The wall is 25 years old with 2 layers of wallpaper that is stuck big time! In an effort to remove the old wallpaper (I’m still removing wallpaper) there are several big areas where the outer paper covering of the sheet rock is torn off. Is this repairable? I am replacing sheetrock in other areas of the same room. Should I keep on peeling and ripping off pieces of the sheetrock with the old Wall paper or should I just replace the sheetrock?
it sounds like a good portion of what you where trying to save has been ruined. bite the bullet and take it all down. with the walls open you can reinsulate if necessary and you can upgrade the electric by adding some outlets or by laying in the feed for the ceiling fan you always wanted. also with the window frames exposed you can see any points that may be open to the outside where old dried out caulk has fallen out (make the room dark and daylight will reveal them). then after the taping and compound and sizing is complete you’ll have a clean and smooth slate to work with. go for it.
November 20th, 2011 at 6:34 am
As long as the damaged areas on the sheetrock are small (about 1 square foot or less) you can use joint compound to fill in the damaged area.
If however, 30% or more of the paper is torn off, you’d be ahead to just replace the sheetrock panel. The majority of sheetrock paneling’s strength comes from the paper binding to the gypsum. Without the paper, sheetrock isn’t as strong. Joint compound will help somewhat, but not enough.
You say you’re sheetrocking other areas of the same room. I would make a judgment call as to what panels can be salvaged and which need to be replaced. Replace what you need to and do all your "mudding" at one time (allowing for second and possible third applications of joint compound.
References :
Experience
November 20th, 2011 at 6:52 am
Not sure how you are removing the old wallpaper but you should not be damaging the sheet rock underneath. Use a scoring blade or a really light touch on a razor blade to score the existing paper. Then use wall paper remover and a good steamer. Patience is a virtue! Let the remover work for a bit and then be patient as the steamer works. You will still have to wash the wall to get any glue off it. Damaged sheet rock can be repaired quickly by doing a light coat of spackle over it and then sanding. Do not oversand. It is also advisable to paint a primer on the wall to assist if you ever get tired of the wallpaper that you are putting up. I have had paper that they used Elmers to put it on the wall with and this method still took it off with no damage. Again, patience!!! I even had where they used glossy enamel to do a design on the wall that had to be sanded down to the paper and then fixed it with this method. I would do a whole lot of this before replacing the sheetrock.
References :
November 20th, 2011 at 7:25 am
it sounds like a good portion of what you where trying to save has been ruined. bite the bullet and take it all down. with the walls open you can reinsulate if necessary and you can upgrade the electric by adding some outlets or by laying in the feed for the ceiling fan you always wanted. also with the window frames exposed you can see any points that may be open to the outside where old dried out caulk has fallen out (make the room dark and daylight will reveal them). then after the taping and compound and sizing is complete you’ll have a clean and smooth slate to work with. go for it.
References :
joey cat