Cabinets & Prep in Naperville, IL
Wallpaper removal in Naperville, with the walls repaired and ready to paint
Dated wallpaper, a border that will not budge or paper someone painted over? We strip it, wash off the paste, repair the wall and leave it primed or painted.
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Answering 24/7Naperville service office
Updated September 2026
This job
Wallpaper Removal
Cabinets & Prep · answering 24/7
Quick answer
Wallpaper removal in Naperville, IL means peeling or scoring the paper, soaking and scraping the backing, washing off every trace of paste, repairing damaged drywall and sealing the wall with primer before paint. Paste left on the wall is what makes new paint crack and peel.
The job
How it comes off depends on how it went up
Some paper peels away in sheets; some was glued straight to unprimed drywall and fights every inch. Paper that was painted over is the hardest of all.
We test a corner, choose the method and protect floors and outlets from water. Once the paper and paste are gone, torn drywall paper is sealed and skimmed so the wall paints smooth.
What moves the price
What moves the price of wallpaper removal
Removal is priced by wall area and by how the paper was hung.
- 01Wall area
Square footage of papered walls sets the labor.
- 02Paper type
Strippable paper comes off far faster than vinyl or painted-over paper.
- 03Layers
More than one layer of paper adds soaking and scraping.
- 04Wall damage
Torn drywall paper needs sealing and skim coating.
- 05Borders
Borders over paint need extra adhesive cleanup.
- 06Paint after
Priming and painting the room is usually quoted together.
What this job covers
A
Strippable wallpaper
Newer strippable and peelable papers are made to come off in sheets. We lift a corner and pull the top layer away at a low angle, then soak and scrape the backing left on the wall. The walls are washed with warm water and a paste remover until they no longer feel slick, rinsed and left to dry. Even easy removals need that wash, because paste residue under new paint cracks and peels, sometimes months later, long after the room looked finished.
B
Glued-on and painted-over wallpaper
Paper hung on unprimed drywall, or painted over later, does not want to come off. We score the surface lightly so water and remover can reach the paste, soak it in sections and scrape carefully to avoid tearing the drywall's face paper. Where the face paper does tear, it is sealed with an oil-based or shellac primer so it does not bubble, then skimmed smooth. In some rooms skimming over well-bonded paper is the cleaner option, and we will tell you if so.
C
Wallpaper border removal
Borders at the ceiling line, at chair-rail height or around a kitchen are small but often the most stubborn, since they were usually glued over paint with extra-strong adhesive. We soak and scrape them, clean the adhesive band off completely and check the paint underneath, which is often a different sheen or color. The wall is then patched, primed and repainted so no ghost line of the old border shows through the new finish. Adhesive left behind is washed off the same way as paste.
What is included
What a wallpaper removal job should include
- A test corner to choose the method
- Floors, outlets and trim protected from water
- Paper and backing removed completely
- Paste washed off until the wall is clean
- Torn drywall paper sealed with the right primer
- A skim coat and sanding where the wall is damaged
- Primer over the whole wall
- Paint, or walls left primed for new paper
Around Naperville
With a citywide median build year of 1984, a lot of Naperville houses lived through the 1980s and 1990s, when papered kitchens, powder rooms and ceiling-line borders were everywhere. Much of that paper is still on the walls, often hung straight onto drywall that was never primed, which is the hardest kind to remove. Those rooms are usually a scrape, wash, repair and prime job before a single coat of paint goes on.
How the job runs
How a wallpaper job runs
- Step 1
Test corner
We lift a corner to see how the paper was hung and pick the method.
- Step 2
Protect
Floors, outlets, switches and trim are covered against water.
- Step 3
Strip and soak
Paper comes off and the backing is soaked and scraped.
- Step 4
Wash
Paste is washed off until the wall is clean to the touch.
- Step 5
Repair and prime
Torn spots are sealed and skimmed, then the whole wall is primed.
- Step 6
Paint
Two coats of paint, or the wall is left primed for new paper.
Timing
How long wallpaper removal takes
A typical bedroom or bathroom takes one to three days, depending on how the paper was hung and what is under it. Strippable paper can be off and washed in a day. Painted-over paper, torn drywall and skim coats add drying time before primer and paint. After the test corner we tell you how long your room will take.
Sometimes, if it is well bonded and sealed first, but removal gives a better, longer-lasting result.
Paste left on the wall reacts with paint. Washing until the wall is clean prevents it.
It can tear the drywall paper, but torn spots are sealed and skimmed so the wall paints smooth.
Usually one to three days, depending on the paper and the wall under it.
Yes. We prep and prime the walls so they are ready for your paper hanger.
Often booked together
Other jobs that usually come up alongside this one
Skim Coating & Wall Smoothing
Smoothing textured walls
See the jobWallpaper Installation
Wall prep and priming
See the jobGarage Floor Epoxy Coating
Solid-color epoxy
See the jobPopcorn Ceiling Removal
Scrape and skim-coat
See the jobKitchen Cabinet Painting
Cabinet door and drawer-front refinishing
See the jobAnswering now
Book a wallpaper removal estimate in Naperville
Call any hour. We test a corner, look at the walls and send a written estimate for removal, repair and paint.
