Wallpaper Removal
Wallpaper Removal in Vancouver, BC
Removing old wallpaper is the messiest, most frustrating DIY project in any Vancouver home — torn drywall paper, sticky glue residue, lumpy walls. We do it right: steam, score, strip, wash, skim-coat, prime and paint, leaving you with walls that look better than the day they were first hung.
Vancouver homes from the 70s, 80s and 90s are full of dated wallpaper — floral prints in Kerrisdale dining rooms, vinyl borders in East Van bathrooms, foiled accents in Yaletown condos. Pulling it off yourself almost always damages the drywall paper underneath, which then telegraphs through any new paint as bubbles, ridges and dark patches. The fix is professional removal followed by a proper skim coat.
Our process: protect floors and trim, steam the wallpaper to release the adhesive, score and strip in clean sections, then wash every surface with a glue-cutting solution to remove the residue. Once the walls are clean and dry we skim-coat any torn drywall paper, sand to a level-4 smooth finish, and apply a stain-blocking primer to seal everything in. Two coats of premium low-VOC Benjamin Moore or Sherwin-Williams paint go on last.
Most single rooms take 2–4 working days end-to-end depending on how many layers of wallpaper are present and how the previous installer prepped (or didn't prep) the drywall. We give a fixed-price quote after seeing the room.
- Steam and score-based removal (no gouged drywall)
- Full glue residue wash-down
- Skim coat to level-4 smooth finish
- Stain-blocking primer before paint
- Two coats premium low-VOC paint
- Containment and daily clean-up
Our Process
How we deliver wallpaper projects
In-home assessment
We test a small section to confirm removal method and flag any drywall damage.
Containment & protection
Floors, trim and adjacent rooms protected before any steam or water.
Steam, score & strip
Wallpaper softened with steam, scored, and removed in clean sheets.
Glue wash & skim coat
All adhesive washed off, torn drywall skim-coated and sanded smooth.
Prime & paint
Stain-blocking primer plus two coats of premium low-VOC paint.
Built for Vancouver homes & weather
Older Vancouver neighbourhoods — Kerrisdale, Dunbar, Mount Pleasant, central Burnaby, much of Richmond — have layers of wallpaper from multiple decades. We've stripped it all and know which removal technique each generation of paste responds to.
Wallpaper painting questions, answered
How much does wallpaper removal cost in Vancouver?
Most single rooms run $400–$1,200 to strip, skim, prime and repaint — depending on wall area, number of layers, and how badly the drywall was prepped underneath. Fixed-price quote after a free in-home visit.
Will removing wallpaper damage my drywall?
Some surface damage is almost unavoidable on wallpaper installed without a primer underneath. We always skim-coat and sand smooth before priming, so the final painted wall reads perfectly flat.
Can you paint over wallpaper instead?
We don't recommend it. Seams telegraph through, edges lift, and any future repair becomes much harder. Strip-and-paint is always the better long-term result.
How long does it take?
Typical single Vancouver room takes 2–4 working days from strip to final coat. Multiple-room projects are scheduled back-to-back.
Do you handle borders and vinyl wallpaper too?
Yes — vinyl, foiled, embossed, fabric-backed, and old paste-the-wall papers are all part of our regular work.
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