Newtown, Bucks County
Wallpaper removal in Newtown, PA.
Six in ten Newtown Township homes were built in the 1980s and 1990s, and most borough homes predate 1940. Different walls sit behind the paper in each, and they come apart differently.
Wallpaper removal for Newtown homes
Say which Newtown you mean and the job changes. In the borough, more than half the homes were built before 1940 and the walls are plaster. In the township that surrounds it, about 36 percent of homes went up in the 1980s and another 26 percent in the 1990s, and the walls are drywall.
Paper from those two decades is the township's particular issue. If the board was not primed before it was papered, the bond between paste and drywall paper can outlast the bond between that paper and the gypsum core, and the face tears as the wallpaper comes away. It is fixable, but it turns a strip into a strip, seal and skim.
Newtown
Borough Victorians and 1980s township drywall
The borough's older streets run from the Court Street core, with town houses set right at the sidewalk, to the spacious Victorians of Washington Avenue and the Queen Anne and Gothic Revival frame houses the town added as it spread east. Rooms of those eras are plaster, and old paper on them can come off cleanly while still revealing a lot: cracks, patches from earlier owners, and uneven ground left by partial removals. The borough's review board does not look at interior changes, so the walls inside are the owner's call.
The township grew from about 4,500 people in 1980 to more than 18,000 by 2000, and the houses of that boom are drywall. Where a papered room from those years tears as it strips, the torn face is sealed before any compound touches it, and the wall is skimmed flat. Where the board was primed, the paper comes away with its paste, which is then washed off.
Worth knowing
Latex primer is the wrong first coat
On torn drywall face, a water-based primer soaks into the brown paper and lifts it in blisters. A shellac or oil sealer goes on first, compound after.
Curved turret walls
In a round turret room, paper comes off the curved wall like any other, but skimming a curve true takes more care than a flat wall.
Tall foyers
Where a township house has a two-story entry, its papered wall needs staging, and light from high windows runs down it, so the skim afterward matters.
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, Newtown.
Our Newtown Township house was built in the late 1980s. Will the drywall tear when the paper comes off?
Possibly; it depends on whether the board was primed before papering. Lift a corner: if the paper comes away clean, the wall underneath is in good shape, and if brown paper shows, the face is tearing and those areas will be sealed and skimmed before paint.
Our Washington Avenue Victorian has several layers of paper. Can they come off without harming the plaster?
Usually. Each layer is softened and lifted in turn, steamed if it was painted, and the plaster is checked as it appears. Loose areas are secured, cracks taped, and the wall skimmed before paint.
Do you work in Upper Makefield and Wrightstown?
Yes. Randy serves Bucks County, Newtown Township and Newtown Grant included, along with Upper Makefield, Washington Crossing and Wrightstown.
More in Newtown
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.