Blog>Questions>Can I put lining paper over woodchip?
Last updated: 30 August 2023
Can I put lining paper over woodchip?
Woodchip is often known as ‘the devil’s wallpaper.’ It’s made up of several layers, which can make it a bit of a pain to remove. Plus, it’s often used to cover up walls that are in bad condition, so you never know what you’re going to find beneath it!
Can you put lining paper over woodchip?
Yes, you can put lining paper over woodchip to cover it up.
However, most professionals would advise against this and recommend you remove your woodchip instead.
Why? Well, it's mostly because of the texture of woodchip wallpaper. If you put ordinary lining paper over your woodchip walls, the texture will still show through and create visible lumps in your lining paper.
To adequately cover the bumps, you’d need to get 1400-grade lining paper – but this can be a little tricky to work with since it’s so thick.
What about wallpaper?
Similarly to lining paper, thin wallpaper won’t cover up woodchip effectively as lumps and bumps will show through. However, thick, textured wallpaper can be much more effective.
Just bear in mind that this can cause problems in properties where woodchip is present. Woodchip is common in older homes and was often used to cover up cracks or uneven plaster – if you add the weight of thick wallpaper, the plaster beneath the woodchip could crumble and fall off.
Some companies actually make textured wallpapers that are specially designed to cover woodchip, so these could certainly be a good option. However, you’ll need to be a fan of textured wallpaper – this route won’t work for you if you’re after smooth walls.
How to remove woodchip
Leaning towards removing your woodchip? Although woodchip can be a pain to remove, it’s completely doable and might not be as difficult as you expect.
Just follow these simple steps:
Prep. Removing woodchip wallpaper can be messy and involves water or steam. Cover your floor with a protective sheet and remove any electrical items
Perforate the woodchip. Woodchip is made up of several layers – you’ll need to damage the top layer in order to allow water to get to the paste on the wall and dissolve it. To do this, you can score the wallpaper with a knife, use a perforator or run a scraper over it
Steam or soak a section. Either spray your wall with warm soapy water or use a wallpaper steamer to dampen the wall. Leave it for a few seconds to soak in
Scrape. While the wall is still damp, use a wallpaper scraper to start removing the woodchip
Repeat. Carry on dampening your wall and scraping until you’ve removed each layer of woodchip. Then, move onto the next section of wall. Continue until you’ve removed the woodchip wallpaper entirely
If you want perfectly smooth walls, you’ll need to find a plasterer to skim them before you redecorate. Alternatively, you can simply use filler to repair any dents or minor cracks, before lining your walls with heavy-grade lining paper.
Short on time? Rather than carrying out the work yourself, you can find a good painter and decorator to complete the job for you.
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