# paper over paper - any new tricks?



## goldenwest (Aug 11, 2011)

I am going to look at a job this week. The house has inexpensive wallpaper and the owner wants to install new quality wallpaper.

I did this sometimes in the past. We would cut back any loose areas, sand down any overlap joints, then treat the whole wall with a thin alkyd primer so that the moisture in the paste for the new layer would not soak through and release the paste from the first layer.

These days I am not sure that the customer will want to have the smell of the primer throughout the house. So my options are:

1) to remove the existing layer and apply to the plaster wall
2) apply the new paper over the old without sealing 
3) something else? anyone have any other way to do this?

I am in Holland. In a new house here, each wall of a room might be constructed with a different material. You might find concrete, plaster, sheetrock, and a variety of different concrete/plaster blocks. The house is delivered to the customer with really cheap wallpaper over the roughly-finished walls. I have painted new houses which were delivered "paper-ready" but without the paper, and the wall finish was really bad. That's one reason I was considering leaving the basic paper in place. But I am looking at all options, and I thought you all might have come up with some new ways to handle this since I left the USA in 2000.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

I think I've written most of my thoughts and experience on this subject here:

http://billarchibald.com/new_over_old.html


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## goldenwest (Aug 11, 2011)

thanks for that commentary. 

That's kind of why I am undecided here - if the first layer of paper over new-construction walls is tight , is it wise to remove it and expose the defects underneath? 

or is it better to just seal it and let it become part of the wall beneath the new wall-covering...


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## markwright247 (Apr 13, 2012)

Make sure you do a quality job removing the old wallpaper. These days, quality wallpaper also means having an elegant look and feel to it.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

Strip it, prep the walls, apply wall paper primer and possibly liner, hang new. No oil based primer involved.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

markwright247 said:


> Make sure you do a quality job removing the old wallpaper. These days, quality wallpaper also means having an elegant look and feel to it.


Interesting that you link to Brewster for quality wallpaper. Although perhaps a notch up from Norwall and Sunworthy, Brewster does not ring a "quality" bell in my opinion.

And being from Holland, I would expect that goldenwest is referencing some Euro papers like Arte, B&F, O&L, F&B, C&S, C&F, etc etc.

And I can not fathom why one would even consider installing a quality paper over crap. One would not built a high quality house on a foundation fit for a tar paper shack.


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## NorthEast (Sep 7, 2010)

daArch said:


> Interesting that you link to Brewster for quality wallpaper. Although perhaps a notch up from Norwall and Sunworthy, Brewster does not ring a "quality" bell in my opinion.


I swear if they release another shiny satin floral book, I'll burn it in my dumpster out back. 

Some of the non wovens from the Kenneth James stuff isn't too bad.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

NorthEast said:


> I swear if they release another shiny satin floral book, I'll burn it in my dumpster out back.
> 
> Some of the non wovens from the Kenneth James stuff isn't too bad.


TELL ME about it.

I hung fifty rolls out of their "Silken Classics" last month. Two different patterns and both were "less than stellar"

Unfortunately the HO felt she was buying something high end at $25 a single roll.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

markwright247 said:


> Make sure you do a quality job removing the old wallpaper. These days, quality wallpaper also means having an elegant look and feel to it.


 
quality?:blink: Brewster????:no:


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## Montana Painters (Oct 7, 2010)

Just completed one shiny satin floral job.
Had to wear my readers to see the match.
Stripe the old off prep and prime, that way you know what you have.
It is a lot of work but your quality image rating will get you more jobs.
I'll never do another pattern that difficult again!


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

Montana Painters said:


> Just completed one shiny satin floral job.
> Had to wear my readers to see the match.
> Stripe the old off prep and prime, that way you know what you have.
> It is a lot of work but your quality image rating will get you more jobs.
> I'll never do another pattern that difficult again!


 

huh?:blink:


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## Paradigmzz (May 5, 2010)

Strip the old wall paper off...


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Montana Painters said:


> Just completed one shiny satin floral job.
> Had to wear my readers to see the match.
> Stripe the old off prep and prime, that way you know what you have.
> It is a lot of work but your quality image rating will get you more jobs.
> *I'll never do another pattern that difficult again!*



What will you do? pass on those job?

I find that passing on jobs that may be a little difficult to find the pattern match builds a reputation for me that is not in my best interest.

Had one like that last summer, but it was higher end paper, Designers Guild. It was a somewhat shiny surface with a slight marble-like pattern. As the angle of the light changed, so did the visibility of the pattern match. It was harder than I estimated, but I still hit my numbers.

Once I found the pattern match, I used my rule to keep track of the following ones, and pencil marked the back of the paper.


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## PaintingContractorNJ (May 10, 2012)

goldenwest said:


> thanks for that commentary.
> 
> That's kind of why I am undecided here - if the first layer of paper over new-construction walls is tight , is it wise to remove it and expose the defects underneath?
> 
> or is it better to just seal it and let it become part of the wall beneath the new wall-covering...


It is always wise to remove the old paper. Unless the wallpaper was installed over bare drywall or it has been painted over etc...

Do a test to see how difficult the job will be, if it seems to come up easily, get it off! 

I would never spend $600 on wallpaper, then hang over old paper when doing my own home.


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## PaintingContractorNJ (May 10, 2012)

Here is me in action installing a commercial vinyl.


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## StripandCaulk (Dec 30, 2011)

I just wanted to change the last post, i have nothing to add


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## PhillysFinest (Jun 9, 2012)

Stripping paper is the worst! Especially if the hanger didn't size the walls, or chose to hang on bare sheetrock!


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

If you hangin on bare rock, jus pain da mf o rock ova dat shi

Sent from my MB508 using Paint Talk


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

paper over raw rock is one of the few times I condone painting over it - but the paint applicator MUST be the scalp of the orig hanger.


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## BrushJockey (Mar 15, 2009)

grrrha obleSo pizzed k I'll let it be. 
Hangers that hang on raw rock should be lined up and shot.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

BrushJockey said:


> grrrha obleSo pizzed k I'll let it be.
> Hangers that hang on raw rock should be lined up and shot.


 
at the very least:thumbsup:


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