Greek Revival: Wallpaper or paint?

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cw3424
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Greek Revival: Wallpaper or paint?

Post by cw3424 »

I need advice. We will be pulling down the wallpaper in this room, covering over the window to the left of the fireplace (it was a later addition) and possibly sheet-rocking the walls. Should I sheetrock the ceiling as well? The goal will be to put up wallpaper appropriate to the period (1855) or paint a period color. As you see by the fireplace mantle it wasn't a fancy house to begin with so I'm not sure what to do. So, keep it simple with just paint on the exposed shiplap and maybe stencil a ceiling medallion or go big with period wallpaper and wall to wall carpet and plaster ceiling medallion? We don't know for sure if this room originally had wallpaper. Since it is a downstairs room it was used as a parlor rather than a bedroom but we need to use it as a bedroom. We will also be using it to display historic photos and furniture we know are original to the house. We are only the second owners of this property.
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Kashka-Kat
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Re: Greek Revival: Wallpaper or paint?

Post by Kashka-Kat »

Maybe I will need to see more pictures before I can say :wave:

Not sure what you mean by "sheetrocking" the walls. Whats under the wallpaper - is it plaster or boards like the ceiling?

If plaster, I hope you will think more in the direction of plaster repair vs. wholesale ripping out of plaster/lath. The old plaster not only has character, but has sound deadening and insulatiing qualities thats far superior to drywall.

Im assuming the ceiling boards are original (since houses sometimes had boards that were papered over) and I think adds a nice authentic old touch to the room - would not cover.

Beautiful house! Quite grand in its own way I think. I actually prefer that its more human-scale vs. full blown mansion type of place.

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cw3424
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Re: Greek Revival: Wallpaper or paint?

Post by cw3424 »

I should have mentioned that it is not plaster. I wish.

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Re: Greek Revival: Wallpaper or paint?

Post by Kashka-Kat »

Ah I see - maybe too rustic for you but some people leave their wall boards exposed as well as ceiling. Very trendy! I love the effect myself, gives a house a look of instant age. But then Im someone who has been reluctant to paint my walls because I like seeing the original circa 1906 calcimine paint layer and some of the other colors they painted over the years.

I think what I would first do.... since your house was made for wallpaper.... is a thorough search to just to see whatis out there. My first inclination is I wouldnt like it because it adds a degree of busy-ness, whereas I like simple.... but maybe theres something that would be subtle and beautiful and add something really positive to the house. Not necessarily replica of old pattern - just see what all is out there.

The problem with drywalling is you cant just tack it up over your boards and have it butt up against the trim. THAT is a major no-no. Youd have to be futzing around with the trim and stuff.

Removing the boards... hmmm - not a fan. If I didnt like the look of raw wood walls, I would just paint or stain it. People are buying vintage wood to get a look like that on their walls - would make no sense to remove it!

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cw3424
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Re: Greek Revival: Wallpaper or paint?

Post by cw3424 »

I've found some wallpaper sources (Hamilton Weston, Bradbury,....) and am trying to pick a few I might like, then figure out cost. The price tag might be the decision maker for me in the end!

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Re: Greek Revival: Wallpaper or paint?

Post by 1918ColonialRevival »

If it were me, I would re-do the walls in plaster versus any kind of gypsum board product. If you want wallpaper, you could always put some up and if you get tired of it or want to change down the road, you'll have plaster waiting underneath.

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Re: Greek Revival: Wallpaper or paint?

Post by Mick_VT »

If it is boards under the wallpaper then you may find that removing the paper makes for drafts. If you are going to wallpaper I would suggest doing it over the top of what ever is there (if it is on top of boards) as it will add to it's strength. This is assuming that the wallpaper that is there is sound. If there is staining etc that might bleed through give it coat of a stain blocking primer first
Mick...

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Re: Greek Revival: Wallpaper or paint?

Post by phil »

any insulation in the walls? I'd open any outside walls and insulate, for interior walls I'd do drywall , but pull the trim first and put it back when the walls are finished. It does depend if you really care if you are really set on having plaster in your walls or not and the authenticity is a consideration. If you want sound deadening you can use the new sound proof drywall plus insulation. If you want to remove the wallpaper and paint you can. the problem with covering over wallpaper is that by now it is likely rotten paper and you dont' want that unstable layer coming off later , or the seams to bleed through. Maybe you can treat the wallpaper with glue to stabilize it a bit. often plaster cracks, it gets hairlines all over so people go ahead and cover it up using wallpaper. also some houses have that calcimine paint and it needs to be washed off and then stabilized with an oil based primer before painting. you could try to remove some to see how it looks if you like, You do have options.

If you choose to remove the wallpaper ,fix up the plaster then repaint you can but you still wont' have insulation plus it is more work. or you can just add 1/4" drywall and leave what's there alone, making any adjustments to your trim and light switches and outlets either by moving the boxes out 1/4" or use box extenders.

Insulation was a good invention in my opinion but it's your decision and we can argue both sides. you might want to have the ceiling tile tested to see if it is asbestos. I had stuff like that on my living room ceiling but mine was 1" squares and I hated the look of it. a I just took it out and re-sheeted with drywall but left the ceiling plaster in place since the ceiling height difference is not noticeable.
also if you wish to re-wire, if you do open walls then there is no better time. It is possible to fish in new wires if saving the plaster is important to you.

personally Id finish the walls however you choose.. then you can always add wallpaper if you want the look of that. the other consideration is if you can handle the mess of plaster removal for insulation.

another thing to consider is outside noise. some houses ( like mine) got noisier over time at street level. In my case the insulation in the walls was important not only because of energy savings but also for street noise.

I had a giggle last weekend, as the fire engines went ripping by someone made the comment that I live in a very vibrant neighborhood ;-)

I think that before you start you should really consider the different options as the route you take could end up involving various amounts of effort, mess and cost. removing or covering plaster can affect authenticity, aviung a house that is insulated bight be a better investment as far as reasale is concerned. We all like to think that keeping things as authentic as possible increases the homes value as we all go to a lot of labor of love to keep things authentic , in some cases that increases the value, in other cases it does not. we all hope the next owner will appreciate our efforts to restore. truth is if you pu tthe place on the market they would likely be considering if the house has any insulation or not as well as the authenticity. If it's a museum for sure keep the plaster. There is more than one way and I'd consider your options carefully, it's going to affect the final result.
If you are considering removing any old drywall or if the walls were worked on prior to the 80's there could be asbestos in any drywall mud that was used, You should then also coinsider disposal costs. In my area it costs a dollar a pound to dispose of drywall that has asbestos filler, you may also find it on plaster walls if they were refinished, you can have it tested, the test here was 50 bucks. maybe look into that before you open things up and breathe a lot of it.


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Gothichome
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Re: Greek Revival: Wallpaper or paint?

Post by Gothichome »

Kashka-Kat wrote:https://www.historicwallpapering.net/historic-wallpaper-resources

Nice resource Kashka, postedthe link into the resource section.

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