I recently found out that our contractor's painter is too busy to install wallpaper in our bar. When I contacted another contractor for help, he surprisingly said we'd need to completely remove and replace our new countertop to do it. That seems excessive to me, so I'd like to know if this is a common requirement and how difficult it really is to install wallpaper around a countertop.
3 Answers
I think removing the countertop sounds extreme! If your edges are rounded, that's where you might encounter some issues with the wallpaper, but skilled installers know how to handle that without tearing everything out. You definitely want to avoid any peeling at the seams, so properly removing caulk and resealing should do the trick.
It might be a good idea to get a third opinion on this. If you can, share some pictures of the area so others can see the setup. From what I've seen, it seems like they’d only need to remove the caulking around the countertop and backsplash to do the job. Some installers might just want to avoid complications, which is understandable, but taking out the whole countertop just seems unnecessary.
I doubt you'd really need to remove the countertop for wallpaper installation. It sounds like those contractors are just trying to make it easier for themselves. If they're professionals, they should have ways to work around obstacles like yours. Most likely, they just want to avoid dealing with the edge where the wallpaper meets the caulk. If there’s any old caulk, just remove that and recaulk after the wallpaper is up.