01.protect adjacent surfaces

When our careful, clean craftspeople arrive at your New York City property, they will move any furniture in the area where they will be working, cover furniture with 2 mil plastic sheeting and protect your floors from water and steam with builder board or a similar material. When we’re done, we will pack all the debris and remove it for you.

02. apply steam to soften paper and adhesive

We allow the steam to soak into the wallcovering and scrape away the top layer with knives. Typically, it will come off in two parts, first the decorative top layer, then we reapply the steam to the paper backing and remove that. It may come off in large sheets or it may not. And this depends on different factors like whether the wallpaper installer used an appropriate primer. In any case, we use care to damage the walls as little as possible so there is not too much repair.

03. Clean the walls

Believe it or not, you should always clean the walls before painting! But this is especially important after removing wallpaper. When we remove the wallpaper, some of the adhesive which has been softened comes off with the paper, but a lot of it is left on the wall. This adhesive will absolutely ruin any paint job you try to apply over it because it creates an unstable surface. We use a safe TSP-free cleaning solution to wipe down all surfaces before applying primer and paint.

04. prep and paint

If there is limited damage to the walls from removal we may be able to do a quick pass over the area with minor patching, prime and paint. In some cases, you may want to have the walls “skimcoated”, where we apply 2 coats of joint compound over the entire surface to achieve a very smooth, uniform surface. If you live in a unit in a prewar building that has not been renovated in some time, we may find numerous cracks or problem areas under the wallpaper, and sometimes that’s why someone decided to put it up besides the decorative value. These are the kinds of things that would merit skimcoating the walls prior to painting. We can usually pull off a corner during our estimate to see what we’re dealing with under there.

Quiet Your Space

Whether you’ve purchased a property with wallpaper or are ready for a change, we can help you remove it and get it ready for paint. A solid color can help unify and quiet the space where a busy pattern or mural currently stands.

Make Room For New Design Ideas

Wallcovering is fun and makes a bold statement but sometimes it can steal the show. If you’re looking to redecorate the room with new furniture and have other design elements you want to take center stage, it may be time to remove it.

Apply A Kid or Tenant Friendly Paint

High end wallpapers may be a challenge to keep looking clean and in tip top shape, especially if you have children, renters or guests. We can replace your paper with a smooth, easy-to-clean paint like Benjamin Moore’s innovative matte Scuff X paint or a typically eggshell paint that is easier to wipe down or repair than wallpaper.

Prepare Your Home For Sale

If you’re staging your home for sale, your real estate agent may have advised you to remove the wallpaper. It depends on the overall style of your home whether this will be necessary but it will often be a good investment so that the prospective buyers can imagine their own personal style. We help real estate professionals and sellers all the time remove wallpaper and make other changes to get apartments ready for market.