Removing old wallpaper and hanging new: steps and common mistakes

Identify the existing wallpaper type and prepare properly

Loosen a corner of the old wallpaper in an inconspicuous spot and pull gently. Modern non-woven wallpapers (Vliestapeten) can often be stripped dry in full strips. Peelable vinyl wallpapers leave a thin paper backing layer on the wall, whereas traditional paper wallpapers and woodchip (Raufaser) need soaking.

Where woodchip wallpaper has been painted over several times with emulsion or latex paint, water hardly penetrates from the outside. Roll over the surface first with a spiked scoring roller (perforating roller / wallpaper tiger) so that warm water and wallpaper stripper can reach the old paste layer through the tiny perforations without tearing the plaster underneath.

Strip old wallpaper cleanly without gouging the plaster

Before working with water near sockets and light switches, switch off the room's circuit breaker at the fuse box and lay down protective fleece. Apply warm water mixed with a little washing-up liquid or specialist wallpaper stripper generously using a pressure sprayer, paste brush or roller, and let it soak in for 10 to 15 minutes (rewetting a second time if needed).

Then slide a wide stripping knife or scraper at a flat angle beneath the softened seams. An electric steam wallpaper stripper helps on stubborn old layers. Never dig the scraper steeply into damp gypsum or lime plaster, or you will create deep gouges that require extra filling later.

• Switch off the circuit at the fuse box and protect the floor
• Pull non-woven wallpaper off dry; soak paper and woodchip thoroughly
• Perforate heavily painted woodchip or vinyl wallpaper with a scoring roller first
• Keep the scraper flat so gypsum plaster or plasterboard is not damaged

Check, fill and prime the wall surface

After stripping the wallpaper, wash off old paste residue with warm water, as dried old paste can react beneath the new wallpaper or cause flaking later. Fill rawlplug holes, cracks and chipped plaster with filler and sand the surface flush once dry.

Highly or unevenly absorbent walls are given a coat of deep-penetrating primer before wallpapering. On sensitive plasterboard (drywall), a white-pigmented strippable wallpaper primer is recommended: it protects the paper face from tearing during future wallpaper changes and creates a uniform light base beneath slightly translucent non-woven wallpapers.

Hang new wallpaper: paste-the-wall, soaking time and butt joints

Start with a plumb line or spirit level: since hardly any room corner is perfectly vertical, always mark a plumb guideline for the first drop. With non-woven wallpaper and painter's fleece, non-woven paste is rolled directly onto the wall (slightly wider than one strip) using the paste-the-wall technique and the dry strip is laid straight into the paste bed. Paper wallpaper and traditional woodchip are pasted on a pasting table, folded and left for the exact stated soaking time (usually 5 to 10 minutes).

Hang the strips cleanly edge to edge (butt-jointed without overlapping) on flat walls and smooth out air bubbles from the centre outwards using a wallpapering brush or smoothing roller; a seam roller gently presses down delicate edges. Trim overhangs at the ceiling, skirting board and window reveals with a sharp snap-off blade guided along a trimming straightedge, and dab away any squeezed-out paste immediately with a damp sponge. Keep windows and heating off while drying so seams do not pull apart from drying too fast.

What we need for your quote

For a quote, tell us the number of rooms, approximate floor or wall area, type of existing wallpaper (e.g. heavily painted woodchip) and send a few photos of the walls. Let us know which new wallpaper you want and whether it should be painted afterwards.

TF Clean handles stripping old wallpaper, surface preparation with filling and priming, and professional wallpapering and painting in Riesa and the surrounding area. Simply request your project via the contact form.