Stop painting over wallpaper, just tear it down first

Been helping my sister fix up her 1920s house in Portland this month. She wanted to save time and paint right over the old wallpaper in the hallway. I told her no, but she insisted. Three coats later the seams are showing through and the edges are peeling at the corners. Now we have to strip everything anyway and it took twice as long. I've seen this in 4 different houses I've worked on. There's no shortcut that ends well. Paper traps moisture and the adhesive breaks down, so your paint job dies in a year no matter how good your primer is. Just spend the weekend with a steamer and scraper. Has anyone actually got a painted-over-wallpaper result that lasted more than 18 months?

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garcia.cameron19d ago

Man, that's rough. I feel for you and your sister, that sounds like a nightmare of a project. I've been down that exact road with my own place, and it never ends well. The seams always find a way to pop through, no matter what kind of fancy primer you throw at it. It's like the wallpaper is just waiting to mock your effort. You're doing the right thing by calling it out, because that "quick fix" always turns into a double job. Hope the stripping goes faster than you think, and hey, at least the hallway will be done right after this.