Day 7&8: Bad wallpaper news and the electricians come

I requested an online quote to strip the rest of the wallpaper in the house.  The bad news is that our wallpaper is evil. It is called anaglypta and it was truly created by the evil spirits of home renovation.  It is textured wallpaper and designed to be painted over.  It is nearly impossible to remove.

The wallpaper removal specialist suggested sanding over the paper then spraying with very hot water and trying to pull it off.  He also suggested plastering over it, and replacing the walls.  Seriously.  We will try sanding and see what happens.

We also identified a few areas where we could use an electrician.  We would like to put a glass splashback behind the stove.  But there is a meaty huge powerplug in the way.  The electrician was unable to move it as the plug is encased in a metal tube behind a false wall!!  He did put a more attractive cover on.




We had one of the old shaver power outlets in the bathroom that to my knowledge does not work.  The electricians replaced it and now we can plug in a hairdryer which will make a welcome change.  The next thing they did was very expensive.  There is a very noisy electric fan in our window that is very ineffective.  It was also wired into the light switch, so you cannot have the light on without the noisy fan.  Bath time is not tranquil.  We got a combination heat/ light/ fan unit for the ceiling.  It involves a plumber to come and cut a hole into our ceiling to install it; we should hear from him or her later in the week.  It will cost about $600, but the increase in warmth, moisture removal and reduction in noise will be worth it.  Now to book a plasterer.




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Day 4&5: Stripping wallpaper and shelving quotes.

I've hit the wall.  It is a bit of a shame, especially because we are only four days into the work!!

I hate our thick bumpy wallpaper.  The bumpiness is not a product of poor wallpapering technique.  Indeed, the only positive thing I can state about the wallpaper is that it is very well applied.  At some stage it has been painted; at least two coats.  Again, this has been done very well.

It is a bitch to remove.

When I first researched removing wallpaper I read that a lot of people just needed a scraper and it came right off. I learnt that sometimes, if it is really thick you might need a wallpaper steamer.  A friend came over and we had an experimental rip of the wallpaper in the bathroom.  Only a tiny bit came off.  This is the bathroom mind you, a small, poorly ventilated space that gets a lot of steaming.  The floor and walls also get pretty wet from enthusiastic small child water play.  The steam and water have not damaged the wallpaper.  Lame.

Today my friend came over to have a go removing the wallpaper.  I had no idea how it would go, but thought that perhaps we would get the bathroom and landing done.  In my wildest dreams of easy wallpaper removal I thought that I might strip the wallpaper in the kitchen overnight.

No.  It is very hard.  We scored the wallpaper with a little device that promptly broke.  I took it back to Resenes for replacement.  In the meantime my friend had continued with the steamer.  On returning to the house I checked on progress.  The bathroom was a sauna!  My friend was down to his boxer shorts!  I opened the window and set up a fan.  Later I had a go at using the steamer.  It was slow and hard and only moderately faster than using nothing.

By the end of the day my friend had spent seven solid hours working hard out on the bathroom.  It was two thirds complete.  By the end of day two and four more hours the bathroom was stripped bare.  With the cost of labour and hiring the machine it was a pricey way to do things.  It also created a giant wet sticky mess.

The wallpaper was directly onto hardboard and I can see we will need to re-plaster before painting.

I googled local wallpaper removal companies; this is not something we are going to be doing ourselves.

I'd had high hopes that we would be able to get the wallpaper off all the locations where I want to install the shelving.  We did none :(


On the plus side I got a quote from the joiner for built in shelving.  I'm hoping my husband will agree :)

However, there will be no shelves until I remove the wallpaper underneath.

Days 1-3: Magnetic and Blackboard paint.

I decided to start with an easy project: putting magnetic paint on the girls' wardrobe doors and then covering it with blackboard paint.  I thought that it would be straightforward and also be a good project for the Sweetheart to assist with.

I had a leftover can of paint and varnish stripper and figured it would be easy enough to use.  I put a towel down under the door to catch the varnish.  It came off instantly.  The instructions suggested waiting for fifteen minutes but it wrinkled instantly.  I had to work quite fast.  It was hot and windy and I pretty much needed to scrape instantly or the removal gel would dry again.  The Sweetheart enjoyed scraping of the varnish in big long strips but it quickly became clear that she has no tolerance for noxious smells!

Remembering that we had some white primer in the garage I had fun playing with the mini roller that came with my test pots from Resenes.  The primer dried in thirty minutes so I was able to get two coats of magnetic paint on that afternoon.

Magnetic paint:

• Do not use rollers, only use brush
• Brushstrokes all going in the same decoration is apparently important for the tiny magnetic particles.
• At least two layers.
• Needs to have at least one coat of non-magnetic paint as a topcoat.

I enjoyed painting.  It took about twenty-thirty minutes to do each coat.  The biggest challenges were doing it around sleeptimes, or, if the baby was awake, keeping her from touching the door!

Blackboard paint:

• OK to use rollers (although I found it quite hard and slow to do so over the magnetic paint).
• Aiming for the smoothest finish possible as bumps and brushstrokes make it hard to write on with chalk (and if you have magnetic paint underneath it needs to be very smooth or the magnet just can't hang on).

It all dried pretty quickly, and I made sure the chalkboards had a solid 24 hours untested before breaking out the chalk!

Overall, very happy with the result.  Both rooms look a little more modern and more kid friendly.  The magnetic paint is very strong (could hold a magnet after one coat).  My oldest daughter has written a lullaby for her sister on the door in the baby's room and she and her friends have coated her daughter with pictures.  Lovely.

The beginning.

Two years ago my husband and I bought primer and a few white test pots.  Earlier in the year we had purchased our first house and so we decided that a great summer project would be to strip and repaint all the trim in the house. 

I got pregnant.

The primer and white test pots remain untouched.

Over the last couple of years we have done a few basic things - replaced the oven, added a dishwasher and heat pump and finally had the dryer wall mounted.  But we have otherwise not done a single thing to maintain or even improve the house.  It doesn't help that neither of us is particularly keen on interior design.  Between us we have no eye for colour.  I am kind of a just get things done kind of person, my husband is the one to slow me down and get things done properly.

I'd like to record the changes we make because I'd love to have a before and after, and also a blog is an easy way to share the changes with those who are interested.