Running out of Steam

Another project from Labor Day weekend... removing the wallpaper in the 2nd & 3rd floor hallways.  This one was a bear (and still isn't completely done!)

The hallways were apparently wallpapered and painted over many times through the years.
And now it's started peeling up at the edges.
It was time to get rid of the vines...

Peeling at the corner of the window

Peeling above the bathroom door

I started by removing as much as I could by hand with a little putty knife.
Which left me with this...














This....



And a whole lotta this...










That final layer of pink paper is the same as what we found in the foyer... and there's even traces of the same hot pink ceiling!  Eeek!


A more recent layer of wallpaper was a floral pattern...

And yet another layer was embossed (though it's hard to see the paisly-ish design in the photo)...

There was at least a 4th layer-that was just brown & had stamped numbers on the back, I think it was a quick-fix to paint over.  Which they did- many. times.

I got out the steamer and spent about 8 more hours to get it all down.  The brown & pink papers weren't too bad... it was the areas with spackle fixes & layers of paint that kept bubbling up which made it a bit difficult.

Mike had to build a little scoffold for me to stand on above the stairs- that section still needs to be finished (I had run out of steam both literally & figuratively!)

So here's pretty much how it's looking...

I didn't take 3rd floor photos, but that's done except for the highest part that requires the scaffold balancing act- which I'm dreading!

In the meantime, see all that gray plaster?  It is the original horse-hair plaster.

Before the paper was down, we considered embracing the old style & texture and just painting it... but now that it's all exposed it's rough to the touch, and you can see the hair in it.  Kinda gross- plus there are a bunch of random smooth spots where fixes were applied through the years.  We definitely need a skim coat.

So, we're currently in the midst of getting estimates.  My goal is to get it done before we have houseguests in October!

It's looking quite dilapidated right now- but it's gotta look worse before it gets better, right? So for now, I'll just continue to close my eyes as I walk down the hall!