Bethlehem, Northampton and Lehigh Counties
Wallpaper removal in Bethlehem, PA.
Behind old paper in Bethlehem, the decade decides the wall: plaster in the prewar rows and twins, plaster on gypsum lath or early drywall after the war, drywall in the newer townships.
Wallpaper removal for Bethlehem homes
Few cities split their housing so evenly. About 31 percent of Bethlehem's homes were built before 1940, roughly a quarter between 1940 and 1959, and nearly another quarter in the twenty years after that. Each era left a different wall behind its paper, and the wall, more than the paper, sets how the job goes.
Before the war, plaster was the rule. Through the 1940s and 1950s plasterers mostly worked over gypsum board lath while drywall was catching on, and in the decades after, drywall became the usual wall. Once the cover plates are off, the edge of an outlet box usually shows which one a room has.
Bethlehem
South Side rows, West Side twins and the postwar city
The South Side's brick row homes went up for families who worked the mills, much of that district between about 1900 and 1935, and the numbered avenues of the West Side are lined with twins from the turn of the century. Rooms of that age were plastered, and a room papered and repapered for decades tends to hide old patches, diagonal cracks off door and window corners, and uneven spots from someone's partial strip-off. All of it is dealt with before primer.
Past the city line the houses are younger: about two-thirds of the homes in Bethlehem Township and in Hanover Township date from 1980 or later. Paper hung there in the 1980s and 1990s sits on drywall, and the outcome depends on whether the board was primed first. Primed board gives the paper up cleanly. Unprimed board can lose its paper face in strips, which then gets a shellac or oil primer and a skim to bring it flat.
Worth knowing
Know the decade
In a house from the 1940s or 1950s the wall may be plaster on gypsum lath or early drywall. The soak stays light until a test spot shows which it is.
Expect a skim in the older rows
Prewar row homes and twins often show decades of patching once bare. A skim coat is the usual way to bring that back to one even surface for paint.
Outside, color is reviewed; inside, it is not
The Historic District's review board looks at exterior changes visible from a public way, paint colors included. Stripping and repapering a room are interior work.
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, Bethlehem.
Is the paper in a South Side row home likely to be on plaster?
Very likely, given when those blocks went up, from about 1900 into the 1930s, while plaster was still the standard wall. Expect more than one layer and some earlier repairs underneath; both are handled before the wall is primed.
How can you tell plaster from drywall before the paper comes off?
Knock and look. Plaster sounds solid and dense, while drywall sounds a little hollow between the studs, and with a switch or outlet cover removed you can usually see the wall's layers at the edge of the box.
We just bought a Bethlehem Township house with paper in several rooms. Where do we start?
With one corner in the room you want to paint first. Peeling it back shows whether the paper is a strippable vinyl or an older type, and whether the drywall face underneath holds; that test sets the plan for the rest of the house.
More in Bethlehem
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.