Wallpaper removal in Baltimore.
Rise and Prime Painting is a Maryland painting company that removes old wallpaper and leaves the walls ready for paint.
122 Google reviews, 5.0 average.
What does wallpaper removal in Baltimore involve?
Wallpaper removal in Baltimore takes the paper and its paste off the walls of a room and leaves the surface repaired and primed, so the room can take a fresh coat of paint.
Rise and Prime Painting provides professional wallpaper removal in Baltimore, MD, from living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, baths, halls and stairwells, in one room or across a whole house. Pasted paper, vinyl, textured paper and borders all come off, and the type of wallpaper and the number of layers decide how each wall is stripped. The company holds Maryland MHIC license #120401 and is fully insured, and its owner, Ray Gomez, has over 20 years of experience in the trade.
The wallpaper removal services run across Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Harford County, and on to any other part of Maryland. The company is also an interior/exterior painting contractor, so a stripped room can be painted under the same estimate. For cabinets, decks and its other painting services in Baltimore, start with house painters in Baltimore.
- Paper and paste both taken off
- Walls repaired and primed for paint
- Free estimate by text, call or form
- Spanish spoken on the first call
Text us a photo of the paper on your walls.
Send a wide photo of each papered wall and a close-up anywhere the paper is torn or lifting. Together they show the kind of paper, the layers and the wall underneath.
Or request the free estimate onlineWhere wallpaper comes off in a Baltimore house.
Where the paper hangs changes the job, from steam in a bath to the height of a stairwell, so wallpaper removal services are planned room by room.
Living rooms and bedrooms
Long walls and dated patterns.
Living rooms and bedrooms have long, open walls, and outdated wallpaper in a pattern picked years ago turns up in both. A long run of paper that lets go cleanly is the easy part. The careful work is at the corners, around the window returns and along the edges behind trim.
Kitchens and baths
Moisture and vinyl.
Kitchens and baths often have vinyl or washable paper, and steam and splashes have had years to work on the seams. Vinyl tends to peel away from its backing and leave the backing on the wall, which then comes off as a second layer. Mildew can show up behind the paper once it's off. The cabinets in the same rooms are separate work.
Cabinet painting in MarylandHalls and stairwells
Tall walls and awkward reach.
Entry halls and stairwells have tall walls over floors at different levels, so ladders are set up around the steps before any paper comes down. A stairwell wall can run the full height of the house, and the top of it gets the same soaking and scraping as a wall at eye level.
Borders and accent walls
One strip or one wall.
A border under the ceiling or a single papered accent wall is a small job with the same steps as a full room, from the paper to the paste to a wall ready for paint. Borders are often pasted onto a painted wall, so the scraping has to stop at the paint without lifting it.
Painted-over or layered paper
Water has to reach the paste.
Paper that has been painted over keeps water out, so the surface is scored lightly to let the remover in. Paper hung over older paper comes off a layer at a time, and the bottom layer, pasted straight to the wall, usually holds hardest.
Paper off ahead of a repaint
One project, two stages.
Many rooms are stripped because a painting project comes next. Interior painting follows once the wall is repaired and primed, and the removal, the repairs and the paint can all be covered by one estimate.
Interior house painting around BaltimoreCan removing wallpaper damage the walls?
Removing wallpaper can damage the walls when the paper is pulled or scraped before its paste has let go, because the paper face of drywall can come away with the wallpaper.
Paper hung straight onto unprimed drywall grips hardest, and that wall is the one most likely to come away with torn facing, gouges and rough patches. Any damage to your walls has to be repaired before primer or a new coat of paint goes on. Older houses may have plaster walls instead of drywall, and plaster takes water and scraping differently, so the wall itself sets how much moisture and force the removal can use.
Test a corner first
A small test shows whether the paper peels away dry, needs soaking or leaves a backing behind.
Soften the paper all the way through
Paper that's still stiff tears the wall when it's pulled, so the paper is wetted until its paste lets go.
Scrape low and light
A wide blade held at a low angle lifts the paper without digging into the wall.
Can you paint over wallpaper instead?
Painting over wallpaper can hold on smooth, tight paper in a dry room, and it tends to fail on textured paper, lifting seams, kitchens, baths and several layers.
When painting over wallpaper holds, and when it fails
- Smooth paper
- Seams lying flat
- A dry room
- Textured paper
- Lifting seams
- Several layers
- A kitchen or bath
Left wall: painting over can hold. Right wall: it tends to fail. Drawn to illustrate, not to scale.
When it can hold
Smooth paper, seams that lie flat and a room that stays dry give paint something sound to grip. The pattern and the seams can still show through, and a test patch in daylight shows how much.
When it fails
Water in the paint wets the paper and softens its paste, so a weak seam lifts and a bubble forms. Texture shows through the paint, and steam in a kitchen or bath works on the paper from behind.
How to decide
Look at the seams, the corners and how much moisture the room sees before choosing. If any of the three is doubtful, taking the paper off is the safer start for the new paint.
From the first photo to a wall ready for paint.
Six steps, from the first look at the paper to a primed wall that's ready for its new color.
A photo, then a visit
A texted photo shows the paper, and the estimate follows once somebody has seen the walls.
The paper is tested
One test patch, somewhere it won't show, decides how the rest of the room is stripped.
Floors and trim are covered
Floors, baseboards and the trim around the walls are covered before any water goes on.
Softened and scraped
Each wall is wetted and stripped in turn, and any backing the paper leaves behind comes off as a second pass.
Washed, repaired and primed
Leftover paste is washed off the wall, torn or damaged spots are repaired and the wall is primed, so the new paint has an even surface.
Painted, if painting is part of the job
The new wall color goes on the primed wall, and the 3-Year Workmanship Warranty applies to qualifying painting projects.
How much does wallpaper removal cost in Baltimore?
The cost of wallpaper removal in Baltimore, MD, depends on the area of wall, the type of wallpaper, how many layers are up, whether the paper was painted over and what the wall needs once the paper is off.
Wall area and rooms
A bath with one papered wall and a stairwell with four are far apart in area, so the price follows how much wall carries paper.
Paper type and layers
Pasted paper, vinyl and textured paper each come off a different way, and every extra layer is another round of softening.
Painted over or not
Painted-over paper blocks water from the paste, so the remover needs a way in first, and that adds steps to the scope.
Repairs underneath
Torn wall facing, old patches and cracks the paper covered are repaired before primer, and the amount of repair moves the price.
Maryland prices aren't posted on this site, because they differ from Houston's. To start the free estimate, send a texted photo or use the online form.
What should be settled before the paper comes off?
Anyone hiring professional wallpaper removal can settle these seven questions before the first visit, and most of them are answered from a photo or a look at the wall.
Before the paper comes off
- Which rooms have paper, and how many walls? A rough count is enough, such as two bedrooms and a hall, or one accent wall in the dining room.
- What type of wallpaper is it? Vinyl feels smooth and wipes clean, textured paper has a raised pattern and foil is shiny. If you can't tell, a close photo will show it.
- How many layers are up? If you've already pulled at a corner and found more paper under it, say so.
- Was it painted over? Paint over paper is hard to spot, so try a damp sponge on a hidden patch. Plain paper darkens as it soaks the water in, and paint or vinyl sheds it.
- Is it a kitchen or a bath? Mention any leak those rooms have had, since a past leak can leave a soft or stained wall under the paper.
- Is interior painting next? If so, the primer can be picked with the new wall color in mind.
- Was the house built before 1978? Say so at the start, and ask whether the contractor is an EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm.
Taking pictures, mirrors and shelves down from the papered walls is the same first step as clearing a room before the work starts for any painter.
Take it from the people who've hired us.
Questions about removing wallpaper.
How much does wallpaper removal cost in Baltimore?
Rise and Prime Painting prices wallpaper removal in Baltimore once somebody has seen the walls, because the area of paper, the layers and the wall underneath move the cost more than the number of rooms does. The estimate is free. A powder room with one smooth layer and a living room with paint over two layers of paper are both one room, and they can still be far apart in price.
Is professional wallpaper removal in Baltimore worth it over doing it yourself?
Hiring professional help for wallpaper removal is worth it on old, layered or painted-over paper, because damage to your walls from a do-it-yourself job has to be repaired before primer goes on, and that repair can be bigger than the removal. Plenty of homeowners remove wallpaper themselves when it's one layer of smooth paper that peels away dry. Finding a second layer under the first is a sensible point to stop and ask for a free estimate.
How is 40-year-old wallpaper taken off a wall?
Wallpaper that has been up for 40 years is softened with water and scraped off a section at a time, because old paper often turns brittle and tears into small pieces instead of peeling away in sheets. The old paste underneath is the bigger job. It dries to a hard film that can make a wall look bare when it isn't, and primer won't hold properly over it, so the wall is washed clean of paste before any repair or priming.
What if there are several layers, or the paper was painted over?
Several layers of wallpaper, or paper that has been painted over, need more steps than one clean layer, because water has to reach the paste through every layer and through the paint. Paint gets broken up with light scoring first, then each layer is stripped before the one under it is wetted. A torn corner or a close photo of a seam shows how many layers are up, so it's worth sending one with any estimate request.
Which questions should a wallpaper removal company in Baltimore be able to answer?
A good wallpaper removal company in Baltimore can say what happens to the paste, the wall repairs and the primer once the paper is off, how extra layers or hidden damage are handled, and which Maryland home improvement license and insurance it carries. Rise and Prime Painting, a painting contractor for interior and exterior painting serving Baltimore and the rest of Maryland, holds Maryland MHIC license #120401 and is fully insured. Its owner, Ray Gomez, has over 20 years of experience in the trade, and the company has 122 Google reviews at a 5.0 average.
Does the lead paint rule matter when wallpaper comes off an older house?
The federal lead-safe work rule can matter in a house built before 1978, because paint from that era may contain lead and wallpaper removal can reach the paint underneath. How far the rule reaches on any one job turns on the house and the work, so give the year the house was built when you ask for an estimate. Rise and Prime Painting is an EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm.
Do you remove wallpaper across Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Harford County?
Yes. Rise and Prime Painting removes wallpaper from homes in Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Harford County, in places such as Towson, Rosedale, Parkville, White Marsh and Middle River, and takes work anywhere else in Maryland. Send the address with the first photo or form, and the visit is set up from there.
Can the first call be in Spanish?
Yes. Ray Gomez, the owner, answers (443) 743-8052 himself and speaks Spanish, and so do the crews working in Baltimore, so wallpaper removal in Baltimore can be talked through in Spanish from the first call. Información en español para Maryland
Tell us about the wallpaper.
List the papered rooms and anything you already know about the paper, such as a second layer or paint on top, and somebody will set up a visit to see the walls.
- 122 Google reviews, 5.0 average
- Maryland MHIC license #120401
- Fully insured
- EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm
Begin with a photo of the wall.
Text a photo of each papered wall, or call to talk it through. The first call can be in Spanish.
Text a photoor call (443) 743-8052