Wallpaper Removal in Atlanta

If you have wallpaper you no longer want, removal on its own is a job worth doing properly. A common request in Atlanta homes is a powder room or hallway papered a decade ago, where the owner wants a plain, paintable surface back. That is a complete service for us, not just a step before new paper.

We take removal work whether or not you plan to hang anything afterwards — prepping a house for sale, repainting, or replacing dated paper with a new pattern or printed murals. The project portfolio shows rooms before and after, and the general FAQ covers the questions that come up before a quote. Stripping a dated mural back to bare wall is a common first step before a new printed mural goes up, since a mural shows every flaw in the surface behind it.

What removal involves

We start by working out what is on the wall, because the paper type decides the method. Strippable paper often pulls away in full sheets. Peelable vinyl releases its top layer and leaves the backing glued to the wall. Traditional pasted paper needs soaking before it will move. Painted-over paper is the hardest case: the paint stops water reaching the adhesive.

Old grasscloth and natural-fiber wallcoverings are their own case: the woven face comes away in handfuls while the paper backing stays stuck, so the wall has to be soaked a second time once the fibers are off.

From there we score the surface where needed so moisture can get behind the paper, then use steam, or a removal solution where the paper calls for it. Older rooms often hide more than one layer, and each may respond differently.

Before any of it starts we cover and protect floors, baseboards, and trim — removal is a wet, messy process. Once the paper is off we wash the walls down, because dried adhesive residue will show through paint and stop new paper bonding.

Damaged drywall and wall repair

Walls do not always come through removal untouched, especially where paper was hung onto unprimed drywall. The usual damage is gouging from scrapers and torn drywall face paper, where the brown layer lifts away with the wallpaper.

Where walls need it, we do that repair as part of the same job and quote it with the work: sealing torn areas, skim-coating so the texture matches the surrounding wall, patching gouges and holes, then sanding flat. Priming last locks down the repairs and leaves a consistent surface, ready for paint or new wallpaper.

How long it takes

A typical single room — a powder room, a small bedroom, an entry — takes one to two days, including wash-down and cleanup. That assumes one layer of paper that releases reasonably well and sound walls underneath.

It runs longer with multiple layers, with painted-over paper, or when the repair and priming afterwards is substantial. We would rather tell you that before we start than rush the finish.

What affects the price

Removal is quoted per job, because two rooms of the same size can take very different amounts of work. What moves the number is square footage, how many layers are on the wall, the paper type and how willingly it releases, the condition of the drywall once exposed, and whether repair and priming are included.

The only way to be accurate is to look at it. Send photos of the walls and the room dimensions, or arrange for us to see it in person, and we will tell you what the job involves before anything starts.

Removal questions