I didn’t know it when I started, but I was able to finish my bathroom makeover project in just one day. I removed wallpaper, which was the toughest part since there were so many unknowns, used primer (three layers worth) and painted my entire bathroom in less than seven hours. I went into the project prepared for anything.
When I decided to do a makeover of my bathroom, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The unknown included not knowing how old the wallpaper was, how many layers might be underneath, the type of wallpaper/glue that it was, even the type of wall behind that paper. With these unknowns, there was no way to put a timetable on how long the job would take. I learned as I went but went into it overly prepared for any and all scenarios for the quickest turnaround.
The last thing I wanted was to have a home project take place over the span of three days or, worse, two weekends, but I also didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a steamer. I might as well hire someone for the money it costs to even rent one. To avoid this, I went in prepared. I searched on the website of my local home improvement store and purchased accessories for all types of wallpaper that mine could possibly be.
I purchased the following:
- DIF 32 oz. Ready-To-Use Gel Spray
- Sponges
- Perforating Tool-Wheel
- Wallboard Knife
- Bucket
- Paper Towels
I knew there were three types of wallpaper: strippable, peelable top layer wallpaper and traditional wallpaper.
- Strippable wallpaper peals away easily. If you have this type of wallpaper, you’re in luck, but unfortunately this was not the case for me. I knew early that I didn’t have this type by simply choosing a corner of the wallpaper and trying to peel away using the wallboard knife.
- Wallpaper with a peelable top layer can be stripped away easily but leaves a glued paper underneath that needs to be cleaned away with a remover agent.
- Traditional paper is the most difficult to remove since it is likely older wallpaper as well. You need to remove one thick strip of glued down paper, which can be difficult and time consuming but feasible with the correct tools.
As it turns out, I had the peelable top layer kind. I laid paper towel down to protect my floors and then I stripped away the thick floral print paper and was left with a glued white paper underneath. To my surprise, the glue removal solution provided little to no assistance. It actually seemed to even restrengthen the adhesive already on the wallpaper that had dulled over time. In the end, I had more difficulty scraping off the wallpaper with the dried solution than the part without. This may have just been the case with the agent I decided to use, but I would suggest testing it out on a small piece of the wall first before applying to the whole area.
After the entire wall was stripped, about four hours of work, I filled a bucket with warm water, added some glue removal reagent and used a sponge to rub off any remnants left behind. It was then time to get painting. I primed once, twice and then three times was a charm. It may have been overkill but the wall underneath was in bad shape and after two layers of paint, it looked like a completely different bathroom.
It turned the worst room in my small, rental, one bedroom apartment into a room where I now smile every time I enter. I couldn’t believe one days worth of work could make such a difference, but the hard work and sweat was much worth the reward.
The photos above are before and after photos of my actual project.
