First step in my stairway makeover is removing the ugly, stained and torn wallpaper. But this space has high ceilings, and I’m not prepared to tackle it alone. I’m bringing in my dad to help on this project.
There are two areas here: above and below the trim dividing the two floors. My dad’s assignment: remove the wallpaper above the trim. My assignment: scrape off the bottom portion.
Above the trim, the walls are drywall. Below the trim, they are plaster & lathe. I’m only telling you this because we decided to take two separate strategies with the two types of wall.
First, we did some wallpaper removal experimentation. Just trying to peel some of it off to see if it would be easy or not. Turns out, it’s wasn’t going to be quick or easy.
On the upper half, there was another layer of wallpaper behind the wallpaper. When my dad started peeling all of this off, it took the drywall paper along with it.
It was here that we had to make a decision. Spend a bunch of time peeling wallpaper while perched above the stairwell on makeshift scaffolding only to discover that the surface wouldn’t be in good enough condition to be paintable…
OR try something else.
I told my dad I would be fine if he covered up the wallpaper with another layer of thin drywall or even panelling (that I would paint) since the upstairs is painted panelling. But he doesn’t take shortcuts.
I told him that since he was doing the work, he could make the decision. And the walls came down.
Well, just the upper portion, of course.
But there was one more factor that figured into the decision to demo the walls. I forgot to show this in the “before” photos, but the plaster ceiling above the stairway was also sagging from old water damage (before we owned the house). That was coming down regardless, why not round it out and take the walls too? A stretch? Maybe, but like I said, the decision was out of my hands.
The wallpaper removal on my section (the lower part) was a bit less dramatic.
I peeled off the top layer of the wallpaper then scraped off the under layer after soaking it with a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water. It worked pretty well, but I don’t have anything to compare it to. Still, you can’t beat the price!
All in all, it took me around 7 to 8 hours of mom time over two days to scrape off the entire bottom portion. (Mom time: interrupted no less than every 15 minutes.)
When I was done, it looked like this:
Both on the scary side, for sure.
See all the stairway updates >>
