Plastering over wallpaper?

[Laura]

Can i use joint compound or plaster and skip trowel over my existing wallpaper? The wall is flat and the wallpaper is stuck good. Thanks

[Troy]

Some Things to Consider:
A knock against the plaster might compress the paper underneath and crack the plaster off.
Wet plaster might be likely to loosen the paper.

How much are you plastering over? Just a little and I'll bet you can get away with it. A large area might have trouble. I think I would try to remove it. Have you tried removing it?

[handyandy]

I think I would test it by applying the heat from a hair dryer on a small section to see if it affects the wallpaper. If the wallpaper comes a bit loose, then you might have trouble later down the road with the plaster. If the wallpaper still won't budge anywhere, then it probably never will.

[Laura]

I'm not real worried about the wallpaper working itself loose, it was the original wallpaper from when the house was built (10 years ago), it's stuck on there good, but i will definetly test it. Would i get a better result if i prime the wallpaper wall first, then plaster over that? Also, what difference is there between using joint compound and plaster? The area i want to do this is a very large kitchen/dining/foyer area so not taking off the wallpaper would save a TON of time. Thanks.

[Troy]

Why do you need to plaster? If the wallpaper is smooth, then why not just prime it, and then paint over that? What final effect are you going for? Are you planning to paint, texture, wallpaper?

[Laura]

Couple reasons......one, i don't want to see the seams of the wallpaper thru a coat of paint...and two.....it's a smooth wall and i'd like a little texture before i rag roll it.

[Troy]

Oh. In that case, I think you are fine. I would try to get the wallpaper off where it will come, but otherwise I think you are good to go. Actually, my wife and I just created a textured appearance in our stairway, and it came out nicely.

I think you might have good luck with the joint compound.

Let us know how it goes!

[Laura]

Thank you Troy for all your help, can i ask you one more question....do you think i should put a coat of primer on the wallpaper first, before i use the joint compound? Or just use the joint compound straight? Thanks.

[Troy]

I think I probably would use a coat of cheap primer. We might can convince ourselves that the wallpaper isn't coming off, but it would be unfortunate if the joint compound came off the wallpaper. You can rough roll the primer on, so it shouldn't be too big of a job.

No need to thank us! Just visit often and help the rest of us when we get stuck! Welcome!

[Laura]

I will let you know how it turns out....I am an expert on stenciling, so if anyone has any questions about that, please ask!

[Todd]

Hey Laura,

Is the wallpaper vinyl? If it is vinyl, you may have problems w/ getting the joint compound to stick for good. Vinyl wp is usually shiny w/ some texture. In any case you should use primer.Also prime the joint compound before painting, but I bet you already know that.

Todd

[Laura]

Well, the wallpaper is off, we did have to replaster, but it looks great and i just finished the rag rolling and it looks wonderful. I'm glad we removed the wallpaper instead of plastering over it, now i can sit back and enjoy it and vow never to put wallpaper up again! Thanks for everyones info!

Laura

[Troy]

I think you made the right choice. It took us weeks to get the wallpaper from our stairway, but it was worth it. How did the textured look come out?

Congratulations!

[]

[Laura]

My husband lightly skip trawled with joint compound. I really didn't think much of it, in fact the only reason he textured it in the first place was because taking the wallpaper off took a lot of the plaster off with it. Anyhow, when the rag rolling was done i really started to notice the texture because where the rag went over any area with raised texture, it grabbed the paint darker, so after everything was dried, it looked like crinkled paper.....way cool.

[Mikki]

whoops! Laura, I am trying to do something similar to what you did with the wallpapered walls, but still don't quite understand the best approach for my situation. I have a flat paper (not vinyl or shiney), has been there for 15 years- VERY STUCK. I have removed about 1/3 of it, and tore the paper on the drywall as well as chipped out chunks of drywall in the process> so there are holes to repair. My goal is to plaster/texture the walls and paint them. What is the best approach/process to do this? Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.