| Three Golden Rules for
Wallpapering Success
1) Remove all old wallcoverings.
*Remove old adhesive while you're at it.
2) Prime your walls with a wallcovering
primer/sealer.
*Some wallcoverings like Foils, Mylars or British Pulp papers
require a liner paper to be installed horizontally underneath
the finish paper. Read the instruction sheet for your wallpaper
and be aware of this possible additional step.
3) Hang your new wallcovering.
These are the basic steps. Additional steps are required in some
scenarios. And there are exceptions to the rules. There are only
about a million possible variables. Don't try to take any shortcuts
& you'll be miles ahead of others & give yourself the
best installation possible.
Bathrooms
Ensure your exhaust fan is working and forcing
the warm moist air outside your home. If showers create a steam
cloud in your bathroom, keep the door wide open. For humid bathrooms,
use a mildew proof wallpaper primer and adhesive. Zinsser®
has developed a mildew proof wallpaper primer & adhesive.
Most "modern wallpapers"
(paper or "non-woven" backed & vinyl coated) are
a good choice for most bathrooms. Grasscloth is not. This is because
if grasscloth gets wet after installation, it will create a water
stain. These are general guidelines. Remember, the wallcovering
industry is constantly evolving (because of the EPA and their
own desire to create new/better products). Someday the manufacturer
may develop a grasscloth, textile or fabric wallcovering they
can guarantee for installation in a bathroom.
After wallpapering, apply a small bead of clear waterproof caulk
above the shower stall or shower tile where it meets the wallpaper
and down the side of the shower stall/tile where it meets the
wallpaper to about eye level. This preventative maintenance will
stop your wallpaper from curling up in these areas.
Borders
Borders with parallel tops and bottoms are usually
not too difficult to install. Scalloped borders with intricate
bottom edges can take up to three or four times longer to install
(borders with both scalloped tops, bottoms & insides can be
about one degree below impossible - I know, I've installed them).
After they get wet, the bottom edge curls up almost immediately.
For extremely difficult or otherwise uncooperative scalloped borders,
it may be necessary to cut 3' sections off the spool and work
with them individually.
*If you're hanging over a "paper" with
no vinyl coating or over a painted wall, use a regular wallpaper
adhesive/activator.
** If you're hanging over a vinyl coated paper, use a border adhesive.
As a general rule, this is the only instance where you
should use a border adhesive.
Beware of water-sensitive
paint! If you're installing a border only, you will
get a little adhesive and rinse water on the sidewall paint. After
installing the border and wiping with a damp sponge, gravity will
pull some rinse water down the painted wall. Normally, this is
not a problem as the water will dry and have no effect on the
appearance of your painted walls. However, if your paint is water-sensitive,
this will ruin the appearance of your painted walls. You have
two options: 1) Use a damp sponge to wipe off the affected painted
sidewall as you install each border. This may change the sheen/appearance
of your painted walls. Or 2) Repaint your walls. If you're going
to this much trouble, use a water stable paint.
(Inlaying) Borders
This really should be left to the professional
wallcovering installer. But if you want to try it yourself, be
patient & purchase some extra material to "practice"
on. And only attempt to inlay borders with a parallel top &
bottom.
Install your border first whether at the ceiling height or chair
rail height. (Obviously after removing any old wallpaper/glue,
making necessary wall repairs & priming with a quality wallpaper
primer/sealer)
Even if you carefully measure & engineer the room, mistakes
& accumulated errors happen. Installing your sidewall paper
first won't allow you to alter the pattern placement later when
you install the border. Leave your options open and get the best
look possible by tweaking your pattern placement above & below
your installed border.
If you want to use
a border as a "chair rail", mark your wall with a pencil
where the top & bottom of your border will be located. Physically
check your wallpaper's pattern placement with a dry bolt to make
sure you'll be able to balance your pattern above & below
the border. Traditionally you'll want the top of your chair back
to be in the middle of the chair rail (border) width. In bathrooms
there are usually no chairs. So borders as "chair rails"
are normally placed above tile back splashes or level with the
top of back splashes. Try both heights to see what will work best
with your wallpaper pattern. Don't forget to take into account
the location of electrical outlets & light switches. Borders
will look better if they're not chopped up by wall plates, but
sometimes this is unavoidable.
Inlaying the Border: Install your border first.
Then install your sidewall wallpaper so it overlaps the border
approximately 1". Use the edge of a 5" taping knife
to gently crease the wallpaper where it meets the edge of the
border. This is the line you will be cutting to. Use your taping
knife as a guide & trim slowly & carefully with a new
blade in your Olfa knife. You will be able to feel if your taping
knife is positioned correctly. This may take a few tries to develop
your technique & get a feel for what you're doing. There is
no substitute for experience and no amount of reading instructions
will make you an expert at this. You must practice until you can
do it. Remove the wallpaper trimming & excess adhesive. What
you end up with is a butted seam where the wallpaper meets the
border. Roll & clean this seam as normal. Repeat these steps
throughout the room for each sheet of wallpaper.
Bubbles: (Don't Freak
Out!)
Every wallpaper is different. After installation,
some vinyl coated papers will still have small bubbles even after
smoothing out the wallpaper several times with a paperhanger's
smoothing brush or plastic smoothing tool. Do not fret. Most wallpapers
take 24-48 hrs to completely dry. During the drying process those
small bubbles will dry down tight to the wall.
*Most instruction sheets will tell you not to over work the wallpaper
(may cause damage) & small bubbles will disappear as the wallpaper
dries.
Grasscloth
Grasscloth is a very unique wallcovering. It has
some acoustical properties and will absorb some sound. It is a
byproduct of the rice industry. During the manufacturing process
these natural blades of grass will absorb inks unevenly. This
causes "shading" and what the manufacturers describe
as part of the "inherent beauty of the product and not to
be considered a defect". This is why I guarantee you will
see the seams in grasscloth from across the street.
Since you're going to see the seams and get a "paneled effect"
it is highly recommended to engineer your room to give you the
best look possible. This means trying to make the seams on each
wall look even as possible. For example if a wall is 13' wide,
you would not want to hang full width sheets across the wall and
end up with a skinny sheet next to the corner. Instead trim each
sheet 31.2" wide to get a balanced look.
*Grasscloth can look great over a textured wall so long as the
texture is not too heavy. (Walls are supposed to be smooth before
wallpapering, but you can save a lot of money in prep work if
installing grasscloth over texture.)
**For walls that are heavily textured there will not be 100% contact
with the wall. The stiff horizontal blades of grass are preventing
the back of the grasscloth from making contact with the valleys
of your textured wall. In this scenario you may hear a crackling
sound if you rub your hand across the installed grasscloth. This
is not an indication of a "loose or improper" installation.
This is physics.
Hoofa Doofa
Hot Mud
Hot mud is plaster based. Allow any repairs made
with hot mud to dry completely before sanding and priming. 45
minute mud is not so "Hot" as 20 minute mud. A hot spot
can "Burn Through" the acrylic in a wallpaper primer
and ruin your new wallpaper. Allow hot mud to dry completely before
sanding & priming.
"Saponification" is the decomposition
of the medium of a paint or varnish film by alkali and moisture
in a substrate e.g., new concrete or fresh plaster. Rare, but
it does happen.
Inside Corners
When wallpapering, never
wrap an inside corner. Why? #1: Because you must ensure the first
sheet of wallpaper on each subsequent wall coming out of an inside
corner is installed perfectly plumb & #2: Wrapping the inside
corner will result in a rounded looking inside corner after the
wallpaper dries. When you get close to your inside corner and
the next sheet of wallpaper will extend beyond the inside corner
and onto the next wall...
Carefully measure from the edge of the last sheet installed to
the inside corner from ceiling to baseboard. Add 1/8th" to
the largest measurement. This is how much you will "Split"
the next sheet. Do this on your pasting table using a paperhanger's
straight edge, tape measure and new razor blade. Install the first
section of the sheet you split as normal. The extra 1/8th"
will just barely wrap the inside corner. This ensures you won't
see any white wall in the corner. Now you can install the balance
of the split sheet on the next wall working away from the inside
corner. Gently position the balance of the split sheet on the
new wall matching the pattern and making sure the edge goes all
the way into the inside corner overlapping the 1/8th" of
material from the previous sheet from ceiling to baseboard.
Using a laser level, shine a plumb line on part of the pattern
near the edge farthest away from the inside corner which repeats
vertically. Do this at eye level. Unless the corner is perfect,
you will notice the part of the pattern you selected doesn't line
up with the laser from ceiling to baseboard. Gently reposition
the balance of the split sheet towards the inside corner until
the pattern lines up with the laser from ceiling to baseboard.
Now use your smoothing brush as normal. Depending on how crooked/out
of square the inside corner is, you will have an equal amount
of pattern loss (overlap) in this corner. Using a 5" taping
knife, gently crease the overlapping section in the corner. Then
use the taping knife as a trim guide and a new razor blade to
cut off this excess overlapping material. You must only apply
enough pressure to "Single Cut" the top layer of material.
You do not want to "Double Cut" through both layers
of wallpaper. This requires practice to develop your technique.
There is no substitute for experience. You do not want to see
the inside corner peeking through if the wallpaper shrinks even
a minuscule amount during the drying process. If you are not comfortable
performing the single cut method, pull back the overlapping section
and use your scissors to carefully cut along the crease you made
using the taping knife. Then lay the sheet back down. Use a plastic
smoother to ensure the wallpaper is laying flat against the wall
and there are no air bubbles.
*Don't forget to use a clean, damp sponge or microfiber towel
to wipe off any paste from the surface of your wallpaper, ceiling,
baseboard and any other cabinetry/surfaces after installing each
sheet.
Instruction Sheets
Read your wallcovering instruction sheets. They
usually come with every bolt or roll of wallcovering. These are
the rules for hanging wallpaper. Everyone hates rules and likewise
we all know there are usually exceptions to every rule. Most people
don't take the time to stop at a stop sign. Do you think they
will spend 1.5 - 2 hrs to lay drops, tape & mask, sand &
prime/seal their walls? Do you think they will spend a day (or
two) removing the old wallpaper(s) & adhesive from their walls?
Probably not. And then they wonder why their wallcovering installation
was so difficult or it didn't turn out as well as they hoped?
Often instruction sheets are incomplete at best. But 90% of the
time they will tell you this...
1) Remove all old wallcoverings.
*Remove the old adhesive while you're at it.
2) Prime your walls with a wallcovering primer/sealer.
*Some wallcoverings like Foils, Mylars or British Pulp papers
require a liner paper to be installed horizontally underneath
the finish paper. Be aware of this possible additional step.
3) Install your new wallcoverings.
If you remember these Three Golden Rules for Wallpapering
Success and follow them, you'll be miles ahead of everyone
else out there who doesn't read the instruction sheets or is deliberately
trying to take short cuts.
Liner Paper
Sometimes called "Blankstock",
liner papers are installed before your finish wallpaper. Some
wallpapers like British Pulps or "Paper" wallpapers
require a high moisture adhesive. Read your instruction sheets.
After pasting, these wallpapers will "blush" because
they are wet. These "Upper End" wallpapers require a
liner paper to absorb the moisture (water) in the adhesive so
the wallpaper dries quickly. Extended drying times may result
in the blush not going away and the wallpaper looking like it
is permanently water stained.
*Even the heaviest/thickest liner paper will not smooth a textured
wall.
Pin Stripes
I only recommend installing wallpaper with Pin
Stripes on accent walls with 90° inside corners. Bay windows with
their out of plumb rounded inside corners create an unpleasant
effect when installing pin stripes. For this reason it is recommended
that you do not select a pin striped pattern for bay windows or
other areas with out of plumb/90°/rounded inside/outside corners.
If you're wallpapering all the walls, select a stripe pattern
with the stripes at least 1" wide. There will be some pattern
loss in every out of square/plumb inside corner, but this will
be less noticeable the wider the strips are.
Pre-Pasted Papers
Do not use a water tray for pre-pasted papers.
They're messy and you can under soak (not fully activating the
factory paste and have dry spots) or over soak the paper (gobs
of paste oozing out the seams).
Instead use a premixed activator or Roman TEKNAbond. Use a roller
to apply a thin layer of activator or TEKNAbond to the back of
your pre-pasted wallpaper.
Most pre-pasted papers require at least 10 minutes
of soak time or "Booking". This allows the paper to
fully wet out, become supple and the factory paste to activate.
Gently fold pasted side to pasted side, carefully aligning edges
and not creasing at the folds. Place the sheet inside a large
plastic bag to help the booking process and keep the edges from
drying out. Wet only one sheet at a time. Once the booking time
is up for your first sheet, wet a second sheet. Place the second
sheet in the plastic bag to book while you're hanging the first
sheet. This allows you to control the booking time for each sheet
as you work around the room.
Priming/Sizing
This is an area of great confusion for most people.
Let's put this to rest once and for all...
Primer comes in a paint can (and a primer isn't
a sizing no matter what the can says).
Sizing (a weak glue) comes in a powder that you
mix with water.
People are trying to use a centuries old paradigm to install modern
wallcoverings. So despite what your grandmother did or how the
old school retired installers say to do it, here's the real deal
modern formula for success when prepping for wallpaper...
If your walls are painted, do not install wallpaper over paint.
Paint is not designed to withstand the stress put on it by installing
wallpaper. Most people ask "What stress?" - When the
wallpaper is wet, it weighs a lot. And as wet paper dries it wants
to shrink. The paste will penetrate the paint film and the wallpaper
may delaminate from the wall as it dries. Years from now when
someone removes the wallpaper, they will never be able to completely
remove the old adhesive from the wall because it has penetrated
the paint film. Just don't be lazy or take short cuts which will
cause a future problem.
If your walls are brand new, prime with a wallpaper primer/sealer.
Some modern wallcoverings will not stick to an oil-based primer.
So be careful and read your instruction sheets. Don't use the
room you're going to paper for testing paint swatches. These different
colored swatches may telegraph through your new wallpaper. Some
wallpapers are quite sheer (you can see through them). If you've
already swatched your walls and there's any doubt your wallcovering
is even somewhat sheer, then prime those areas with a stain blocking
primer/sealer before priming with a pigmented wallpaper primer/sealer
to give your walls a uniform background and no surprises after
you've installed your paper.
*If you're trying to decide what color to paint your walls, paint
some poster boards & tape the dried samples to your walls.
This can save you time & money if you change your mind and
want to wallpaper the room instead.
If you encounter a wallpaper that curls
up like crazy after pasting/activating and it just won't "relax"
after booking inside a plastic bag, then you'll do better to "Double
Paste" with heavy duty clear strippable wallcovering adhesive.
Double pasting means you're pasting the wall and the wallpaper.
Use a weenie roller to apply a very thin layer of adhesive everywhere
a seam will be. Allow it to dry.
Repairs
Click here to see examples
of common wallpaper repairs.
Roll Ends
Place your left over wallpaper roll ends back
in the box/shipping bag then store in a closet or other climate
controlled area where they won't get bumped or damaged. Avoid
storing roll ends outside, in an attic, basement, garage, etc.
If your installed wallpaper ever gets damaged, you won't have
to worry about your pattern being out of stock or not being able
to get the same dye lot for repairs.
Rolling Seams
This is a very misunderstood and often improperly
performed wallpapering technique. Most people roll seams too hard
forcing virtually all the adhesive away from the seam. This leaves
only a residue of paste underneath the seams that will not be
sufficient to hold the seams in place. Some papers (such as grasscloth
or stringcloth) should not have the seams rolled. The risk of
paste getting on the face of the material is too great & paste
on the face of grasscloth or stringcloth will cause staining.
Other papers will burnish if you use a seam roller. Still other
papers are so delicate, they may tear if you roll the seams too
aggressively. Read your instruction sheets.
The exact amount of adhesive varies for each wallcovering. If
you're getting paste oozing out the seams when using a seam roller,
then you have applied too much adhesive. Remember do not overwork
the seams. Some papers will delaminate if the seams are over worked.
Scheduling
-Remove old wallpaper (including
backing and glue) before painting your ceilings and woodwork.
-Paint before wallpapering.
-Wallpaper after painting. (Apply a wallpaper
primer/sealer before papering.)
Seams: (Don't Freak
Out!)
Seam Definition: "A line created by two pieces
of material joined together."
*Nowhere in the above definition does it say the seam is, or should
be "invisible". Every wallpaper is different. Some papers
seam beautifully and seams are virtually undetectable. Other papers,
no matter how tightly butt joined, will have seams you can see
from across the street.
If you don't want to see the seams, then you don't want wallpaper...
You want paint. WALLPAPERPRO
cannot guarantee you will not be able to see the seams
of your installed wallpaper, because there is not a wallpaper
manufacturer on the planet who guarantees you will not be able
to see the seams.
Seam Adhesive
Do not use traditional seam adhesives such as
Roman® or Shur-Stik 66®! They create a chemical bond that
makes removal a headache & you'll more than likely have wall
damage during removal.
*Zinsser® manufactures a repair and seam adhesive that bonds
in 10 seconds (on dry wallpaper & when not over applied).
The technology is new and even though it's called seam adhesive,
it doesn't create a chemical bond. It is a mechanical bond. All
you have to do is get it wet and your wallpaper will come off.
"Awesome!"
Stripping
Old wallcoverings should be removed before installing
new wallpaper. However, use discretion and old fashioned common
sense. Old wallpaper that has been painted/sealed over and isn't
loose, old wallcoverings installed using border or VOV adhesive,
or if your walls are being destroyed as a result of stripping
are a few exceptions to this rule.
Begining in the 1990's the wallcovering industry started promising
us that nightmare removals will someday be a thing of the past.
The new "non-woven" wallpapers are guaranteed to dry
strip completely! (only leaving a small layer of adhesive on the
wall) The rumor mill was predicting all manufacturers will be
printing on non-woven grounds (backing) about 2010. *Obviously
this did not happen! What a drag.
There are MANY different kinds of wallcoverings. We will be concentrating
on the two most popular: "paper backed and vinyl coated peelable/non-peelable
wallpaper".
Scenario - 1
Try to Dry Strip first. You may get lucky, but be sure
you're not tearing the drywall facing paper. If dry stripping
doesn't work, maybe your wallpaper is...
Scenario - 2
Dry Peelable? Peelable means you can remove the vinyl
coating or pattern side of your old wallpaper, leaving the smooth
backing on the wall. If adhesive was used to install the old wallpaper
and the backing isn't loose or bubbled, then you can leave it
to act as a liner paper. Improper seams must be addressed. This
includes sanding any overlapped seams or spackling any gapped
seams. If you know the old wallpaper was prepasted and installed
using a water tray, don't even think about trying to hang over
the backing! Remove it and the old glue. Lay drop cloths on your
floor/carpet and turn the power to the room off. You may need
work lights. Leave the switch plates on for now. This will help
keep moisture out of the electical boxes. Remove the switch plates
when you're ready to remove the last bit of wallpaper. Dust off
the base boards and mask with blue tape. Lay painter's plastic
or plastic drops over your drop cloths. Carefully apply one edge
of the plastic under the blue tape. Wet the backing of only one
sheet of wallpaper (this is an experiment to see if the backing
will come off the wall). Use a commercially available
wallpaper stripper/remover such as Roman or Zinsser. Mix according
to the manufacturer's directions. Use a wallpaper sprayer (just
enough to make it wet - don't over do it) and let it soak for
1-5 minutes. If necessary, use a 5" taping knife to scrape
off the backing, being careful to not damage the wall surface.
Do not use the Paper Scraper® or Paper Tiger® as they
will damage your drywall. They work much better on smooth plaster
walls, but will still cause some damage. Some backings require
additional soak time. Reapply the wallpaper stripper/remover as
needed if the backing is drying out.
**From Scenario -2 forward, we are using some type or variation
of wet method (wallpaper stripper/remover + warm rinse water).
Gravity will be pulling that liquid down toward the baseboards
(made of wood) & flooring (often hardwood or carpeting). You
have made every effort to protect your floors, but the fact is
you will only be able to stop about 90-95% of all liquids from
reaching the floor/floor coverings You must be very careful not
to pull the plastic/blue tape from the top of the baseboards with
your feet, rinse bucket, ladder, etc. (also keep pets out - I've
had large dogs come in and destroy all my prep work by trouncing
about and pulling the plastic/tape from the baseboards). If the
plastic/tape is pulled away after spraying, the tape will not
stick to the baseboard until it's completely dry. So work very
carefully. This is also why you should work in sections and not
spray down the entire room. Should a little liquid get onto the
floor and after you've completed removal of each section, roll
up the plastic and towel dry any wet spots.
Scenario - 3
Wet Peelable? If your old wallpaper isn't dry peelable,
maybe it's wet peelable. (You should have already laid drop cloths
and applied tape/plastic as described above in scenario - 2) Test
a small area first. Sometimes a vinyl coated paper that refuses
to dry peel will become very peelable or at least semi-peelable
after wetting. Try it! Success? I hope so. If not, then you'll
have to perforate the vinyl coating so your wallpaper stripper
can do it's job. Don't use a scoring tool as this will cause unnecessary
damage to dry wall. Use 80 grit sand paper to perforate vinyl
coated wallcoverings and proceed to the next scenario...
Scenario - 4
Wet Stripping: (You should have already laid drop cloths
and tape/plastic as described above in scenario - 2) Spray wallpaper
stripper/remover to only one sheet of wallpaper at first (just
enough to make it wet - don't over do it). Soak time is usually
20-30 minutes, but make sure the paper isn't drying out. If it
is, then re-wet it. When re-wetting spray left to right from the
top of the wallpaper sheet down approximately 2/3rds the height
of the wall. The bottom of each sheet stays wet longer than the
top and requires much less re-wetting during and extended soak.
You don't want to have a huge puddle on your painter's plastic.
That's very risky. Check to see if the old glue is starting to
soften? If your walls were primed with water-sensitive paint,
this is usually the time frame where it will become evident i.e.,
you'll notice the paint film bubbling, chunks of paint or the
drywall facing paper coming off with your old wallpaper. It may
not be advisable to continue the removal. Some wallpapers require
extended soak times like 45-90 minutes and re-wetting if the paper
dries out. Just be sure you're keeping an eye on how much soaking
the paint film can handle. This is the reason for only attempting
to remove one sheet of wallpaper initially. If removal of the
first sheet is successful, then continue the removal process for
the entire room. If removal of the first sheet was unsuccessful
due to excessive wall damage or the old wallpaper being installed
with a non-strippable adhesive, then proceed to scenario - 6.
Scenario - 5
"This 'peelable' wallpaper defies all logic! The vinyl coating
is so thick it's impregnable! (that's why wet method isn't working)
Yet the vinyl doesn't have enough structural integrity to pull
off from the backing! (unable to peel or coming off in tiny pieces
about the size of your fingernail) What's going on?!?"
This is where some paperhangers enter the dangerous world of the
wallpaper shaver. If you are a paperhanger who has mastered this
tool & never damage a wall, Congratulations! You are amazing
& my hat is off to you!
This is going to take some time. You can't rush shaving the vinyl
off to get at the backing paper. It's very easy to gouge into
the drywall. This doesn't mean the wallpaper shouldn't be stripped.
Just be careful and deliberate in your shaving to minimize any
gouging and danger of injuring yourself. Be very careful not to
damage the woodwork. Remember you're working with a 4" wide
razor blade. Only shave one sheet or section initially because
you want to make sure the backing can be stripped successfully.
If successful, continue shaving the entire room. After shaving
off the vinyl, use wet method as above to remove the backing.
Scenario - 6
Admitting Defeat and Hanging Over the Old Wallpaper: Everyone
wants to hang over old wallpaper. In the old days when it was
"Paper" wallpaper this was common practice. But in the
1950's the wallcovering industry gave us "modern" vinyl
coated wallpapers. The problem is most installers were using what
they always used - wheat paste. Wheat paste is one of the best
wallpaper adhesives ever invented. But it gained a bad reputation
it did not deserve. Wheat paste gasses. So the vinyl coated wallpapers
had a million bubbles. And the gas could not simply pass through
the surface of this "New" wallpaper as it had done for
hundreds of years with Paper wallpaper. This is why we now have
buckets of pre-mixed wallpaper adhesive ("Tub Paste"
in England). Anyway enough of a History Lesson for now. You should
have worked your way through all previous scenarios before attempting
this.
If your old wallpaper is not a Paper wallpaper,
then you can not simply hang directly over the old layer. You
must prime over it first. Wallpaper primer/sealer takes longer
to dry over old vinyl coated wallpaper. Under optimum conditions
drying time is usually 3 hours. Once the primer is dry remember
the manufacturer's instructions: "Walls must be smooth,
dry and structurally sound". Check your primed-over
paper for any rough spots, protrusions, seam overlaps/gaps, etc.
It is a myth that wallpaper will hide a multitude of sins. Keep
this in mind. Spackle and sand any areas needing attention to
prevent them from telegraphing through your new wallpaper.
Textured Walls
Textured walls can be sanded if they haven't been
painted/sealed. This practice is O.K. in a new construction environment,
but you may want to reconsider extensive sanding very carefully
before creating a dust cloud in a home.
Textured walls will make your new wallpaper look
equally bumpy. Some people actually like this effect. If
you're one of these people, Great! You can save a lot of money
that others will spend on additional prep work. Liner paper will
not smooth a wall textured beyond orange peel. If you don't want
your new wallpaper to look bumpy, call Diana Herrera 503.403.9328
(Skim Coat Specialist) to smooth out the textured walls prior
to WALLPAPERPRO being scheduled to install your new wallpaper.
Smoothing a textured wall requires a minimum of two coats of mud
plus coming back the following morning to lightly sand & vacuum.
Skim coating is about 150% more labor than Priming/Installing
the wallpaper. So a good estimate is to add 150% to the total
cost a paperhanger will charge you for Priming/Installing your
new wallpaper.
Let's define how bumpy your textured walls really
are? 0 = smooth as glass. 10 = stucco!
If your walls are a true "Orange Peel", that's
about a 1-2. A liner paper will help. Anything 3 and above needs
to be skim coated.
Wallpaper Stores
Please support your local wallpaper retailer.
These stores have experienced and friendly staff who will help
you find the pattern you're looking for. They've invested thousands
of dollars in sample books which you can check out and browse
at your leisure. But please don't shop for your new wallpaper
with a retailer's sample book in one hand and an 800 number in
the other. Remember this... If you don't support your local wallpaper
retailer, would you be upset if they went out of business leaving
you no place to go where you could see and touch an actual sample
of a wallpaper you're interested in? Also the sample books are
coded. If you write down the pattern # of a beautiful floral wallpaper
and order it from an 800 number, you may get wallpaper with pink
elephants instead. Another benefit of doing business with your
neighborhood store is they can recommend a local installer with
a good reputation for doing quality work!
Water Trays
Water trays are messy and should
be avoided. Brush or roll an activator on the back of prepasted
wallpapers. This will make it much easier to work with each sheet
of wallpaper and provide better adhesion.
If you've already purchased a water tray, don't despair. They
make great flower pots.
Pro Tips © WALLPAPERPRO
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