The main floor bathroom was always a project waiting to happen ever since the day we moved into this hou
se. The problem was the dark green wallpaper which made the room look small, dark, dated and totally tacky. After speaking with neighbors with homes of the same age that had wallpaper removed and the serious drywall problems that were encountered because of inadequate priming I was not looking forward to all the extra work. However I was excited for the challenge of removing wallpaper as I had not experienced it up to this point in my life. We were having a visitor come in about a month so I started the job thinking I had lots of time to spare and the pressure of a coming guest would help keep the project on schedule. After trying a few method
s from the internet to remove the wallpaper without chemicals or scoring it was still all in place. Our wallpaper was impermeable and I needed to get the chemicals under the wallpaper so the glue could actually let go. So with a wallpaper scorer I made lots of holes in mostly circular patterns all over the walls – the tool broke 2/3 thr
ough the operation on such a small room which did not impress me. I carried on with a broken tool which proved to be a fatal error in a later stage. The instructions that came with the tool say "The more holes you make, the faster and easier the paper will come off" and if you know me you know I always go to the extreme - there was a lot of holes. Once the scoring was complete I used different chemicals on different areas so I would be able to determine what worked best. For me the spray DIF worked exceedingly well but it made my wrist tired but still everything else paled in comparison. As the paper starts to come off it leaves the backing and the more holes does make it come off easier BUT too many holes makes each piece that comes off small so there is a trade-off.
A second application of hot water on the backing proves to work very well as it slides off the wall in most areas. When the paper and backing is gone then washing the wall with hot water re
moved all the glue residue. Also chunks of drywall mud came off in areas where the priming job was weak and the broken scorer made gouges in one wall that needed some drywall mud applied. The drywall mudding stage took a long time with all the holes and gouges plus I had to rebuild two corners as the tape was installed by a blind man but hidden by the wallpaper. The pedestal sink proved to be the biggest pain as the wallpaper hid a opening created for the plumbing that was
not taped yet. I could not remove the compression fittings so I "feathered" an area 3 feet square under the sink with a small knife that took literally hours to get it right. Because it is a small bathroom I primed the walls and ceiling with three coats to protect the drywall from excessive moisture. A few self-inflicted challenges (dropped open primer can in tub, lid flew off the paint when I shook it covering walls and fixtures and needing to get another can to complete the job) made the project last even longer but it was great to get in the home stretch. Now the biggest problem for the rest of the family was that I had removed the tank from the toilet and for almost a month the bathroom was out of service. A few times family members were running upstairs and under their breath mumbling " when is that bathroom going to be done? Would I do it again? Sure - I would get a spare scorer tool, make less holes and get a few bottles of DIF.
e saw something moving on the road. I stopped quickly to see a large black snake crossing the road obviously to get to the other side. At first I thought I would pick it up but I was not sure if it would hurt me so I was a wimp and used a broom handle to bring him closer to me wi
thout touching him. He seemed friendly enough but Sara thought I should not pick him up or rap him around my neck for the picture so the broom handle will have to do. I just let him go and he crawled quickly away into the neighbors yard and I far as know he was a Black Racer out for a training run.
