Rauhfaser, or woodchip wallpaper, is paper with small wood fibres in it, which give the wall a grainy texture once painted. The name is German for “rough fibre”. It is made to be painted over, and for a long time it was a popular choice because the grain hides imperfections in the wall.
If you now want a wall that hides imperfections but looks smooth or has a calm texture, renovation fleece and glass fabric are the usual choices.
Prefer a smooth wall to a grainy one? Request your quote
Our own wallpaper hangers apply renovation fleece or glass fabric and paint it in the same job, at a fixed price per m².
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How is rauhfaser made, and how do you recognise it?
Rauhfaser is paper with small wood fibres worked into it. Those fibres determine the grain, which ranges from fine to coarse. There is also rauhfaser on a fleece backing, which behaves more like non-woven wallpaper when it is hung and removed.
Because it is meant to be painted, you almost never see rauhfaser in its original colour. On the wall you recognise it by irregular grains spread across the whole surface, and by vertical seams at regular intervals, which show up when you hold a lamp at an angle along the wall.
Under a coat of paint it can look like glass fabric or like spachtelputz (textured plaster). Glass fabric has a regular woven pattern, such as herringbone or diamond. Spachtelputz is hard plaster without seams. If you prise up a corner at a seam and see paper, it is rauhfaser.
Rauhfaser, renovation fleece or glass fabric: what is the difference?
All three are painted after hanging, and all three hide imperfections in the wall. The difference lies in the material, in what you see after painting, and in how much work it is to remove them later.
Prices exclude VAT. For renovation work on a home over 10 years old, 6% VAT usually applies; otherwise it is 21%. The VAT rate is stated in your quote.
The prices for hanging renovation fleece and glass fabric include sanding, hanging, filling and one coat of paint, for jobs above 150 m². For smaller jobs the price per m² is higher, following the sliding scale on our prices page.
In a new-build home there is one more thing to consider. A new home settles and shrinks in its first years, and plasterwork cracks along with it. Renovation fleece keeps those hairline cracks out of sight, which is why it is the most popular finish there.
It does not bridge every crack, though: with cracks under renovation fleece, the type of crack makes the difference. If you would rather have texture, glass fabric comes in herringbone, diamond and coarse glass fabric.
Isn’t rauhfaser just old-fashioned wallpaper that has to come off?
No. If the rauhfaser is firmly attached everywhere and you like the grain, you can simply paint it again. That is what it is made for.
There are limits, however. Every coat of paint fills the grain a little more and makes the wallpaper stiffer. If you see open seams, bubbles or edges that are lifting, the wallpaper needs replacing. If it starts at a single seam, first find out why those seams are coming loose.
What does not work is turning it into a smooth wall without removing it. Filler, a skim coat or a coat of plaster over rauhfaser does not hold any better than the paper beneath it, and that sits on old glue. If you want a smooth wall, the rauhfaser has to come off first. Removing rauhfaser from the wall is done step by step, either yourself or by us.
If you doubt whether that old layer can stay, it comes down to whether you can hang wallpaper over wallpaper.
What can we do with your rauhfaser wall?
There are three routes, and during the site visit we look at which one suits your wall.
- Leave it and paint it. If the rauhfaser is firmly attached. Painting walls in RAL 9010 or 9016 costs €12.99 per m² for one coat; a second coat costs €7.99 per m² extra.
- Remove it and hang renovation fleece. For a calm, even wall. Removing one layer of unpainted rauhfaser costs €6.99 per m², painted €9.75 per m². Renovation fleece follows, with hanging, filling and painting.
- Remove it and hang glass fabric. If you want to keep some texture, but in a regular pattern and with a sturdier wall.
Rauhfaser itself is not a separate line in our price list. If you still want it hung again, discuss it during the phone consultation. We work with renovation fleece and glass fabric from Intervos and paint with Sigma paint.
The work is done by one of our 40 in-house wallpaper hangers, part of a team of 97 tradespeople on permanent contracts. Removal averages 100 m² per day; hanging, filling and painting renovation fleece takes 3 days for a complete home.
If you know whether the rauhfaser has ever been painted over, and which of the three routes you have in mind, mention it in your request. You will then receive a free quote within 24 hours with the right removal price. During the site visit we check that the wallpaper is firmly attached everywhere, because the first route depends on it.
The wallpapering work carries a 1-year guarantee. If you choose the second route, you can have renovation fleece hung as soon as the rauhfaser is off. If you would rather have a different type, that falls under our wallpapering work too.
By the Bouwsector België team, 97 in-house tradespeople · reviewed by