Easton, Northampton County
Wallpaper removal in Easton, PA.
Close to two-thirds of Easton's homes predate 1940, so the wall under old paper is usually plaster, and the paper on it is often more than one layer, sometimes painted over.
Wallpaper removal for Easton homes
Old paper in a city this old rarely comes off in one pass. Census estimates put 63 percent of Easton's homes before 1940, the years when walls were plastered by hand, and a house that has changed hands for a century has often been repapered over the last paper rather than stripped. Some of those layers were later painted, and paint seals the paste away from water.
So removal here is planned room by room. Unpainted layers soften with warm water and time; painted ones are usually scored and steamed. Under all of it is plaster that may be cracked, patched or loose, and it gets looked at before anything else is decided.
Easton
Painted paper on College Hill and West Ward plaster
College Hill's houses date from the 1830s to 1940, and the West Ward filled in between the 1880s and the 1910s, so both sit squarely in the plaster era. Plaster has no paper face to tear, which helps, but generations of settling leave cracks that old paper was often hung to hide. Once it is off, those cracks are taped and filled, loose areas are secured, and the wall is usually skim-coated, because patched plaster under fresh color shows every repair in low window light.
The townships are another story. About half of Palmer Township's homes and four in five of Forks Township's have gone up since 1980, and those walls are drywall. Where a 1980s or 1990s room was papered straight onto unprimed board, the paste can pull the board's own paper face away with it; torn spots are sealed with a shellac- or oil-based primer before any compound touches them, or the patch blisters.
Worth knowing
Count the layers first
A small test area at a seam shows how many papers are on the wall and whether any were painted, which decides between soaking and steam.
Plaster work comes with it
In a city where most houses are this old, crack repair and a skim coat are part of the plan from the start, not a surprise halfway through.
Downtown review is for exteriors
The Local Historic District's Certificate of Appropriateness covers exterior changes visible from a public way. Stripping paper indoors is not one of them.
The work
How the work goes
The same care on every job, in every town. The full guide to wallpaper removal.
The walkthrough
Randy looks at the paper, the age of the house and the walls with you, and explains what removal is likely to uncover. The estimate comes in writing, and both are complimentary.
Water and wiring
Because the work is wet, power to the outlets and switches on papered walls is shut off and their covers come off before any soaking. Floors are covered against runoff.
Soak, wait, lift
Vinyl facings that will peel off dry are peeled first. The backing and older papers are soaked with warm water and remover, given time to soften, and lifted with a wide blade; steam handles stubborn or painted paper.
Wash off the paste
Every trace of adhesive is washed away. Paste left on a wall shows through paint and stops new paper from bonding.
Seal and repair
Torn drywall face is sealed first with an oil- or shellac-based primer, because water-based products make it bubble. Cracks and loose plaster are repaired, and walls are skim-coated where they need to be made even.
Prime for what comes next
The wall is primed for paint, or with a wallcovering primer if new paper is going up. That primer also makes the next removal easier.
Questions
Wallpaper removal, Easton.
Will the plaster in a College Hill house survive the paper coming off?
Usually. Plaster is hard and has no paper face to tear, so the real risks are gouging it with a blade or loosening sections that were already weak. Slow, gentle lifting avoids most of that, and the cracks and soft spots that do appear are repaired before the wall is skimmed and painted.
Can painted-over wallpaper be removed?
Yes, though it is slower. Paint keeps water from reaching the paste, so the surface is scored, softened with steam and lifted in sections. It is one reason painting over paper only postpones the job.
Do you take paper down in Forks, Palmer and Williams townships too?
Yes. Randy serves the city and the townships and boroughs around it. In the newer township houses the wall underneath is drywall, so the first question is whether it was primed before it was papered.
More in Easton
Other services here.
- Level 5 drywall finishA skim coat over the entire surface, for walls that hold up under raking light and dark paint.
- Skim coatingRough, patched or uneven walls resurfaced smooth, often after wallpaper comes down.
- Plaster repairCracked, loose and failing plaster in older homes, repaired and made sound.
- Interior paintingWalls, ceilings, trim, doors and millwork, prepared properly and finished clean.
- Exterior paintingSiding, trim, porches, stucco and brick, prepared to stand up to Pennsylvania weather.
- Drywall installation & repairNew drywall hung, taped and finished; cracks, holes and water damage repaired invisibly.
- Drywall texture matching & removalTexture matched so repairs disappear, applied where you want it, or taken off for a smooth wall.
- Popcorn ceiling removalOld acoustic texture taken down and the ceiling finished smooth.
- Wood stainingDecks, porch floors, doors and trim, inside and out, stained by hand.
Consultation
Request a private consultation.
Private walkthrough & written estimate, complimentary. Tell us a little about the house and the rooms, and Randy will be in touch to arrange a time.
- Hours
- Monday – Friday8:30 AM – 5:30 PMSaturday10 AM – 3 PMSundayClosed
- Service area
- Easton, Bethlehem, Allentown and the greater Lehigh Valley; Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Fully insured — proof on request. Residential and commercial.