Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Nerdowl]

Hello, I'm new to the forum and am wondering, has anyone ever attempted to paint over their ugly wallpaper?

Mine is sort of a pale, pinkish off-white with baby blue polkadots. It is worn and peeling in places, and a bit moldy at the front of the apartment around the door and window. I have been in discussion with the guy at my school for about 6 weeks about the possibility of getting it replaced. I haven't gotten a definitive answer yet, but after multiple apartment visits and (supposed) telephone conversations between the guy at the school and the homeowner, I think that my floor, which is oozing orange-brown stuff through the crack in the linoleum in one room, will eventually be fixed, but I don't think that they will agree to replace the old polka dotted paper.

So I am thinking of taking matters into my own hands with a paintbrush. I have been doing a bit of reading on the internet about the "right way" to paint over wallpaper, which involves different kinds of primer, and plastering over the seams, etc if you want it to look really good. It will be a bit of work, but I actually really enjoy doing DIY home improvement/design projects, so I suppose I could consider it to be a form of weekend recreation. My apartment is decent, and could be really nice with a fresh coat of paint!

So, my questions:

- Has anyone done this before and how did it go?
- Is it a bad idea to seal up and then paint over the section of wall where the mold might come back?
- Will the homeowner or school flip out if they find out what I've done? (I sort of think no as they don't to care or notice at all what goes on in my apartment unless I'm calling to complain about something.)
- Does anyone have a better suggestion?

Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

[Nemesis]

Interesting. Good that you've got the mojo to put towards a project.

Not that you asked for this particular type of advice, but here's an idea: take that mojo, turn it away from improving your temporary dwelling, and turn it towards improving yourself.

Having extra energy is bonus. It it worth it to you to expend it on a hagwon hovel?

[aaabank]

don't ask for permission to paint. you'll only run into hassles. after you move out, they would most likely slap on a new layer of ugly wallpaper to temporarily cover the mold anyhow.

i painted one wall in my apt last year and am glad i did. i didn't do any prep work other than to tape up the wood paneling (otherwise known as molding). no primer coat or anything else. it still looks good a year later.

[saw6436]

I have always been a proponent of improving your nest. But, since you do not actually "own" your apartment you should get permission to paint first.

I have worked off and on in the construction industry for most of my life. Some paints will preclude the use of wallpaper in the future if you apply them. If your landlord want to wallpaper over your paint job he/she could run into difficulties depending on the type of paint you use AND the wallpaper he/she uses. Since this is Korea and that type of info is generally lacking it can be a crapshoot.

[oneofthesarahs]

If you've got a mold problem, no amount of paint is going to take care of it.

And if you're so willing to put all the effort into priming and sealing and putting a lot of work into it, why not strip the wallpaper yourself? Then you can slap a single coat of paint up and not have to worry about the paper showing through. It's not a paint job that will last forever, but it will look good for the year you're living there. That could only be a problem if the wallpaper is covering up some major cracks or flaws or if there are fifty million layers of wallpaper up. Stripping wallpaper is a little tedious, but it's really not that difficult.

[Nerdowl]

[endofthewor1d]

*beep* it. do it, dude. i think it's pretty commonly done here. anyway, if the walls are molding and ugly, a paint job isn't exactly going to damage the place, is it?
i mean, i don't think i'd do anything artistic, like a mural or something. but if you just want to give the place a fresh coat of paint, i don't think there's any harm in it.

on the other hand, i don't think it's too terribly expensive here to have some guys come over and just flat out change your wallpaper.

you said you're a do-it-yourselfer, but if you want to play it safe, maybe let the pros give it a shot.

[Qinella]

[oneofthesarahs]

[bassexpander]

I had a mold problem behind my wallpaper in a basement apartment a few years back. I chose to let it slide, because it was behind the bed. Within a few weeks... BOOM! It had literally exploded all across the room, and was growing daily. I ended up ripping all of the wallpaper out from the middle on down, pulling up the vinyl floor, and scrubbing the wall and floor with a mixture of bleach and water. The cheap landlord just had them cut and replace the paper that had been ripped, so I had this bright white paper mixed with old yellowing paper, and lots of jaggy edges all along the wall.

It was a freakin' MESS, but it worked. I also had to buy a dehumidifier (200,000 won back then) to keep the dampness away.

Mold is nothing to ignore.

[Nerdowl]

[RACETRAITOR]

Wait, you're doing this to kill mold? Bad idea.

I can't imagine painting over wallpaper would ever look good.

[Nerdowl]

No not to kill the mold. Most of the apartment is mold free but there are a couple of patches of mold near the front of the apartment. Was just wondering if that could be a potential problem should I decide to paint (if they come back after I scrub them).

[Nerdowl]

Update: Looks like I won't have to paint the walls after all. The homeowner turned out to be a sweet little lady who came by for apartment visit #4 today. She agreed to pay for everything that needs fixing, which means that after they determine the cause of the leak in my floor and fix it, I will get new flooring and new wallpaper. And then she apologized for the inconvenience.

I am soooo happy right now. I'm still gonna slap a fresh coat of paint on my trim, but the walls will be done for me.

[gajackson1]

Congrats on sounding like you got it sorted out.

Extra bonus tip - since everyone else had run down all the things I was going to write/advise/say -

Get thee to a giftery right away, and secure something for both your boss, AND your landlady. I'd say about 25k won each. Attach nice notes, in both Korean and English. Tell them they are belated Ch'u-sok gifts, or early Thanksgiving ones. And also that it was really, really nice to meet your landlady at last.

Of course, there will be people who reply after me and say *bleepedy-bleep buh-LEEP* that! But please just trust me on that.

Regards,

G.