Customer Safety
Learn from the Best – Wallpaper Removal Guru Michael Haluska shares very important safety measures and steps EVERYBODY needs to be aware of before starting the process of wallpaper removal.
Patience is a Virtue
Sometimes the best tool we can use in wallpaper removal is PATIENCE!! Not all papers are the same. While one may come off in a timely manner. The next one could take much longer. In most of these cases it is a water issue. When working with heavier materials such as Grasscloth you must give [...]
Towels – Absorbing Facts
Those old towels you’ve saved, can save you! Having a pile of old towels handy will be a huge help in your wallpaper removal job. Whether you’re removing just a small section or an entire room, they will save you a lot of mess in the end! What you may not realize is that when [...]
Electrical Safety
Shocking Facts about wallpaper removal. Did you know that the #1 rusk in wallpaper removal is electrical fire?? This is probably the most important prep work you can do! When working with water around electricity you can’t be too cautious. If you are able to turn off the power to the room you are working [...]
The Genesis of the Name “Totally Off the Wall !!”
It turns out that to be effective, wallpaper removal (for re-paint) MUST be a first-class job with no room for sloppiness in technique, human error, or laziness by the tradesman or tradeswoman. For, you see, wallpaper 'paste' MUST BE COMPLETELY REMOVED or the job will 'fail'. This is because 'paint' will not adhere to wallpaper [...]
Papers and Other Materials Used for Wallcoverings
Part of the challenge of wallpaper removal is the huge amount of different materials used in manufacturing wallcoverings. The material that the pretty part of the wallcovering (only the inks, really) is printed upon is something called 'the ground'. This is the paper, fabric, foil, etc. that we think of as the 'front' or [...]
Pastes and Other Materials Used for Wallcoverings
Another part of the wallpaper removal equation to consider is the paste (or other materials) used to adhere the wallcovering to the walls, ceilings, etc. There are many types of pastes ranging from 'old-fashioned' wheat pastes, cellulose pastes and clay pastes, to newer pre-mixed pastes with starch base and added elements proprietary to each manufacturer [...]
Paint Used on (or completely missing from) Your Walls
What we often think of as our 'wall' when we look into wallpaper removal... is a bit of a misnomer. For, in truth, the wallcovering is actually adhered to the 'paste' (or other material) used and this 'paste' is actually adhered to an incredibly thin and quite vital layer of 'paint'. There are many [...]
Wall Surfaces and their Affect Upon Paints, Pastes and Wallcoverings
How your wallpaper removal or border removal job job proceeds (with incredible ease or with difficulty bordering upon impossibility) is affected in a major way by the wall surfaces that you have in your home or office, etc. Almost all pre-1940's houses were made with wood lath and plaster construction. These houses are wonderful [...]
A Major Wall Surface Defect that Will Cost You Money
A major wall surface defect that will cost you money if your contractor/s allowed it to occur while building your house... NOTE: this defect can NOT be 'prevented' after-the-fact and has NOTHING to do with your wallpaper removal contractor (except that wallpaper removal WILL EXPOSE the general contractor's or painting contractor's error, poor quality [...]