Learn How to Remove Common Surface Problems From Wood Furniture

Cleaning the finish on furniture can involve more than just wiping now and then with a damp cloth or furniture polish. Foreign matter can become stuck to the surface and require a more complex cleaning procedure. Here are several common examples and how to deal with each.

Stickers and Tape

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Many retail stores and moving companies put labeling stickers with prices and other information on furniture. If these stickers aren't removed within a few months they can become so stuck to the surface that you can't peel them off. Because the glues that are used on these stickers vary, it's not possible to identify one solvent that will dissolve every one. In many cases the solvent that works best, in fact, also dissolves the finish.

Usually, the safest way to remove these stickers is to soften the paper with water (as you do to remove paper labels from jars), then peel off the paper and either rub off the glue with your finger or soften it with a petroleum-distillate solvent and then rub it off.

Petroleum-distillate solvents include mineral spirits (paint thinner), which is the weakest, naphtha, xylene (xylol) and toluene (toluol), which is the strongest solvent. All are available at paint stores and home centers, as is turpentine, a pine-sap distillate, which has a solvent strength similar to naphtha.

None of these solvents causes damage to any finish except wax and water base unless they remain in contact for a considerable time. They all remove wax; and xylene and toluene will damage a water-based finish.

Masking and Scotch tape are more difficult to remove because you can't use water to separate the tape from the glue. You will have to work a solvent under the tape. Toluene and xylene are best (except on water-based finishes) because of their strength. Other solvents such as alcohol and lacquer thinner may damage the finish.

In extreme cases, you may have to scrape or abrade off the tape and then repair the damage to the finish. Sometimes there's a color difference in the wood or finish under the sticker or tape because this area was shielded from light.

Candle Wax

You can remove candle wax from a finish a little at a time by rubbing with a petroleum-distillate dampened cloth. But it is much faster to use ice to crystallize the wax and then pick it off the surface.

Hold an ice cube against the wax for five or 10 seconds to freeze it. Then pick the wax off the surface with your fingernail and remove any that remains with a petroleum-distillate solvent.

If you don't have any ice handy, you can cut or scrape off the majority of the wax with a chisel, knife or plastic credit card. Then remove the rest with a petroleum distillate.

Crayon Marks

Because crayons are wax, you should be able to remove crayon marks by wiping with any petroleum-distillate solvent, turpentine or even furniture polish. But if the finish is so thin that the crayon has gotten into the wood, you may have difficulty removing all the color. Try washing the surface several times with the petroleum distillate. It may help to scrub the affected area lightly with a toothbrush.

Paint Spatter

When you roll latex paint onto walls and ceilings, the roller throws off tiny droplets of paint that land on you and everything else in the room. If you don't cover your furniture well, you may find these droplets stuck to the finish.

For a few days you may be able to remove the droplets by rubbing with a cloth dampened with water, or soap and water. But once the droplets have hardened, you will need to rub them with a solvent.

The solvent to use is toluene or xylene, which is the active solvent in commercial products such as Goof Off and Oops!. Be very careful using one of these solvents on water-based finish or latex paint.

Unlike latex paint, oil paint cannot be removed easily from another paint or finish without also damaging it. Only a very strong solvent such as lacquer thinner or paint stripper will soften oil paint, and these solvents will dissolve or soften every other paint or finish on the piece, too. To remove oil paint with the least damage to the underlying paint or finish, you usually have to scrape or abrade the paint off the surface.

Felt-tip Pen Marks

The binder used in felt-tip pens and Magic Markers is similar to shellac in that it is usually soluble in alcohol, so the obvious cleaner is alcohol. Of course, you won't be able to avoid damaging a shellac surface, and you will need to be very careful on lacquer and water-based finish.

Mold and Mildew

Mold and mildew are bacteria that thrive in damp conditions common in cellars. It doesn't do much good to remove the mold or mildew from the surface if you don't kill the spores. To do this, mix equal parts of household bleach and water, and wipe the surface using a cotton cloth or sponge. The bleach won't damage any finish, but the water will if it gets under the finish and into the wood. So don't soak the cloth.

To aid in the cleaning you can add a pH-neutral soap such as dishwashing liquid. Then wipe the surface with a clean, damp cloth to remove any residue that might be left from the bleach or soap. Carefully dry off the surface with a dry cloth. To keep the mold and mildew from returning, place the furniture in drier conditions.

Wrinkled Finishes

A dirty, wrinkled and often sticky finish on chair arms and backs, edges of tables, and around knobs and pulls is usually the result of the finish having been broken down by repeated contact with mild acids or alkalis. The most common culprit is acidic body oil or sweat from peoples' hands, arms and backs. Repeated washings with an alkali soap can also cause this problem.

You can try washing the finish with a mild soap such as dishwashing liquid. If this doesn't correct the problem, you can try rubbing with steel wool to abrade off the surface of the finish and expose good finish underneath. Usually the finish is destroyed all the way through, however, so it has to be removed and replaced to fix the problem.

The Ultimate Fix

With the possible exception of the wrinkled finish, all of these problems can be corrected by abrading -- in effect, rubbing out the finish, or at least a part of it. But this may cause sheen differences, so try the methods I suggest above first.

Learn How to Remove Common Surface Problems From Wood Furniture

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How to Remove or Repair Your Lath and Plaster Ceilings and Walls

Lath and plaster work is a means of finishing the internal surfaces of a house and was very common up to the introduction of plasterboards (sheetrock in the USA) in the 1950's.

sheetrock

This method of internal finishing consists of thin strips of timber, called laths that were either sawn or riven (split along the grain),which are nailed cross-ways onto the timber framework of the house approximately 1/4" or 6mm apart. The lath was then covered with a plaster, usually a two coat haired lime mortar mix and levelled off. A further thin coat of fine plaster was applied shortly afterwards and trowelled smooth to provide a good and durable finish.

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Many lath and plasterwork walls and ceilings lasted well over one hundred years before requiring repairs apart for normal decorating, some lath and plaster ceilings have been in place for several hundred years, especially in the UK.

A crucial element of this construction is the 6mm gap between the laths, as this provides a 'key' for the plaster as it pushes through and bulges out the back of the lath slightly. This crucial keying of the plasterwork is also the source of most plasterwork failures; as the keys gradually break away due to normal movement of houses over extended periods of time.

Once a significant amount of the plasterwork keys have broken away, the plasterwork starts to crack and can separate from the laths, dropping down or sagging.

There are many ways of repairing sagging lath and plasterwork, but due to financial reasons, it is often removed and replaced with modern materials such as sheetrock (plasterboard). This method does at least allow for much better insulation material to be used, thus saving energy and heating costs in the future life of the house.

My Top Ten Ways to Repair Lath and Plaster

This is a short summary of all the ways that you can repair the lath and plaster in your home, depending upon the look you want to achieve, the time you want to spend on it and of course, your budget.

Re-decorate as it is. Vacuum to remove dust, (wash down, if required) and then re-decorate with suitable water based paint. Not a good repair if the plasterwork has gone beyond the cracking stage, i.e. sagging badly. Depends on original plasterwork condition. Cost: Very economical and quick. Pros: Period charm in abundance. Ideal for very old cottages that don't have a straight edge or surface in them. Shows imperfections. Cons: Potentially dangerous and possibly very short term solution for damaged plasterwork. Not a 'flat' finish. Shows imperfections! Fill the cracks and blemishes. Scrape out all cracks and vacuum out loose material. Fill cracks and small blemishes with decorators' filler using a suitably sized scraper or drywall spreader. Gently sand the filler flat and vacuum all dust away. Wash down if required and re-decorate. Cost: Economical repair. Pros: Retains period feel. Looks good initially. Easy and quick repair. Cons: Might only last a few years depending on plasterworks original condition. Use thick lining paper. Scrape out and fill cracks as No.2. Glue a thick grade of decorating lining paper to the plasterwork. Re-decorate. Cost: Reasonably economical repair. Pros: Retains period feel. Could gain many more years out of reasonable plasterwork. Cons: Relatively difficult on uneven surfaces. Won't stop further cracking over time if surface is still moving. Glue sagging plasterwork back into place. Plasterwork can be 'glued' back into place by drilling holes in the plasterwork, vacuuming out the dust and injecting a suitable adhesive. The plasterwork is then gently pushed back into place and supported until the adhesive dries. Cost: Medium to high cost, depending on time taken and plasterwork condition. Pros: Medium term effectiveness. Retains period feel. Cons: Arguably a specialised job and may be too difficult for an effective DIY repair. Expose the beams. Completely remove the lath and plaster, de-nail and clear away. Wire brush all plaster marks off the joists. Re-route any wiring, if required and repair any damage, holes in the timberwork etc. Clean up and vacuum all surfaces. Leave as is or decorate with varnish, wood stain, or paint. Usually just used on ceilings. Cost: Economical to medium depending on timberwork condition. Pros: All the old plasterwork is removed and finished with newly decorated surfaces. Cons: Different look and feel, arguably only suited to certain properties and owners. Difficult electrical wiring and limited choice of light fittings. Over board with plasterboard or sheetrock. Find the frame or ceiling joists, mark their position on the wall and then over-board with plasterboard / sheetrock using long (60mm to 75mm) drywall screws into the original timberwork. Board joints are then taped and filled if tapered edge drywall is used or skimmed with finish plaster if square edges boards are used. One of the most common methods to 'repair' a lath and plasterwork. Cost: Medium to high. Pros: Effectively a brand new surface is created out of plasterboard/sheetrock. Cons: Potential problems with adding additional weight or levels if there is a cornice. Loses that period feel. This one is not strictly a lath and plaster repair as it removes it! But I include it, as this is a VERY common solution to lath and plaster ceilings that have badly failed and sagged. Remove the plasterwork and lath entirely.Replace with plasterboards / sheetrock. Mark positions of all joists and timbers then fix 12.5mm plasterboards to the underside of the original joists using 38mm drywall screws. Board joints are then taped and filled if tapered edge boards are used, or skimmed with finish plaster if square edged boards are used. Cost: High. Removal of old material, new boards and finishing makes this one of the most expensive options. Pros: Plasterboards/sheetrock are stable and very flat. A permanent repair. Cons: Loses the period feel. Re plastering keeping the original laths. Removing the existing plasterwork entirely and if the lathwork is sound, re-apply the three coat plasterwork, two base coats and a thin finish coat. Cost: High, due to special skills and materials needed. Pros: Good as new finish, that also matches the surrounding period work. Long term repair. Cons: Arguably not a DIY proposition due to work involving lime plasterwork. Heritage quality. Fully support the plasterwork from underneath on blanket covered timber on props or staging. Working from above, gently remove all loose debris, old keys or nibs and dust. Employ one of the various systems available, for example fixing a wire mesh to the inside edges of the joists just above the plasterwork and then applying adhesive to the plasterwork embedding it into the mesh. Cost: Expensive due to extreme care needed and labour involved. Pros: Retains all original period features. Usually only used on plasterwork of significant historical interest. Cons: Arguably not a DIY proposition due to care needed to preserve original features without damage. Buy a newer house. Sorry, I couldn't make ten and nine ways to repair your lath and plaster just didn't sound right. Any ideas for number ten are most welcome... Cost: Horribly expensive, removal companies, estate agents, lawyers etc. Pros: No lath and plaster to repair. Cons: Everything is very, very flat, smooth and arguably...boring.

The above list is roughly in order of cost to carry out, although some aspects are moving into specialist craftsmanship where costs could escalate. It could be argued that the two most common solutions are, either to over-board the ceiling or remove it entirely and replace it with sheetrock or plasterboard.

It should be noted that complete removal of a lath and plaster ceiling involves a significant amount of mess, notably large amounts of dust and debris that requires extensive time and effort to contain and clear away.

Suitable safety equipment should be used when working on old lath and plaster.

How to Remove or Repair Your Lath and Plaster Ceilings and Walls

Free Step by Step Guide

On "How to remove or repair your lath and plaster ceiling", or walls for that matter, including photographs.
Written by a Pro. Builder with over 25 years of experience working on period properties.

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How to Remove Drywall Mold

Would you know what to look for if you had mold in your home? Sure it's easy to spot that green fungi growing on your sandwich bread, but what about the black stuff that can appear on places like drywall. If you're seeing black spots that look similar to the green stuff, you've got a serious problem!

Not only is that black fungus an ugly sight, it can also be very dangerous! While all molds should be eliminated immediately, most aren't as harmful as the black mold. If you even suspect it's lurking on your walls or anywhere else in your home, you need to remove it immediately. Drywall mold is a serious matter.

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Before doing so however, you need to protect yourself. Why? Because breathing in the stuff can be poisonous to your body. It can cause respiratory problems, bleeding of the lungs, headaches, dizziness, nausea and other serious health problems. So, before you get started, be sure to invest in a pair of rubber gloves, eye goggles and a respirator mask.

Your next step is to seal off the contaminated room to prevent fungus spores from becoming airborne while you work. You can use a plastic sheet and duct tape to seal off the area or room. Next you will need to determine how much damage there is. It's really not uncommon for fungus to spread to other nearby areas. Check the surrounding walls, floor and the ceiling.

Now here's the bad news. There's no way to save this type of a moldy wall. This is because the material cannot be penetrated below the area surface, which means any fungus below the surface cannot be removed. So instead of trying to disinfect the problem area, you must cut the area out using a utility knife. Once you have removed the affected area, you'll need to dispose of it in a sealed trash bag and remove it from your home.

Next, you'll need to clean the surrounding areas using a product that is specifically designed to remove molds. Use a light touch to prevent surface damage and avoid using bleach. While some may recommend using a bleach solution it's not advisable because it cannot penetrate below the area's surface.

Your next step will be to dry the areas thoroughly. If you don't, you will risk allowing molds to re-grow on the wet surfaces. Once you have completely dried the area and have eliminated all traces of the dangerous fungus, you can patch the surface where you removed the affected area.

On a final note, if you find that a rather large area of drywall is affected by mold, your best solution would be to hire a professional and have the entire wall replaced. While this may seem like a costly solution, please try to remember that your health is more important than your bank account. Stay safe, always!

How to Remove Drywall Mold

The Black Mold Removal. Guide is your one-stop resource for getting rid of black mold in your home. From home remedies for black mold and do it yourself mold removal, The Black Mold Removal Guide has the information you're looking for.

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How to Remove Wallpaper

REMOVING WALLPAPER

sheetrock saw

Removing wallpaper can be so easy it takes only fifteen minutes to grab loose corners and pull. It can also be almost impossible. It depends entirely on how the surface beneath the paper was prepared prior to installation, how long the paper has been on the wall and what type of paper it is. Therefore, before attempting to remove it yourself it is helpful to perform a few tests and consider your options.

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EXPERIMENT

Before you do anything you want to determine, as best you, can how easy the paper will come off. If you applied the paper initially, did you "size" the walls? "Sizing is a primer product made to prepare walls for wallpaper and can be found wherever wall paper products are sold. If so, your paper should come off without much difficulty. If paper is applied directly to the sheetrock it's almost impossible to remove it without damaging the sheetrock. Builders often do this when they build a house to save time and money, so if the wallpaper has been there since the house was built this may be true in your case.

Look for a loose corner on your paper and pull it slowly. Is the paper thin or thick? Does the piece break off quickly or does it pull more paper with it? If the paper pulls fairly easy and the paper is thick your job will probably be easier than if it is very thin and stuck firmly to the wall.

CONSIDER YOUR OPTIONS

If the paper looks like it doesn't want to budge and the seams, corners and edges are all firmly in place you might want to consider leaving the paper in place and installing new paper over top. If you are planning to paint, the seams can be light spackled and a primer coat applied prior to painting. This can be done by a homeowner but your results may be better if you hire a professional.

TOOLS NEEDED FOR REMOVING PAPER

If you decide to remove the paper, go to Hope Depot, Lowe's or True Value and buy a garden type pump sprayer, a bottle of DIF and a 5 inch spackling tool. You will find all of these things in the wallpaper section of the store.

Mix the DIF with warm water according to the instructions in the pump sprayer. Spray a section of the wall starting at the top and including a seam. The DIF will work into these areas loosening the paper. Let the DIF sit for ten minutes. Working with your spackling tool, if necessary, begin at a corner or a seam and loosening the paper begin to remove the paper by scraping and/or pulling being very careful not to work so fast or dig so deep as to damage the sheetrock. Sometimes if the paper is tightly attached and the walls have not been sealed the paper surface of the sheetrock will pull off with the paper. This requires spackling repair prior to re-papering or painting, and while not impossible to fix, adds work to your project.

Let the DIF do the work for you. Spray ahead of where you are working so it can be loosening a section while you are working on the one that has already been sprayed. If it is not coming of fairly easily, spray a second time and let it sit another 10 to 15 minutes.
As you work, you will begin to get a feel for what works best in your particular situation. You may find once the paper is soaked thoroughly it comes of in sheets.

Once the paper has been removed, the walls will need to be prepped prior to installing new walls or painting. There is a wide variety of circumstances one can encounter at this stage. Wallpaper manufacturers use different types and quantities of glue on their papers. Some is thin and watery and not much of a problem and some are very thick, leaving behind a heavy layer of residue. If you are wallpapering, it is less of a problem than if you are painting. Still, if a substantial amount of glue remains on the wall you will want to scrape it off and wash the walls down with water or a mix of water and DIF just enough to remove the bulk of it.

When painting after removing wallpaper, wall preparation is more important. The walls will need to be thoroughly and completely cleaned of any glue residue. If glue remains on the wall when the paint is applied it will dry and crack and leaving spidery cracks in the newly painted area. After washing down the walls, they will need to be completely sanded and any damaged areas repaired. Finally, a primer coat, such as KILZ, should be applied prior to painting for best results.

Remember, prior to wallpapering always paint your walls with "sizing" first. This will ensure an easier installation and easier removal in the future.

How to Remove Wallpaper

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Remove Interior Walls Safely and Efficiently Without Wrecking the House

A lot of people's first thought in undertaking a remodeling project is to start with tearing down walls. That's an ambitious (if not impulsive) beginning to a project, with focused action for one's built-up energy, but it's a decision that needs to be well considered and fully realized before any actual work can safely begin. Walls are built for several reasons, whether as bearing walls designed to hold up a house and transfer loads from above, or as partitions designed to provide privacy or define space. Bearing walls and partitions both provide safe places to run electrical wiring and mount switches, fixtures, and outlets. Walls also provide safe places to run plumbing water supply lines, drains and vents, and heat ducts and registers. An important consideration is what floor covering will fill the void left by removal of the wall's base moldings and base plate.

sheetrock lifter

People's lifestyles today differ greatly from what was common 30-75 years ago. Larger open areas for entertaining and light are much preferred over smaller, private spaces, so the underlying reasons for removing walls in older homes are good. But, you've got to first assess what functions a wall serves before deciding whether it's possible to safely remove it entirely or if some kind of structural replacement will be necessary. So, before thoughtless attack with sledge hammers, jack hammers, chain saws, pry bars and backhoes, sniff out some telltale signs of perhaps why the wall was built in the first place. Then the fun of dismantling, not demolition, can begin. If you want to make a big mess and cause a lot of dust and needless cleanup work, go ahead, use a sledge hammer and chain saw, but to be most safe and efficient, follow tips in this guide.

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It's important to know if a wall is bearing weight to know what the resulting removal will finish like. Bearing walls carry roof, ceiling, and floor loads. They often run perpendicular to floor and ceiling joists, but there are exceptions. Spotting a bearing wall isn't always easy, it may be prudent or necessary to hire an engineer, who also would be able to specify beam sizing and design to replace the bearing wall. That beam may be installed hidden within the finished ceiling in line with the floor joists above, or installed hidden in an attic from above with joists hung below with mechanical fasteners. Installed below the joists, the beam can be trimmed as an architectural detail. Cost and practicality will influence design decision.

Before removing the framing of a bearing wall, build a temporary wall to pick up the load. Consider the bearing wall may need support on both sides when joists lap. Consider the weight bearing capacity of the underlying floor joists. Further bracing below may be necessary. Use doubled 2x8 top and base plates to better distribute the load path without knowing ceiling or floor joist layout. The plates could be cushioned with towels to minimize potential damage to the ceiling and floor finishes. Temporarily fasten top plates to ceiling with a couple of screws. Cut the temporary brace studs slightly longer to take some weight off the bearing wall and compress towel cushion. Install them on 16 inch centers with grabber screws to make adjustments and removal easier. Use of a hydraulic jack may help, but be careful not to raise it excessively.

Walls are built in an organized way, and that's the best way to take them down. Wall studs and plates go up first, and they should be taken down last. Trim moldings, casing and base, go in last, and should come off first. Sheetrock or even lath and plaster can be removed in large sections to make cleanup easier. Decide when to remove floor coverings. Perhaps saving vinyl flooring until after lath and plaster removal will make sweeping up easier and keep debris from falling through the subfloor or into the basement. Existing carpet may cushion and protect underlying hardwood flooring.

Chances are good that electrical wiring is in the wall, even given absence of the obvious indicators of switches and outlets. Check top plates from the attic and bottom plates from below for wiring penetrations and turn off the affected power circuits. It may be prudent to hire an experienced licensed and insured electrician to remove or reroute wiring safely.

Plumbing lines may be in the wall. The location of an adjoining, above or below kitchen and bathroom fixtures may indicate approximate plumbing water supply lines or drain and vent lines locations. Turn off the closest water supply valves. It may be prudent to hire an experienced licensed and insured plumber to remove or reroute plumbing lines safely. Consider heat ducting runs and register locations for future use.

Set up for the wall removal with appropriate drop cloths. Tape plastic sheets to door openings to reduce chance of dust migration. Put an electric fan in a window to provide a positive airflow out of the room. Wear a dust mask and use eye protection.

Dismantle the wall carefully for safe and efficient debris removal. Start with casing and base. Run a utility knife through the molding edges to break the caulk seams. Carefully remove the molding with a pry bar in one piece, especially if the molding is obsolete and must be reused.

A reciprocating saw is the remodeler's best removal tool. Use of one can become a skill, even a sculptural ar tform. Sheetrock, gyplath, and lath and plaster can be most easily removed by starting with saw cuts in ceiling and wall corners. Gyplath and lath and plaster usually have expanded metal lath reinforcement in these junctions that can best be cut with a toothless carborundum blade. Large sections of sheetrock can be pried off, especially if screws are removed. Break taped joints with a utility knife. Cut gyplath into sections for removal, as expanded metal lath may again be used as reinforcement at gypboard joints. Lath and plaster is hard to remove in large pieces, you'll just have to be patient. Scraping plaster off the lath may be an efficient technique to break off the plaster keys. Lath may be carefully pried off studs to reduce individual nail removal.

Before cutting wall studs framing nails with the recipro saw, notch cutouts around wiring and plumbing. A chisel may be helpful to split plates. Remember, only one end of a stud needs to be cut free from nails!
With some planning and care, wall removal can be done safely and efficiently. If this process seems daunting, if you feel you need only do what you do best to make an income, hire an experienced licensed and insured General Contractor. Soon, you'll have a more modern, open living space to enjoy. See my website, http://davidtaylorremodeling.com. for more remodeling tips.

Remove Interior Walls Safely and Efficiently Without Wrecking the House

Offering all residential remodeling services from design to finish carpentry, David Taylor Remodeling has over 30 years experience in the Salt Lake City area. We offer customization at the highest level. Specialist in kitchens, bathrooms; custom door, window, skylight installation. Call 801-485-4358. http://www.davidtaylorremodeling.com/

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