Ten steps to… improving your bedroom: Removing wallpaper

You know it's time for a change when the missus notices that your wallpaper is looking a bit shabby. Here's how to remove the sticky stuff - the wallpaper, that is, not the missus - in ten easy steps.

Clearing your walls of old raggedy wallpaper can give any room a new lease of life. If your walls don’t end up looking too bad you can just paint over them and never have to worry about putting more up in the future. However, if they don’t look to be in the best of health, it's time to take affirmative action.

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What you’ll need:

Wallpaper scorer
Wallpaper removal solution
Bucket
Soap and water
Paint roller
Wallboard knife
Sponge
Old sheet

Step 1: Just do it

If you’re one of the lucky ones, your wallpaper will have a loose edge and you’ll be able to just pull part of it off the walls. Make sure to do this gently though, as slow and steady actually does win this race, at least where wallpaper is concerned.

Step 2: Mix the solution

If, however, you’re stuck up the creek like everyone else, you’ll have to get started on mixing the solution. It takes a minute for the solution to mix with the hot water so just give it time before you use it.

Step 3: Score the paper

There’s no point in just rubbing the removal solution onto the paper. First you need to score holes into it so the solution can soak right in there. Use a wallpaper scoring tool to do this - or a pizza cutter, once it has pointed ends.

Wallpaper scorers make the job a whole lot easier

Step 4: Apply the solution

Once you have gone after the wallpaper with the scorer you can give the walls a good rub down with the remover solution. Use a paint roller to rub the solution onto the walls just as if you were painting them. It’s best to do this in sections and make sure to lay down some old rags first which will save you from cleaning up later. You don’t want to give yourself more work than you have to.

Step 5: Wait

It may take five minutes or so for the solution to soak into the wallpaper and take full effect. Now would be a good time to go and stick the kettle on for a nice brew. Don’t take too long though, as you don’t want the wallpaper glue to harden all over again.

Step 6: Start to peel

Now that you’ve had your brew you can begin to peel the wallpaper. Begin scraping the wallpaper with your wallboard knife at the bottom near the skirting boards. Once you have a decent chunk in your hand you can begin to slowly pull the paper towards you and off the wall.

Step 7: Repeat

Once you have one section of your bedroom wallpaper removed you can begin on removing the rest. Just follow the same steps in the same way.

Step 8: Check for any heavy bits left behind

Have a quick scan of the room to see if there are any heavy bits of wallpaper that you might have left behind. Remove them now while you still have some solution left.

Step 9: Clean the walls

Once all your wallpaper is removed you should clean the walls down with some good old-fashioned soap and water. This will remove any residue left behind from the wallpaper glue and removal solution.

Step 10: Re-paper

Now that it’s all off… you can put more back up. But that’s another job for another day.