Sans wallpaper

There's a knack to stripping wallpaper.  I don't know what it is, but I'm sure there is one.

Most of the wallpaper comes off pretty easily (if by easy you mean about four hours per room).  The ceilings, in particular, just peel off, which is a lot of fun, but makes me wonder about the condition of the ceilings.  On the walls, some parts peel off in large swaths, while elsewhere it has to be scraped off in small pieces.  There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason.

The worse part is the embossed floral pattern, which wouldn't be so bad except that after I strip the wallpaper, the backing paper is left on the wall -- in the same pattern.  And when I steam that off, the glue is still in that floral pattern.  It feels like, no matter what I do, I can't get rid of it, and I'm starting to see it everywhere, even in in my sleep.  (I even saw it at the local home improvement store yesterday--seriously, they're still selling the horrible stuff!)

The good news is that, after three weeks, we're almost finished.  The bad news is that the plaster underneath is in pretty poor shape. (We expected this--it is the reason people apply thick vinyl wallpaper in the first place.)  If it were a typical California house--timber and gypsum board--it would be easy enough to replace.  Unfortunately, it is a typical English house--plaster over brick--and would be a nightmare to remove the old plaster.  I've talked to two builders about this, and one suggested using a glue-and-sand product that will consolidate the old plaster, and then skimming over that.  The other suggested putting a mesh on it and skimming over it, which will give it some flexibility so the old cracks won't come through...as much.  Both have told me to expect some cracks, however.  Fortunately, I know where I can get some wallpaper...

I'm meeting with a third person tomorrow--who only does plaster--and will see what he says.  In any case, I'm looking forward to living sans wallpaper.