Is Wall Covering Hard to Replace? 

I have wall covering in my master bath that I am tired of and would like to replace. Is this hard to do?
- Marge and Jack of Prescott

Congratulations! you are ahead of the decorating curve as wall covering is making a huge comeback. Whether it is “hard to do” will depend on two things: (1) if your walls were properly primed and the type of wall covering that is installed. For an unskilled individual removing wall covering, this can be a very messy, very labor intensive and wall paper removal has been know to cause family spats! If wall covering is not removed correctly, you can potentially damage the walls. You should set aside several hours for this task. Properly primed walls allow for better wear and more secure adhesion and ease of any potential future removal. There are really two ways to remove wall covering, besides want to rip it off the walls with your hands. If you can tear it off dry, that will save you lots of time, aggravation, mess and spats. If you are successful and the covering does come off with ease, there should be a small amount of paste/residue remaining on the walls, and this will be easy to clean with a wallpaper stripper. The first method for removal is to use a wallpaper steamer. This is equipment that can be rented from any local hardware store. Steam is forced into the wallpaper which softens and makes the peeling much easier. You can also use a putty knife to remove once the steam has penetrated the old covering. Be careful as being too aggressive can damage some of the wallboards, especially if the boards were not sealed properly. The second method is to use a chemical removal that is added to water. This chemical soaks into the paper and dissolved the paste. This takes longer than the steamer method. Again, you cannot be too excited to get at the ripping and tearing and must remember to let the chemical agent to its work.