New Hope, Bucks County
Wallpaper removal in New Hope, PA.
A river town of stone, brick and frame, where damp walls and high water are part of house history. Old paper comes off plaster or drywall here, and the wall must be dry before anything goes back on.
Wallpaper removal for New Hope homes
Half the borough's buildings were frame when its National Register survey was finished in 1984, with stone at about 30 percent and brick at 20. The older ones are plaster inside, and a house that has stood since the canal made New Hope a town in the 1830s has often been papered more than once. That paper usually comes off well; the question is what it was covering.
Moisture is the other question. Plaster on stone that stays damp loosens and crumbles, and houses down near the river have had more water to deal with than most. Removal adds water too, so it is done with restraint, and nothing is patched, sealed or primed until the wall has dried out.
New Hope
Stone, frame and the river's high-water years
More than twenty 18th-century buildings survive in the borough, many of them stone, and Solebury Township around it counts over 400 houses from the 1700s and 1800s. Plaster in a stone house of that age can sit right on the masonry, where damp comes and goes with the seasons, and old paper hides the bubbled, chalky or loose patches that leaves. With the paper off, they are cut back to sound plaster and rebuilt, and a skim pulls the wall together.
The Delaware has topped major flood stage at the river gauge here several times, three of them between 2004 and 2006. Paper on a wall that took water should come off once the house is drying, because paper, vinyl especially, holds moisture in the wall and hides what the water did. About half the borough's homes date from the 1970s or 1990s; their walls are drywall, and soaked board is usually cut out rather than stripped.
Worth knowing
Find the water first
Bubbled or powdery plaster under old paper points to moisture in the wall. Its source, whether a gutter, the grade or high water, is dealt with before repairs.
Tall stair walls need staging
In a three-story frame house, a papered stairwell is the hardest wall to reach. It is staged safely before any soaking starts.
Small rooms, close looks
The canal-era stone houses have two or three small rooms to a floor, so walls are seen at close range. Clean paste removal and a skim count for more there.
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, New Hope.
Our walls took on water when the river rose, and the paper is still up. Should it come off?
Usually, once the house is drying. Paper holds damp in the wall and hides staining or loose plaster behind it. Drywall that soaked through is generally cut out and replaced; plaster that stayed sound can be stripped, left to dry and repaired.
Does New Hope's historic district review cover wallpaper?
No. HARB and Borough Council review exterior changes, painting included, but only for features that can be seen from a public street or way. What happens to the walls inside is up to you.
Do you strip paper in Solebury's older stone houses too?
Yes. Randy serves Bucks County, Solebury and villages such as Carversville, Lumberville and Center Bridge included. Old stone houses there get the same approach as in the borough: gentle removal, dry walls, sound plaster before paint.
More in New Hope
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.