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What To Do With Your Old Wallpaper?

Just yesterday I was standing in front of the ATM in downtown Davis, CA and a gentleman I know that works at the bank comes up to me and wants to talk about what to do with his wallpaper that he no longer wants.  This is actually a very common question we get, because most people understand that removing wallpaper can be a major headache.

When I was first starting out in the painting industry 20 years ago, I had an acquaintance that wanted me to remove her wallpaper in her hallway, then prime and paint it.  I gave her a price, and set out to take off the wallpaper.  To my surprise there ended up being three layers of wallpaper, and what I thought would take me half a day, ended up taking me three days.  I did go back to her and mentioned this, but she refused to pay me anymore, saying I gave her a solid price and that was what she would pay.  Twenty years later, that is why we do wallpaper on a time and material basis. You just never know how long it might take! Wallpaper can come off easily in nice large sections with little damage, or it can come off in dime size pieces and greatly damage your drywall.  So we give a ballpark price of what we think it will be, but we charge an hourly rate when doing this type of work.

When it comes to wallpaper you really have 3 main choices.  The right way is to remove the wallpaper, texture the walls if needed, then prime and paint.  You can rest easily at night that you will have a great product.  The other two options are not ideal, but we do it a few times a year because a customer wants to save money and not strip the wallpaper.  We can prime and paint straight over the wallpaper, assuming it is on solid with no peeling edges.  The other is we prime the wallpaper, texture right over it, then prime and paint it like a normal wall.  The problem with either of these methods is that there is no guarantee your wallpaper will not lift away, start bubbling or have other issues under the weight of the new top coats.

So, if you no longer want the wallpaper look, you have choices but there is really only one safe way to deal with it, and that is to remove it.

- Jeremy Brooks

 

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Easy to work with - pleasant, efficient, competent, always available, answered all questions. Totally professional - each person. Thank you all! A great job!

Stephanie Brown F.

They are on time! They show up! It was a big job and they were good and fast. Very nice guys.

Tracy W.

Hiring Brooks Painting was an easy and professional process the whole way through, from the estimate to the completion of having my very high walls edged, where I was unable to reach them. Crew Leader Eric was prompt and super capable, which was a relief since he had to maneuver and climb a very tall ladder. He was also in the process of teaching a newer painter and I admired his positive and encouraging manner. In addition, he was willing to respond to my requests with ease. No regrets here! The edging looks amazing and only took 4 hours to complete.

Serenity Now
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Very professional, live up to their billing! [The] company was very cooperative, on top of everything. [They] followed through with their commitment.

Marylan T.

Brooks Painting has be in business a long time in our area. As a native resident we have seen and heard of their professional & quality painting. In looking for bids on painting our house Brooks was referred numerous times. When Jeremy came out to meet us we were sold on using their services and looked no further. Every aspect of this company was very upfront, professional and made us feel safe, valued and comfortable hiring them. The office staff kept good communication with us. The color matching was perfect. The crew showed up on time, were respectful and did a great job from prep to the final end of the project. The warranty offered was a plus and the liability coverage gave us peace of mind also. The price was well worth all that was included in the project so we had little to do but move our stuff away from the house. Thank you Brooks painting, crew and staff for making our home new again :)

Karen Boone
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What a difference!! We hired Brooks Painting to do both an interior refresh painting and a completely new exterior color. Everything was handled professionally and as promised. The team, from estimator to office to painters on site, was responsive, friendly and skilled. Brooks Painting is the most reliable contractor we have ever hired. Thank you Jeremy, Dan, Israel, and Kristen.

Joie Watson
Google

Listened to my needs and offered good suggestions. Customer confidence in value and quality.

John K.

Very professional. Painters were very accommodating on the little things.

Claude V., Dixon

Courteous and well mannered, attentive, discussed complete job and provided good service.

Juan C., C.H.P.

Bud was always available and extremely knowledgeable. He was always willing to go that extra step and also explain things thoroughly.

Michelle B.

Eric and his crew were on time every day and did a very thorough job. I was thrilled that they were willing to paint my outdoor light fixtures which were getting rusty. I was particularly impressed how much time they spent going over their work at the end to catch spots that were missed. I’ll be using them again for interior painting.

C Lewis

We chose Brooks Painting based on their excellent reputation. It was an excellent choice! We had them do a complete exterior and almost complete interior painting of our two story house. They were done separately, while we were out of town. We are very pleased with the quality of the work. They even fixed up a few mistakes made by a crew that painted a portion of our interior ceilings a month prior (removal of asbestos popcorn ceiling), at no extra charge. Cleanup was great, also. They repaired some dry rot that was uncovered (extra charge, but worth it), and they even moved furniture back into place as well as put back the curtain rods that I had taken down, which wasn't expected. I highly recommend them, and will use them again for any future paint jobs.

Charlie Russell
Google

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