(edit title) Wallpaper usage in Sweden It's everywhere! Options

[Gamla Hälsingebock]

Where do you think the term "Chintzy" came from...Britain!...So the Swedes are copy cats!:lol:

Nobody panels anymore, why??????????

[Svensksmith]

I'm not a big fan of wall-paper because I feel painting a room can quickly and cheaply change a room dramatically if you have the urge to do so. Wall-paper is a pain in the @ss. But the Swedes seem to love it.

In our old house in Sweden, I painted over the wall-paper. As long as it is properly adhered and does not bubble up, it's ok. If you want a seamless look, you can mud over the joints and sand them down.

[Snood]

I'm not a big fan of wall-paper because I feel painting a room can quickly and cheaply change a room dramatically if you have the urge to do so. Wall-paper is a pain in th ... (show full quote)

I'm not a big fan of wall-paper because I feel painting a room can quickly and cheaply change a room dramatically if you have the urge to do so. Wall-paper is a pain in the @ss. But the Swedes seem to love it. ... (hide full quote)

Exactly, and I would have thought especially in rented accommodation it would be cheaper for the landlord to re-do as well as much easier as tenants move in and out, each making their own holes in the walls, with paint you can just fill the hole and paint over... with wallpaper you have to re-paper the whole lot.

[*Trowbridge H. Ford*]

Just had the downstairs repainted, all of which is over wallpaper, in preparation for selling up and moving out, and I couldn't look better, and be done cheaper.

Have had it will wallpaper after I lived in Princeton. Mass., and mistakenly had a good, but drunken wallpaperer do it. You just cannot image how much expensive and beautiful wallpaper he ruined over an unbearably long time.

Always paint it, unless you have a very easy surface to deal with, and a most reliable wallpaperer to do it.

[byke]

Trowy, are you moving?
Anywhere nice or are you staying in Sweden?

[Bender B Rodriquez]

Painting is obviously the cheapest and easiest choice for landlords. However, I believe many if not most flats are actually wallpapered by the tenants themselves, why you see all these overlaps instead of seamless wallpapers. In general, landlords accept and sometimes even encourage DIY as long as it looks reasonable and increases the standard; it saves them a lot of work and keeps the tenants happy.

In many of the flats where I lived I did it myself and even got a small compensation from the landlord for the materials.

It is always different ways in different countries. In Sweden the kitchen appliances belongs to the flat while the tenants do the painting/wallpapering, while in other countries it is the opposite.

[JuJuBeeLyn]

Well this was a timely thread. I have moved into my Sambo's house and in an effort to feel more at home and make the house "mine" as well I suggested, and he has not taken issue with issue with, my painting and doing a bit of redecoraing. I told him I want to start in our bedroom. Mostly because all the decorating there was done by his exwife (he kept their marital home and bought her a condo.) Obviously I'd like to make it more "us."

He said "go for it" but got a little concerned when I started talking about taking down the wallpaper. There is a layer behind the current paper. He does not seem to think I need to remove any of it. Now this is a guy who normally would not half-ass anything so he is not being lazy. I have looked closely around the room and there is that 1mm overlap and the corners were not well fitted and they are scrunched up. It would look quite shit painting over this. I have tried to explain this. He is a lot older than me, but I have walpapered, unwalpapered, and painted a lot in my time on earth as this is the 11th place I have lived. As a kid... evey time we moved, we had to repaint or paper every single room. I have been doing this since age 10. I'm trying to convince him that I know what I'm doing. I have never painted over paper and don't see how I could with the state of the paper.

Have any of you successfully painted over a crap wallpaper job? How would I deal with the stuff in the corners? If not, where is the best place to get the tools (scorer, steamer?)

Thank you!

Juju

[Bender B Rodriquez]

Remove the wallpaper: http://www.jula.se/tapetborttagare-med-anga-529003

[sometimesinsweden]

Well this was a timely thread. I have moved into my Sambo's house and in an effort to feel more at home and make the house "mine" as well I suggested, and he has ... (show full quote)

Well this was a timely thread. I have moved into my Sambo's house and in an effort to feel more at home and make the house "mine" as well I suggested, and he has not taken issue with issue with, my painting and doing a bit of redecoraing. I told him I want to start in our bedroom. Mostly because all the decorating there was done by his exwife (he kept their marital home and bought her a condo.) Obviously I'd like to make it more "us."

He said "go for it" but got a little concerned when I started talking about taking down the wallpaper. There is a layer behind the current paper. He does not seem to think I need to remove any of it. Now this is a guy who normally would not half-ass anything so he is not being lazy. I have looked closely around the room and there is that 1mm overlap and the corners were not well fitted and they are scrunched up. It would look quite shit painting over this. I have tried to explain this. He is a lot older than me, but I have walpapered, unwalpapered, and painted a lot in my time on earth as this is the 11th place I have lived. As a kid... evey time we moved, we had to repaint or paper every single room. I have been doing this since age 10. I'm trying to convince him that I know what I'm doing. I have never painted over paper and don't see how I could with the state of the paper.

Have any of you successfully painted over a crap wallpaper job? How would I deal with the stuff in the corners? If not, where is the best place to get the tools (scorer, steamer?)

Thank you!

Juju ... (hide full quote)

If your OCD/attention to detail is like mine, just steam it , prep the walls then paint - it will look better and means that if you ever want to paper it again, you can a lot easier as you've done half the work.

If you're re-doing the whole house, might as well buy your own steamer as will be using it...cost f-all now - about 500kr for a black and decker one from amazon.

[Beef]

I've moved loads and seen this overlap everywhere. Moved to a new house with wallpaper everywhere excepted the living room.. I love my house and everything about the standard here in Sweden but hate his way of wallpapering with a passion.

I recall when buying a new build back in 2003, the standard was wallpaper and it was thousands to choose the paint option an this was a concrete flat.



I lived in a 1912 flat for a while which was fully wallpapered. I hired some Polish painter and decorators that painted the whole flat. They sanded down the joints, put a layer of undercoat and then painted the place. You would not guess there had even been wallpaper there when they were finished and there was multiple different types of paper.. So it can be done.. IMO

[skogsbo]

If your OCD/attention to detail is like mine, just steam it , prep the walls then paint - it will look better and means that if you ever want to paper it again, you can a lot ... (show full quote)

If your OCD/attention to detail is like mine, just steam it , prep the walls then paint - it will look better and means that if you ever want to paper it again, you can a lot easier as you've done half the work. ... (hide full quote)

I would agree, if the base isn't great, then you're only polishing a turd. Better to get it right now, more work initially but less in the long run of life (presume you plan to stay there).
Painting over will just show the poor areas more, creating lines at bad joints and shadows on those crinkly corners.

[sometimesinsweden]

Exactly. Stripping wallpaper is the British equivalent of yoga and Eastern meditation. Big cup of tea, some decent music and enjoy the mundane graft.

[Shibumi]

Hej Juju-

Assuming dear sambo doesn't want to/can't do it himself... tell him that you can do it your way for free (+ supplies) or he can pay someone to do it his way. That usually settles things with my man... usually.

[John.Smith]

We are renovating over the past couple of years and have avoided wallpapering ( i hate it). We just used 6mm renoveringsgyps on the old walls. You can paint directly on the sheets and you get a perfect plaster like finish. You can join sheets with a special elastic tape at the joints and then spackle in between. THis allows the walls to flex and you get no cracks or visible joins.

[JuJuBeeLyn]

Thank you for the links/advice/such. He would do it, but I will remind him that he'd probibly rather spend his time golfing than painting the bedroom. He is a bit of a control freak, but I'm very good with persuasion.

I am definitly going to remove it. I'm looking around the room right now and I can see every seam I think the old walpaper may have been overlapped in the same places. It really sticks out. Eww.
Juju