[mx13]

Looking to remove wallpaper from walls of my bathroom and paint them (and replace vanities, medicine cabinets and lamps). I thought at first that we had two layers of wallpaper, but when I started peeking under a peeling corner, I realized that there is a thick, textured wallpaper over 1/8" hardboard that is printed with a glossy coating. Presumably the hardboard dates from the building of the house (40 years ago).

To really see what I was getting into, I pried off the smallest section of hardboard (which was held on by nails and adhesive), then removed the wallpaper from it outside with a scorer and Chomp solution. Photos show the state of the drywall and the hardboard surface. The wall is pretty rough. Hardboard is a little swollen where the scorer went through the top layer. I could have been a bit drier getting the wallpaper off it, but I'm sure this would happen to some degree if I tried to take off the wallpaper in place. Seams between the panels of hardboard aren't all that smooth either.

So, what looks like the best way to proceed?

1. Pry all the hardboard off and skim coat the drywall or something like that?

2. Leave the hardboard up, strip wallpaper and replace with a smoother paper and paint that?

3. Tear it all down and replace the drywall?

4. Something else I haven't thought of?

I have practically no skills to apply to any of these techniques (other than some ability to get paint onto a wall without a complete disaster), but I'm temporarily unemployed for a few months so I have a lot of time on my hands...

 

[mathmonger]

Take off the hardboard. That isn't doing anything. No need to replace all the drywall. That is probably a bad idea with your skill level. But you certainly replace badly damaged sections as needed. Then skim it. Kind of a hybrid approach.

 

[mx13]

I realize that I somewhat mis-described the intended project: My preferred approach is to replace the vanity tops (I've already pried off the backsplashes) but simply refinish the fronts and replace the doors, so not needing to remove the vanities to redo all the drywall behind them was my original goal.

Other than the damage to the paper that the adhesive pulled off, I expect the drywall not to be too badly damaged.

There was a drywall anchor in the piece of hardboard I pried off, which turned out to be one of the mushrooming types, so that did partially break out a small area of the drywall (about a 3" piece). I was thinking I'd simply coat the cracked piece with plaster and set it back together that way...for any other anchors I'll cut the heads off first with a Dremel tool or something and be sure the anchor is free of the hardboard so I don't repeat this problem.

My main concern is how tricky it is to skim the drywall well enough that the paint looks decent. Is that mainly a matter of careful sanding after skimming? Any links to helpful sites or videos would be appreciated.

 

[mark sr]

Like most things, practice makes perfect with drywall work. Joint compound sands easily albeit with a lot of dust so most mistakes aren't too big of a deal to rectify. IF you paint and then find out your drywall finishing wasn't good enough you can still fix it.


I agree with the others that the hardboard needs to go.

 

[Nealtw]

I agree, remove the hard board and then judge the drywall, it might be better to pull that off too and start over.

 

[mathmonger]

My main concern is how tricky it is to skim the drywall well enough that the paint looks decent. Is that mainly a matter of careful sanding after skimming? Any links to helpful sites or videos would be appreciated.

It'll be a pain in the butt and the sanding will make lots of dust. It might take you a few tries to get the hang of it. But you can't really screw it up. Joint compound and YouTube videos are cheap. And you said you have time on your hands. Get a big flashlight and shine it across the surface to highlight flaws.

 

[mx13]

IF you paint and then find out your drywall finishing wasn't good enough you can still fix it.

Meaning sand for tooth, reskim, sand again and repaint?