Learn How to Save Money by Painting Over Wallpaper

Painting over wallpaper is often a better solution than removing the wallpaper to paint, when you are remodeling a room. In older homes wallpaper is usually applied over plaster walls, and removing the wallpaper can cause the plaster to come off, requiring a real involved plaster repair. In newer homes the situation is different but often just a bad. In newer homes wallpaper is often installed over drywall, and removing the wallpaper can damage the drywall underneath by removing the paper layer that holds the drywall together. Replacing a majority of the drywall or plaster in a room can really be a budget buster. In either case it is often much better and cheaper to attempt to just paint the wallpaper.

There are two major problems when you are trying to paint over wallpaper. The first of these is bubbling, where the wallpaper will begin to pull away from the wall in certain spots. The other major problem is edges and seams being visible under the paint. In this article we will look at some tips and techniques to combat both these problems.

To begin you will need to address any loose wallpaper. If you have a spot that is visibly loose, the best coarse of action is just to cut and remove the loose paper. After you get rid of any loose paper you then should go back over the hole you have now created with drywall joint compound. The idea here is to cover, fill, and smooth out the hole. When the drywall compound is dry you will come back and sand it to a smooth finish. It might be necessary for you to put multiple coats of drywall compound to get the finish that you want.

You also should pay special attention to the edges of the wallpaper and any place where the wallpaper is seamed or overlapped. This bump of paper, while not really noticeable when it was only wallpaper, will show when you go to paint over it. You will need to cut away the overlap, and then cover the spot in joint compound, just as you did for the loose paper.