I have a very difficult issue at the hotel I just began working for and I'm hoping some of you here can offer some suggestions for fixing it. Several years ago there was a vendor who installed some wiring in the hallway walls that involved peeling back wallpaper and channeling out some of the drywall. When they were done with a section of wall they used silicone as an adhesive to reattach the wallpaper. Apparently a few months later the wallpaper began peeling in the areas where they used the silicone. There are also some areas(mostly at the tops of the walls) where the drywall is at a deeper depth than the surrounding wall so the wallpaper doesn't adhere well. The engineering team has tried numerous things like using an iron on the wall to heat up the silicone until they can wipe some of it off but it always begins peeling again withing a few week/months. Now that I'm running the crew it's fallen to me to find a better solution to the issue.

Can anyone offer me some advice on how to sufficiently repair this wallpaper?

Thank You!

 

Welcome to the forums!

I can't believe they used silicone while wallpaper never re adheres as good as it was stuck the 1st time, you use wallpaper paste to stick it back to the wall. I'm not sure how the silicone will affect things

 

Most of the time I am removing old wallpaper and trying to fix the walls for smooth or textured applications and then paint. However, we have "stretched" the life of some wallpapered rooms and hallways with the use of moldings. For crown we used Bed Molding which will cover the ceiling joint.
https://www.google.com/search?q=bed+...2&ved=0CB0QsAQ

For vertical seams we found some thin flat molding (1/8" thick by 1" wide) that we used to pin nail over the seams. Pre-paint this molding for a clean look. Color chosen was was almost a dead ringer for the wallpaper itself so as to blend better.

Another reason you do not rely on electrical workers to do anything other than pull wire. I'm surprised they did not use scotch tape and a hand stapler (actual fix used by a previous maintenance guy at the hotel I have done work for).

 

Unless I'm mistaken, I think they actually make make a specific glue for holding down borders and such? The silicone on there is going to make anything problematic since nothing will stick to it. I'd contact a local design store that specializes in wallpaper and ask their advice or for the name of a respected paperhanger in your area.

I think czizzi has the best idea though.

 

Thank you for the replies. Unfortunately moulding is not an option as Hilton brand standards will not allow it. I will reach out to a few design stores for their input.

 

Nothing like leaving out pertinent information from the original post...

The hotel I referenced is a small 56 room Mom and Pop built in the 60's. So anything I do is an improvement.

Have you tried using wallpaper paste to re-stick sections? It is possible that you will need to paint over the silicone on the wall with an oil based primer to seal it in. Paint doesn't like to stick to silicone (nor does wallpaper) so you may have to apply multiple coats. Won't work on the wallpaper though as it will make it too stiff. Also don't want to introduce glue as it will make matters difficult when it comes time to replace the wallpaper. Marksr may be able to better help with sealing/isolating the silicone so that you can get paste to stick.

 

Sorry about leaving that out in my original post. I used some Zinsser Sure Grip Seam & repair Adhesive yesterday and am hoping that holds for awhile but the guys who have been here for years and have tried to fix this multiple times don't believe it will hold more than a few weeks at most because of the silicone. I will try the paint idea after I speak to a few stores and maybe a wallpaper vendor or two. On my way out of work last night(after I made my original post) one of the guys said my predecessor brought in a couple of wallpaper guys for consultation and both apparently said replacing the wallpaper was the only viable solution. I've been told this wallpaper is no longer available which would mean we would have to replace all the wallpaper which I have been told is not an option at this time.

 

Well that's on the franchise owners. Wife work's Best Western and if the place doesn't meet standards they can lose their rating.

Nothing worse than bad reviews by corporate!

 

Use a pigmented shellac primer like Zinnser's BIN. It adheres better and dries fast enough where it should adhere ok to the silicone - any other primer will just crawl and not have decent adhesion.