Cost of removing wallpaper and painting

[BigDreamer]

Hi All,

I have been a long time lurker and first time poster. I am about to purchase a property in Hibiscus region which is a 2 bedroom, 100m floor area (two levels), unit which has wallpaper across all rooms. The wallpaper is in decent condition but I am not a fan and was thinking about stripping all the wallpaper and painting the walls.

As this is my first do-up property, I would appreciate all comments regarding costs of such renovation (for stripping all wallpaper and repainting) as well as average duration of this work.

Many thank and regards,

AS

[dandan]

The biggest mistake most renovators make (assuming you are renovating to rent or sell) is to play the perfectionist and over-capitalise. The plan is to do a job you're 90% happy with. Glue any loose parts of the wallpaper with PVA, undercoat the wallpaper joins with oil based paint, (waterbased on joints can unstick them) and paint over the wallpaper. Ask your local paint shop for advice on the currently most popular colour and go with that. Stripping the wallpaper will initiate a plastering requirement which will add lots of time and money. To strip wall paper, hire a wallpaper steamer from hire pool or the like. To strip vinyl wall paper, you'll need to roll it with a spiky thing so the steam can penetrate the paper. Plastering and sanding will take 5 hours per room assuming you have two rooms on the go at once to allow dry time in one room while you're doing the other. Painting will take 5 hours per room. Wall paper stripping will take 2.5 hours per room. A dehumidifier can help dry the plaster and paint. Hiring a vaccum sander can quicken sanding the plaster. Drop sheets cost about $30 per room.

[BigDreamer]

Thank you, Dandan.

I agree regarding not to go too over the top with the renovating as I am only planning to rent it for the meantime. I will have a bit of a think regarding the prices and if I will go down the path of stripping all the wallpaper and painting.

[BusyLizzy]

Have a look in this thread - you might find something helpful in terms of cost estimates.

http://www.propertytalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6237

[kirschbaum]

I agree that the general rule should be to paint over the existing wallpaper, but sometimes you really do need to remove it. It could be in bad condition, or it could have a texture that you don't want showing through.

In our current home, the wallpaper's been painted over, but it had a slightly textured vertical stripe pattern to it and this is still evident under the paint. It drives me crazy when I look at it, and I kind of wish the previous owners had just left it as is so I could do a decent job of it myself.

Of course I'm looking at our place with owner-occupier eyes, not investor eyes, and to be fair we didn't really notice it until after we moved in. But depending on the property, I'd still aim to finish it to the highest quality you can. This way it will appeal to both investors and home buyers when it comes time to sell. And it doesn't really cost more money, just your time.

I stripped the wallpaper and repainted one room, and I chose to do it this way because the wallpaper was one layer, and it came off very easily. Then it just needed a light sand, a bit of filler in spots and ready for the undercoat. It's by far the best paint job in the house.

[Tan]

Leave it as it is if it is reasonably tidy. Think of the wallpaper a protecting your walls until it needs to have something done.

Spend your money on doing things that will increase your return.

Street appeal - exterior painting, tidy low maintenance gardens, driveway, or mailbox

Kitchen cupboards, benchtop or sink

Bathroom sink, shower or loo

etc.

[One]

I'll echo Tan. If you're going to rent the place out, only make changes that'll get you more rent.

Unless it needs work to protect the place. E.g. Is it damp? If so, I'd spend the money on a DVS unit before spending it on painting.

[Ahar]

I've painted over wallpaper several times. Things I've found...

Some vynll papers with a heavy embossed shiny stripe do not paint well....stripe shows thru...IMHO don't waste your time...it will always look hideous

Use wallpaper paste on any loose edges NOT PVA....wallpaper shrinks when dry and the edges won't match up....paste is designed for wallpaper, it wets and stretches it back into shape.

Use an oil based sealer/undercoat on ALL of the wall not just the joins....it will seal the paper so it won't peel off when painted with water based paint.

Another reason sealer is necessary......if there is a gold/silver fleck in the pattern, these flecks will show thru' if not sealed.

Think smart! Get your sealer tinted to match...you will probably need only one top coat if you do this. Otherwise to get a really good job you'll need 2 topcoats....more money, paint and time! Note, not sure if you can tint sealer to a dark colour...but check this.

Use the same paint on the ceiling as well as the walls....you don't need special ceiling paint!

I get the same colour in enamel for the window frames and skirting boards, saves heaps of time as you don't have to be quite as careful painting the edges.

I paint all of my flats with the one colour...this way, I always have paint on hand to do touch-ups.

Don't do the painting unless you are prepared to do a decent job! Substandard work will result in reduced rent AND you'll end up with crap tennants.....all the good tennants will rent the "nice" looking properties.

[Ahar]

Ooops and I forgot to say, if you strip the wall paper it will cost heaps to correct....

When a house is initially plastered, the owner/builder will specify the "quality"....ie either "paint finish" or "paper finish".

"paper finish" is rougher and has many defects that will show thru' paint but NOT wallpaper.

Your property is almost certainly not to a "paint finish"....this means if you strip the paper, you will then have to have it "skim coated" ....very very pricey

[graemeh]

Think smart! Get your sealer tinted to match...you will probably need only one top coat if you do this. Otherwise to get a really good job you'll need 2 topcoats....more money, paint and time! Note, not sure if you can tint sealer to a dark colour...but check this.

Use the same paint on the ceiling as well as the walls....you don't need special ceiling paint!

Dark colours usually involve a dark base colour for the paint which is then tinted further.

What you can do though is get the sealer tinted to a colour at least part
way to the final colour. This is often enough.

If you've got enough painting to do consider using the ceiling paint because it is often MUCH cheaper than wall paint.

[Ahar]

Dark colours usually involve a dark base colour for the paint which is then tinted further.

What you can do though is get the sealer tinted to a colour at least part
way to the final colour. This is often enough.

If you've got enough painting to do consider using the ceiling paint because it is often MUCH cheaper than wall paint.

Yep, the "base" determines how dark the paint can be tinted....but of course if you are saving money and using the wall paint on the ceiling, then you'll want to stay fairly light.

But wouldn't recommend using ceiling paint on the walls....fairly sure it's not the same quality.

If you are trying to save a few $ go to Wattyl paints and see if they'll sell you "Trade-ex" paint. It's the paint that professional painters use..... a bit cheaper than the branded product. I think they have a shop at the bottom of Barry's Pt Rd on the shore.

I've used Wattyl trade-ex low sheen in all my flats....seems to be hard wearing, and goes on nicely, has good coverage and doesn't splatter.....this is important if you aren't very experienced.

[kirschbaum]

Last place I bought paint from was Paint tech on the North Shore. Worked out way cheaper than standard Resene or Dulux prices. About $75 for 10l. They also have listings on Trademe.

[muppet]

Yeah but what is the quality like?

[graemeh]

But wouldn't recommend using ceiling paint on the walls....fairly sure it's not the same quality.

Sorry, that wasn't what I meant. It's most definitely not the same quality.

What I meant to say was if you're buying enough paint then buy ceiling paint for the ceiling. If you're just buying a total of 10 litres then probably just as cheap to buy 10 litres of the good stuff.

[Traff]

Renovations

We will do over 60 of these types of renos this year for investors ad traders across Auckland - unless you know what your doing get expert advcie as the reuslts may not be good and you will waste a lot of money and time. Sometimes you can paint over wallpaper successfully - others not - it does need to be done corrcetly.PM me if you need help - anytime or hit our websites.

Cheers

Mark