Main Bathroom Demo: Wallpaper Removal and Zinsser Gardz
The main bathroom renovation is officially underway. Step one: remove the wallpaper. All three layers of it. The bottom layer was gold foil. We have questions for the previous owners.
How we removed the wallpaper
- Scored the surface lightly with a scoring tool so water could get behind the vinyl top layer.
- Sprayed with hot water plus a splash of fabric softener and let it soak ten minutes.
- Scraped with a wide plastic putty knife, then a steamer for the stubborn parts.
It mostly worked. Mostly. In a few spots the paper came off along with the brown paper face of the drywall underneath. Torn drywall paper is a problem: if you skim coat or paint right over it, the moisture makes the paper bubble.
Enter Zinsser Gardz
Zinsser Gardz is a clear problem-surface sealer that soaks into torn drywall paper and wallpaper glue residue and hardens it into a paintable surface. We grabbed a gallon at Home Depot and rolled it on like water. It dries quickly, and the next day we skimmed joint compound right over it with no bubbles.
Next up: tile, a new vanity, and figuring out where that mysterious draft is coming from. The main bathroom is ugly-ugly now, which means it's about to get pretty.
