Sheetrock RUINED, Test Wall Flunked!

[Nikki]

Hi all. Wow, am I glad I found this site! So glad you all are here, you might in fact save my life because I am ready to end it after what I have gone through in my bathroom. I started my very first 'home beautification' project last weekend. I bought all the right products and followed all the directions for removing wallpaper in my bathroom. WOW! Did that FIRST layer of wallpaper come off easy! I couldn't figure out why so many people complain about wallpaper removal. Then underneath, and much to my dismay, I found 2 more layers of wallpaper and several layers of paint!!! I guess a 40 year old house has seen its share of home decorators. After 2 days of DIF, scoring, scraping, and sanding I give up. I am defeated. When I saw how badly the job was going, i.e. torn rugged sheetrock, no protective paper left, I decided to only do one wall as a test. I left the other the walls in limbo with various patches of wallpaper and torn drywall to await their fate. After totally removing all the paper and paste from the one wall I sanded the sheetrock forever, then spackled the rough spots, then sanded some more until I could no longer feel my hands. I then applied 2 coats of some good primer, then 2 coats of paint. The wall looks awful!! My question is, can I just use a joint compound over the the other walls AND the painted wall? I just don't think I can scrape, peel, or sand another inch! PLEEEEEASE any suggestions on how to end this quickly & easily AND have great looking walls!!??

[Troy]

We had a similar problem in a stairway that we solved by using a "textured" look. If you think the wallpaper needs to come down, then just get it down however you can, then use some plaster, joint compound, etc. to create the textured effect while covering up your mistakes. It turned out nicely.

When you say "can I just use a joint compound over the the other walls AND the painted wall?," do you mean on top of the other wallpaper? I don't really like to paint or put texture on top of wallpaper, but a lot of people get away with it.

See these links:

http://www.homerepairforum.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16

http://www.homerepairforum.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8

Does that help? Good luck and let us know how it goes!

[Todd]

If you desire a smooth look it will take more joint compound and sanding. I know that isn't what you wanted to hear. Just make sure you get everything even or it will look bad, unless you do go w/ the textured look. Texture will be much easier.

Todd

[Bostonkevino]

This probably goes without saying... The finish you choose has a lot to do with how nice the paint looks and covers imperfections in the walls. You should be using an eggshell finish for these walls if paint is your chosen covering - a "satin" or higher gloss finish will tend to highlight instead of mask imperfections...

just my .02 worth... don't give up!

Good Luck

Kevin O'