time. But even with them, after 15 ÷ 20 minutes the surface will be ready for cleaning.
So, after the canvases on the wall are saturated with water, you can begin to remove them. Again, if you’re lucky, the removal will occur, if not in whole sheets, then at least in large fragments. However, when exposed to water, old wallpaper can begin to “creep” and tear, and you have to use spatulas or special scrapers.
They begin to remove the sheet either from the top, or, if it seems more convenient, from the seam - they pry up the sheet with a spatula, and try to carefully peel off a fragment of the largest possible area from the wall. The remaining areas are cleaned individually. If necessary, some areas of the finish that do not want to move away from the wall are moistened additionally.
Of course, when scraping off the remnants of wallpaper, you should exercise some care, trying not to leave grooves on the layer of plaster or putty. Especially if the plans do not include subsequent leveling of the surface, that is, the new wallpaper will immediately be pasted onto the cleaned wall.
The method is effective, and in addition, its effectiveness can be enhanced in several ways.
Features of preparation for “wet” removal of vinyl wallpaper
Thick, washable wallpaper, and especially those with a vinyl waterproof outer covering, require special preparation. Their surface does not allow moisture to pass inside, to the wall, which means that it is necessary to artificially create the conditions for this.
You can damage the integrity of the outer waterproof coating by making notches using a regular knife, but this is not entirely convenient. Such an operation will be performed faster and with better quality using a special roller with sharp needles. Or a special tool is used - a wallpaper tiger. Its toothed rollers, when moving along the surface, leave quite deep grooves on the finish without damaging the wall itself. Such scratches are quite enough for water to penetrate through the waterproof layer and do its job.
Violating the integrity of the waterproof surface layer of wallpaper using a wallpaper tiger or a needle roller After this, they proceed to removing the canvases - in the same sequence as described above. By the way, after getting the bottom layer wet, heavy vinyl wallpaper can often be removed much easier than paper wallpaper - in whole sheets. But some types delaminate, that is, first the top vinyl layer is removed, and then you have to additionally remove the bottom paper or non-woven base.
A few final important notes
Concluding this publication, let’s consider a few more nuances regarding certain situations when removing wallpaper.
- If the wallpaper is two-layer on a non-woven basis, then it often happens that only the top decorative layer can be removed. And the non-woven base remains on the wall. It can not be torn off using brute force, but used as a kind of reinforcing coating by applying a thin layer of putty to it after priming. After leveling and sanding, the wall will again be fully ready for any type of finishing.
By the way, fragmentary remains of paper wallpaper, if they are not shaggy outward and are firmly glued to the wall, can also be hidden with a layer of putty. This should not affect the quality of future finishing.
- Removing liquid wallpaper usually does not present any special problems. At its core, it is a kind of plaster layer on a cellulose adhesive base. After softening with water or any other composition mentioned in the article above, the coating can be cleaned off quite easily with a spatula. Moreover, some craftsmen do not even throw away the composition cleaned from the wall - it can be reused after appropriate processing.
What is this - liquid wallpaper?
Many people have never even heard of this finishing method. Meanwhile, it opens up the widest possibilities for original interior design. And what’s interesting: applying and even manufacturing is not such a prohibitively difficult task. Read about this in a special publication on the portal.
- Glass wallpaper also stands apart. They are glued to a special adhesive composition with a high content of polyvinyl acetate or acrylic resins, and this glue almost completely binds their fiber structure through and through.
Separating them from the wall using the methods listed above is a task that with a 99% probability will end in failure. Use mechanical methods using abrasive nozzles, hard brushes, etc. – it’s possible, but is it worth it?
Firstly, glass wallpaper can withstand more than ten (some up to thirty!) cycles of repainting. That is, it is quite possible to update the interior design without even cleaning the walls.
And secondly, if an absolutely flat, clean surface of the wall is absolutely necessary, then high-quality glass wallpaper becomes an excellent “reinforcing mesh”, on which a layer of putty can be placed without any problems.
Find out, and also familiarize yourself with the theory, calculations, and practice of correct gluing on walls, in a special article on our portal.
By the way, one of the modern finishing technologies directly involves the preliminary reinforcement of walls with fiberglass “gossamer” before they are puttyed. And this fiberglass is nothing more than the same glass wallpaper of low thickness and density. So you can cover them with putty without fear.
What is the painting fiberglass “gossamer” used for?
This material appeared on the shelves of construction stores relatively recently, but has already proven the convenience and effectiveness of its use. What is it and what are the possibilities of using it - read in the special article on our portal.
So, the article discussed some, from the author’s point of view, the most convenient ways of removing old wallpaper from the wall. Of course, many finishing craftsmen may have their own opinion on this matter and apply their own methods. It would be great if they shared their know-how on the pages of our portal.
At the end of the publication there is a video in which one of the masters shares his secret.
Video: Useful technological recommendations for removing several layers of old paper wallpaper
One of the main types of work when renovating any room is finishing the ceilings. Ceiling finishing begins with surface preparation. It must be done carefully and conscientiously. If the ceiling in the room is covered with wallpaper, we read that it should be removed before painting. Then thoroughly clean and dry the surface.
Step-by-step instructions for removing wallpaper from the ceiling.
First way.
Saturate the old coating with a rag or sponge with hot water, and then remove the residue with a spatula. Some types of modern wallpaper can leave behind a thin layer of paper. New wallpaper can be glued to this layer, but only if the ceiling is fairly flat and does not require additional work.
Second way.
Another method by which you can remove wallpaper is more convenient. Using a special hammer drill, which we select according to , with a spatula or a drill with a special attachment, the ceiling is cleared of old layers of putty and paint - down to the concrete slab.
Ceiling repair professionals use special industrial vacuum cleaners to remove dust from ceiling surfaces. In this case, it is necessary to protect your respiratory organs and eyes from flying dust: wear a respirator and a mask. Wallpaper can also be removed from the ceiling using thermal and chemical methods.
Video.
Nikita, Rostov-on-Don asks a question:
I recently purchased an apartment. Immediately there was a need to make repairs to it, and hiring builders is now expensive, so I decided that I would do the work myself. First, tell me how to remove wallpaper from the ceiling with a minimum of effort and nerves?
The expert answers:
In order for the wallpaper to come off the ceiling better, it must be moistened with water using a roller.
The process of removing old wallpaper is actually not difficult, does not require much experience and does not take much time. But before removing wallpaper from the ceilings, you need to prepare the premises and stock up on the necessary tools and materials, such as:
- plastic film, preferably used (for example, from used packaging), can be taken from a hardware store;
- sponge, paint roller (foam rubber or long-haired);
- container for water or special solution;
- spatula, drill with a special attachment;
- construction or regular knife;
- table, stepladder or construction sawhorses;
- work uniform, gloves, hat or headscarf, safety glasses, it is advisable to have a respirator;
- steamer (if available).
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Peculiarities .
How to connect a chandelier?Technological process of work execution
The room is emptied as much as possible, the floor and remaining bulky pieces of furniture are covered with film to protect from dust and moisture. It is advisable to de-energize the electrical wiring or insulate sockets and switches, and follow safety rules when performing work.
Then ordinary paper wallpaper is moistened with hot water using a sponge or roller. For greater effect, add detergent to the water or use an industrial solution to remove wallpaper. To make the wetting process more intensive, it is necessary to make cuts on the surface with a regular or construction (painting) knife.
After a few minutes, use a spatula to pry up the strip and tear it off. Typically, wallpaper can be easily removed, but if there are areas of paper left on the ceiling, they are carefully removed with a spatula or drill with a special attachment in the form of a metal brush.
When removing two-layer (vinyl) wallpaper from the ceiling, first remove the top layer. Usually it can be easily removed when dry, you just need to pry the edge with a spatula. The paper base is removed in the same way as in the case of single-layer wallpaper.
A more modern method is to treat the old coating with steam (steamer).