Wallpaper Removal
Paper off, walls repaired and left genuinely ready to paint — not just stripped. Chicago, the North Shore and the western suburbs. Licensed and insured.
Getting the paper off is the easy half
What is underneath is the real job. Old adhesive left on the wall will show through paint as patchy sheen, and if the drywall was never primed before papering, the face paper often lifts with the covering and needs skimming. A wall that has been stripped is not the same as a wall that is ready to paint, and the difference only becomes obvious after the first coat.
What is included
- Floors, trim and furniture protected before anything is wetted
- Paper and backing removed, including stubborn multi-layer areas
- All residual adhesive washed off, not just the loose material
- Torn drywall face paper sealed and skimmed flat
- Gouges, seams and nail holes filled and sanded
- Primed and left genuinely ready for a finish coat
- Full clean-up; wallpaper removal is a messy job done tidily
How the work runs
1. Test a corner
How the paper is coming off tells us what we are dealing with. We check a small area first so the estimate reflects reality rather than a guess.
2. Strip and wash
Paper, backing and then every trace of adhesive. This is the step that gets rushed elsewhere and shows up later through the paint.
3. Repair and prime
Damage skimmed, sanded and primed, so what you get back is a flat wall ready for paint rather than a bare one you have to deal with.
Wallpaper questions we get asked
Can you just paint over the wallpaper?
It is occasionally the pragmatic option, but it is a compromise. Seams telegraph through, and any edge that lifts later takes the paint with it. We will tell you honestly when it is defensible and when it is storing up a worse job.
Why is it taking so long in one room and not another?
Because of what is underneath. Paper hung on primed and sized drywall comes off cleanly. Paper hung straight onto unprimed drywall bonds to the face paper, and that turns stripping into a repair job.
Will the walls need skimming afterwards?
Sometimes, and we cannot always tell before we start. We check a test area at the estimate and tell you the range rather than quoting the best case and revising it later.
Do you paint afterwards too?
Yes, and most people have us do both so one crew owns the finish. See Interior Painting.
Photographs of our own wallpaper removal projects are being added to this page shortly. In the meantime, see our recent projects.
Get a free estimate
Tell us how many rooms and roughly how old the paper is. We will come and test a corner before quoting — no charge and no obligation.