DIY Wainscoting Removal for Alhambra-Valley Residents and Beyond

Wainscoting removal isn’t necessarily difficult. Meaning, it does not require special skills or tools. But, it’s not all that easy because it does require a bit of patience. The reason is when you remove wainscoting, you need to avoid damaging the wall behind it. Otherwise, you create more work and incur an added expense.

About Wainscoting Disposal

The biggest challenge won’t be removing the Wainscoting. Nope. That’s actually the easy part of the process. What will pose the biggest problem is what to do with the debris material. When you remove things like Wainscoting and/or trim, or any other type of paneling, you create a whole lot of debris. So, you’ll have to do something with it.

Many people choose to err on the side of security when opting for glue instead of nails to hang wood paneling. If they ever have to remove the paneling, however, they may end up regretting their conscientiousness. Not only is the paneling more difficult to remove, glue residue remains on the wall, and it won’t come off without at least some damage to the wall material. --San Francisco Gate

In most cases, you won’t be able to simply throw it out with the rest of the household trash. Instead, you’ll either need to load it up and haul it to the proper disposal facility or have a local junk hauler come in a take care of it. (The latter option not only takes it off your hands but also allows you to offload a bunch of unwanted stuff at the same time.)

DIY Wainscoting Removal for Alhambra-Valley Residents and Beyond

The good news is, you don’t have to be a skilled handyman or a professional contractor to take down wainscoting. Although, you should be skilled with some common household hand tools. It is also a good idea to have at least one set of help hands on-hand to make the project more manageable.

• Break the seal. Wainscoting is usually installed sealed against the walls. This is typically done with caulk so moisture cannot get between the paneling and the walls to form mold. Use a utility knife to cut into the seal gently across the top of the wainscoting, going around the entire room.
• Find the studs. Next, you’ll locate the wall studs with a stud finder, if the nail heads aren’t visible. Use a pencil to mark the locations of the studs. Then, you can find all the nails that run vertically into the studs to pull them out.
• Remove the baseboards. Remove the baseboards (if equipped) from the bottom of the paneling. Use a pry bar and exercise caution so you don’t accidentally gouge the floor.
• Take the panels off the wall. With the top railing off and the baseboards off the wall, you can then simply pull the panels away from the wall to finish.

If you need any remodeling debris removal, phone 800-737-5923 or visit Pro Junk Dispatch.