The Manufactured Housing Forums

Hi,
I am renting a 99 Oakwood mobile home that has white wallpaper vinyl like finish, and need to repair a hole in the wall. I took a sample of the wallpaper to a paint and wallpaper store, and they said they cannot match it, and the sales center locally said that the wallpaper is probably discontinued. We tried to repair with sheet rock and it looks awful due to the lack of texture where the repair was made. What is the best way to try and repair this hole?

I have a number of rental homes and run into this exact problem several times.

The best way is to find a section of wall that is not exposed that has matching wall paper. I often find this behind the fridge or stove or in a cabinet or closet. Repair the hole in the wall using standard dry wall repair techniques. Then peal off the wall paper in one of the hidden areas and paste it back over the repaired hole. Sometimes you may need a bit of steam to loosen the glued on paper but often you can make a horizontal cut in the hidden area of the wall and peal the old paper down. Over estimate the paper area by about ten percent so you can match up any pattern lines and cut clean lines around the edges. Paint over the hidden area where you removed the paper to protect the dry wall from moisture.

A second method is to find the shortest wall in the home and make it a "feature wall". Remove the matching sheet rock from the short wall and replace it with a good looking wood paneling or new sheetrock that you finish with a different wall paper or paint. This give you a few full sheets of mathing wall paperd panels for what you need now and future repairs... AND your manufactured home a more customized look that will enhance the appearance of any room. In high end pre-owned homes that we are reselling I have even mirrored part or all of that short wall. This will not only give the home a classy look but also make the room fell much bigger.

A third method that is very simple, but can only be done a limited number of times in the same home is to simply glue a mirror over the damaged area. It can be as big or small a mirror as you like. Then trim around the mirror with stained door casing or other attractive trim to give the mirror a finished look. I have used mirrors as small as 2 foot by 3 foot or as large as two to three feet wide stretched from floor to ceiling. Again this adds a very nice touch and can make the room feel larger.

Lastly we have had homes where there have been many holes, scratches and scrapes in the walls thru-out the home and then we just repair the drywall and paint or tape, texture and paint the entire room or even the entire home...depending on the intended use of home. In the rentals I generally try to be a minimalist. In homes for sale I go for as much "new look" as I can afford.