Ibuprofen Is My Friend
Little Miss Lea Anna has been watching home decorating shows with me and has expressed quite a bit of interest in repainting her room - the one with all the blue sparkly wall paper in it. And an ugly border under it. The paper that I had planned on leaving up till I could either borrow Sis' steamer or until it biodegraded on it's own. Twice she peeled strips of it off the wall "because it was loose Mommy". Coincidence? I think not. Gary, Daniel and I spent all afternoon stripping it off. And while it came off much easier than I had thought, this is after I had did all that walking last night and had spent time this morning digging holes in the yard. Since we were so busy Lea Anna also got away with sitting spacing out half the day on Cartoon Network eating lord only knows how much candy. She's awfully calm for a sugared up child though. Regardless of the pain I am in, it feels great to finally finish a project that I have started and on top of that we found some really good paint - blush pink, for five bucks a gallon.
posted by Lisa | 5:02 PM
7 Comments:
You'll have to post pics of it when it's finished
It's okay...Methocarbamol has been my friend (it's been a lot better since I got a latex mattress, though).
Let's hear it for bargain paint! I chose the color for David's bedroom on Cindy Drive based on what was available in the "oops" area of the paint department. I still like that color : )
I HATE WALLPAPER! Even though I've only had to take down boarder it's a pain. I'm not sure what they used to put it up but I got the wallpaper remover stuff along with the hole pokey thing and it still was a pain. The second time I used my clothes steamer and it was a little easier.
Usually you can move after the 3rd day. When I first hurt my knee I was taking 4 at a time every so often because I couldn't take Codine at work (People get mad if you screw with their money). I am taking 2-3 now but not very often.
A good, wide putty knife with a thin blade will help a lot. The steamer works but you do have to use the scorer (or, "hole pokey thing") or it won't loosen it up enough to scrape off. Despite what the instructions might say for whatever removal method you're using, do NOT score the wallpaper with a utility knife. If you manage to score the wallpaper enough you've probably cut into the sheetrock as well.
Even though we finally were working with all the right tools there were still spots where I had to use a chemical wallpaper remover. It worked fairly well except for spots where the previous homeowner had glued down loose seams with some gawdawful silicone crap.
The #1 problem when it comes to removing wallpaper is one you can't control: the eejit who put it up and whether or not they properly prepared the surface. That's something you don't usually know until you start trying to take it down.
Suzanne, I hear you on the codeine. I don't function on that stuff either. At least not if you want coherent thought from me. We cheated and used the chemical stuff and lots of scraping with plastic putty knives. Either way you put it, wall paper is evil. I think I'll leave the border up in the living room for a decade or two.
I'm just surprised LeaAnna didn't like the blue-glitter wallpaper...after all, it's got glitter....
WHERE THE HELL DOES SOMEBODY FIND BLUE-GLITTER WALLPAPER, ANYWAY?!?!
/8-o
Jazz, I don't know where the wall paper came from but it's the only wall paper I ever actually liked. At least until I had to peel it off. Now Lea Anna wants Gary to paint her chair rail "wood color" to match her book shelf. I have stashed any thing that can crape or scribble on the paint as a precaution, lest I have to paddle that little butt.
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