Removal is the easy part — what matters is what your walls look like after. We strip the paper, dissolve the adhesive, repair the damage, and skim coat to a smooth, paint-ready surface.
Why DIY removal goes wrong
Steam and scoring — the DIY playbook — tear the drywall face open. Once the paper facing of the drywall is torn, no amount of new paint hides it: the wall reads as scarred from six feet away, and it will read that way forever until it's skim-coated flat.
Leftover adhesive is the other trap. Wallpaper glue that isn't fully removed reactivates under water-based primer and paint — the wall stays tacky, the paint bubbles, and the surface never cures properly. We remove paper and glue completely, then fix what the removal (or the original hanger) did to the wall.
What's included
Full strip of paper and backing — every layer, not just the top. Adhesive removal with the right solvent for the glue type — some jobs use enzyme, some use hot water and scoring, some need commercial paste remover. Drywall repair where the face got torn. Skim coat to our Level 5 standard where the wall needs it. Prime and optional repaint or new wallpaper install.
The finish is a wall that reads like it never had paper on it — not a wall with scars hiding under fresh paint.
The drywall-finisher's edge
Because we're smooth-wall specialists — we run Level 5 drywall as a stand-alone service — wallpaper removal from us ends with walls a designer would spec gloss paint on. Most wallpaper-removal outfits are handymen with a scoring tool. We're a finishing crew that also removes wallpaper.
Removing to re-paper?
One crew does both. See our wallpaper installation service — we can strip your existing paper, prep the wall, and hang the new drop in a single continuous visit.
What's included
- Full strip of paper and backing — every layer
- Adhesive removal — enzyme, solvent or hot-water method per glue type
- Drywall repair for torn faces from prior removal attempts
- Skim coat to Level 5 standard where needed
- Prime and optional repaint or new wallpaper install
- Furniture moved, floors protected, dust contained