When we toured the house before we bought it, I don’t remember seeing this magnificent accent wall:

Actually, it’s not too bad. It was a good place to add a little flair to the living room. But as part of the thorough wall wash down in #4 here, it’s got to go. The first layer (the visible wallpaper part) came off pretty easily. We just grabbed a loose corner and pulled off the 2 foot wide strips from bottom to top. No steam or chemicals were needed for that part. As it peeled off, more smoky smell wafted at us. Ew.

After we pulled off the outer layer, we found another layer of wallpaper. WTF. Maybe that’s the pre-paper that the vinyl wallpaper sticks to? I’m not sure, but this layer wasn’t coming up without a fight. We got some wallpaper removal compound that you sponge on, wait 15 minutes, and then scrape the paper and most of the glue off down to the drywall.

Where the paper came up cleanly was very satisfying. But some of it was stubbon and had to be wrestled off in small pieces. There is also a layer of glue that needs a general sanding before we can prime.

Here’s a view of everything we could reach without the ladder. Dammit, why are we so short?! The good news is the ladder arrived later that day, and we made quick work if dispatching the remaining portion.