can I apply floor laminate to my walls? Any other stick on applications over wallpaper?

Question

I have a modern/contemporary taste. The wallpaper in my new homes guest 1/2 bathroom looks like Easter and the dining room wallpaper is flowers...not my style. I hear that wallpaper removal is one heck of a chore and can be tedious so I'm scared to venture in that direction. I don't want to paint over it. So I didn't know if it's possible to apply floor laminate to walls? Any other suggestions? Thanks~!

Answer 1

It is easy to remove wallpaper. If the paper has been placed within the past 5 years, it can probably peel off easily. Try peeling some. (People are supposed to put SIZER under the paper so it will stick up well and come off easily). If it doesn't peel off easily, get some TSP, gloves, and sponges, soak and scrape it off. Messy, but doable. Actually the peeling is kind of addictive ;) Get a wallpaper scoring tool, score the paper (make little scratches) let the paper remover soak in, and peel it off. Get a thin blade scraping tool for the stubborn stuff, and a stick of spackle to patch up any accidental nicks in the drywall.
You absolutely CAN NOT put laminate on the walls! It would buckle and fall off, besides it would look terrible.
Realistically, there isn't any alternative to wallpaper removal. The only other choice is....eewww....panelling. Remember the 1970s? Well, panelling can look nice, it is super easy to install, so okay, it is worth looking if you really, really don't want to scrape the paper.

Answer 2

It's not a good idea to install floor laminate on your walls since it just locks together and sooner or later, it'll start to pull away from the wall.

Removing wallpaper is easier than you think if you do it correctly. Get yourself a small tool that is really inexpensive. It looks like a pizza cutter but with teeth. Run this all around the wallpaper so as to make little holes in the paper. Then, take ordinary car windshield washing fluid (the blue stuff) and put it in a spary bottle. Spray this all over the wall. You can do it a second time. Once that's done, easily scrape away the paper. It's a cinch.

Painting over wallpaper can also be fantastic if you do it properly. You can texture the paper, either visually with paint effects or actually texture it. You could also just paper over the paper with another paper you like. Keep in mind tho that this can be costly, as paper is now really in and it's expensive. Plus you may want to have a pro install it.

Have you thought about putting wainscotting on half the wall, putting a chair rail at the top and then painting just the top part?

Answer 3

If you just need a quick fix and are going to either redo the floor later, or if you're just getting rid of the property all together, you can lay the new tiles over existion vinyl floor covering. Be sure to level off any chipped away areas with drywall mudd and make sure the floor is completely swept and cleaned before you apply the bew tiles. However !!!! If you want to do the job correctly, take the old flooring up, sweep the floor. Use a shop vac if possible, and level those chipped out or gashed areas with real floor leveling cement. THEN, lay your tiles.

Answer 4

I don't think floor laminate would be appropriate - it's awefully heavy.
Why not try to remove the wallpaper in the bathroom 1st. If it's the kind that just needs to be wet and peeled off, it'll come off really easy. use a spray on mixture of water and dishsoap and keep it wet... sponge it on if need be, but keep it wet at all times. Grab a corner and peel it off.
If it doesnt' come off easily, then start to think of alternatives. You can use peel and stick tiles in the bathroom, or get a professional to lay tiles... or you can use panelling or drywall. Anything you add to your walls, however, means you have to re set your outlets and light switches.

addition:
you have to soak the wallpaper before you peel ... let the water you spray on soak in, and keep spraying - that's the trick to removing it. water makes the pape lift, the soap helps the water to stick to the pape longer.

Answer 5

Yeppers.