Covered on a Rosemead visit
- Full rooms of wallpaper stripped
- Borders along ceilings and chair rails removed
- Old paste washed off the wall
- Torn drywall facing sealed with primer
- Gouges and seams skim-coated smooth
- Walls primed and ready for paint
Outside what we take on
- Foundation cracks or wall movement.
- New walls, framing changes or opening up a wall.
- Full exterior repaints.
Wallpaper in Rosemead homes
Many Rosemead homes, with a 1959 median build year, had kitchens and bathrooms papered in later decades, often straight onto unprimed drywall. That makes the paper hard to remove without tearing the wall surface, so we go slowly and repair as we go.
Bathroom wallpaper is often vinyl; the top layer peels off dry, and the backing then soaks off.
How it goes
Test a corner
We see how the paper and wall react.
Strip
Score, soak or steam, and peel.
Wash
All paste residue is washed off.
Repair and prime
Damage is sealed and skimmed, then primed.
Painting the room
We prime after removal and can paint a single room; whole-house repaints go to a painter.
While we’re out for this, Rosemead customers often add drywall patching and crack repair, baseboard repair or rental turnover repairs.
What to text
Photos of the papered walls, roughly how many walls, and whether there are borders.
Wallpaper questions
Can you paint over wallpaper?
You can, but we don’t advise it. It usually shows seams and can bubble. Removing it gives a better finish.
Will removing wallpaper damage my walls?
Sometimes the drywall paper tears. We seal and skim those spots.
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Can you remove a wallpaper border only?
Yes.
How much does wallpaper removal cost?
It depends on the area. Text photos for a free estimate.
Is steam better than a spray solution?
It depends on the paper. Steam helps with old layered paper on plaster; scoring and spraying works on most single layers over drywall.
What about borders near the ceiling?
Borders usually sit on painted walls and come off more easily. We still watch for paint lifting with them.
Wall tips
- Nail pops and seam cracks in a postwar ranch houseWhy nail pops, seam cracks and corner tape lines show up in Rosemead's postwar ranch houses, what you can patch yourself and how we fix them for good.
- Making a drywall patch match the textured wall around itWhy smooth patches stand out on textured walls in Rosemead homes, and how we match orange peel and knockdown texture so repairs disappear.
Jobs like this one are everyday work for our Rosemead handyman service, from the blocks off Garvey Avenue to the streets near Rosemead Park. A photo by text gets you a quote first.
Part of wall patching and paint touch-ups. You can also browse all our services or read about repairs in postwar Rosemead homes.