Remove adhesive hooks and wall fixings without damaging the paint

Remove hooks, pads, screws and nails from any wall without damaging paint or plaster, then fill and touch up neatly.

RH-01Protect your deposit and gather your toolsIf you're renting, take dated photos of the wall before you start, and check your tenancy agreement for any rules about fixings or wall damage. Gather a hairdryer, dental floss or fine fishing line, a small pair of pliers, a filling knife and some multi-purpose filler. Lay an old towel or dust sheet down to catch bits of plaster or dried adhesive as you work.

1 each · Dust sheet or old towel

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1 each · Cloth

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RH-02Work out what wall you're dealing withTap the wall near the fixing. A dull, solid sound usually means brick or block; a hollow sound means plasterboard, either on studs or dot-and-dab over masonry. A line of screw heads or a magnet sticking to the surface points to a stud wall, and the magnet will grip a metal stud's frame but not a timber one. Lath and plaster walls, common in houses built before about 1930, feel slightly springy and often show a fine web of hairline cracks.

1 each · Small magnet or stud detector

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RH-03Remove adhesive strips firstFind the free end of the pull tab. Pull it slowly, straight down and parallel to the wall, never outwards, so the strip stretches and releases cleanly instead of pulling the paint off with it. If the tab snaps off, warm the strip gently with a hairdryer for 10-15 seconds, then grip what's left with pliers and try again.

RH-04Remove hard adhesive padsIf a pad has gone hard, or the tab has snapped off, warm it gently with a hairdryer on a low setting for 20-30 seconds to soften the glue. Work a length of dental floss or fine fishing line behind the pad, sawing it gently side to side to cut through the adhesive. Peel the pad away slowly once it's loose, then wipe off any glue residue with a cloth dampened in warm soapy water.

1 each · Dental floss or fine fishing line

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RH-05Remove screws and wall plugsUnscrew the fixing first, never pull it out by the plug. Then remove the plug itself: part-drive the screw back in a few turns and grip its head with pliers to pull the plug out, or push the plug fully into the hole and fill over it later. On solid brick or block, the plug is gripped tightly, so pull firmly and steadily. On plasterboard over timber studs, a plug fixed into the stud is wedged tight, so lever it gently side to side as you pull to avoid tearing the paper face. On plasterboard over metal studs, the fixing is unlikely to be a wall plug at all, it's more likely a self-drilling screw or toggle, so simply unscrew or compress and withdraw it. On dot-and-dab plasterboard, a long plug may reach through to the masonry behind, so pull steadily and expect some crumbling of the plasterboard face around the hole, which is easy to fill. On lath and plaster, go slowly, as the old lime plaster is brittle and can crack in a wide patch if you force it.

1 each · Small pliers

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RH-06Lever out nails without crushing the plasterPull nails out sideways rather than straight out, straight pulling crushes the plaster around the hole. Slide a thin piece of card or a flat scraper against the wall under the nail head, then lever the nail with pliers or a hammer claw against the card. This spreads the load so you don't dig into the surface, which matters most on lath and plaster, where the plaster is thin and keyed into the laths behind it.

1 each · Scraper or offcut of card

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RH-07Fill every holeOnce all the fixings are out, fill the holes following HomeGraft's 'Fill cracks and holes before painting' guide. Push filler into each hole with a filling knife, slightly overfilling, then smooth it flush once it has firmed up. Leave it to dry fully before lightly sanding.

1 tub · Multi-purpose filler

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1 each · Filling knife

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1 sheet · Fine sandpaper

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RH-08Touch up the paint and tidy upOnce the filler is dry and sanded smooth, touch up the paint using HomeGraft's 'Touch up paint without it showing' guide so the repair blends in. Wipe the wall down with a dry cloth to clear dust, and dispose of old pads, strips and screws responsibly. If you're renting, take a final dated photo of the finished wall for your records.

1 each · Small pot of matching touch-up paint

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PART OF A BIGGER PROJECT

Move-out checklist for renters: get your deposit back

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