Hanging Wallpaper in Ten Easy Steps
Hanging wallpaper can instantly give a room a fresh new look and transform plain walls into interesting walls.
Vertical stripe wallpaper can make a room’s ceiling look taller while
large floral print wallpaper
can make a room warm and cozy.
With so many choices on the market today you are sure to find the exact
style of wallpaper you are looking for.The most common rooms to hang wallpaper in are the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room but it also looks good in bedrooms, dens and dining rooms. Wallpaper as an accent wall in a bedroom with coordinating paint on the other walls gives it distinction and added color.
Hanging wallpaper in a den or family room on the upper ½ or 1/3 portion of the wall above painted or stained bead board gives a warm, cozy look and feel.
Hanging wallpaper can be a fairly easy do-it-yourself job. However, it is a task that progresses a lot more smoothly if you have a friend or a partner to help. You have heard of "the one armed wallpaper hanger" - don't let this be you!
How to Hang Wallpaper:
Before you begin you should gather all the material you will need for the project.
For most projects you will need:-
Sizing
Wallpaper (preferably pre-pasted)
Paste?
Paintbrush
6” putty knife
Smoothing brush or clean rags
Sponges
Seam roller
Level
Tape measure
Pencil
Utility knife or scissors
Drop cloth
Stepladder
Water tray
Once you have your supplies together you are ready to begin hanging wallpaper.
1. Sizing the walls – Sizing is a light coating you paint on that prepares the wall so wallpaper adheres easier and smoother. This is especially important if the wall has a semi-gloss or gloss paint on it already. You can do this step the day or night before you plan to hang your wallpaper.
2. Choose the starting place – If you are using wallpaper with a pattern then the start/end spot will be the place where the pattern will not match up. Because of this it is best to begin in a corner or behind a door or at the far end of the room. If your wallpaper is not patterned you can start in one corner of the room or by the door. You will be hanging wallpaper from left to right. Measure out from the starting spot the width of the wallpaper less ½ inch and draw a vertical line from ceiling to floor using a level. This line will be your guide in hanging the first strip of wallpaper.
3. Cutting the wallpaper – Make sure you have a large open space on the floor or a worktable as a work area. Place down a drop cloth if you are using the floor as your workspace. Roll out the wallpaper and cut a strip the length of the wall plus 4 inches that you will trim at floor and ceiling. If you are using a plain paper you can cut several strips at once but if you are using a pattern you should cut each piece one at a time.
4. Paste – Wallpaper comes in either a pre-pasted form that is activated by water or a plain form that you have to spread the paste on. For pre-pasted you will need to slide the paper through a water tray allowing both sides of the paper to get wet. Lay the paper on your workspace and fold, book style, so the glue is touching glue. Be careful not to crease the paper. This process is called booking the wallpaper and will help to activate the glue. Let the paper sit this way for about 10 minutes before hanging it.
If the paper is not pre-pasted you will need to lay the paper down flat with the back facing you and spread a thin coat of paste evenly all over the back. Fold the paper in book style and let it sit this way for 10 minutes so the glue will adhere better to the wall.
5. Hang the first piece – Lift the first piece of wallpaper into place making sure the right side of the paper follows the vertical line that you drew earlier. Leave two inches excess at the ceiling and the other two inches at the floor. Making sure to stay lined up, begin to smooth the wallpaper into place using the smoothing brush or a dry, smooth rag. Do this by smoothing from the center to the seam in long, smooth motions.
Once the paper is in place you can smooth out the air bubbles by using a clean, damp sponge. Again, smooth the paper by pressing from the center to the seams. Rinse the sponge often so glue does not dry onto the paper. If the left side of the paper is in a corner then press it into and around the corner as smoothly as possible.
6. Trim excess and press down seams – Now that the paper is in place you can trim the top and the bottom by using the utility knife or a pair of scissors. If you have molding at ceiling or floor then leave enough paper to tuck into the molding just a tiny ways. You can tuck it with the flat putty knife. Be careful not to rip it. Clean up the glue from the moldings before it gets a chance to dry on them. Using your seam roller you can press down the seams.
7. Hanging the second sheet – Cut and paste the second sheet as before. If you are using a pattern you will want to match up the pattern before cutting. Hang the paper using the right seam of the last sheet as your guideline. Butt the seams together without overlapping. Check the right side of the new sheet with the level to make sure it is straight. Smooth out the paper as before. You will continue hanging wallpaper in this manner using the previous seam as your guideline.
8. Wallpapering window and door sections – Hang the wallpaper as usual and let the excess paper hang over the window or door. Smooth the paper from the seam toward the window or door. Now you can trim around the window or doorframe leaving about a 2 inch excess that will be trimmed later. At the corners of the frame you will want to cut diagonally up from the frame to the wallpaper and then press the paper around the corners. Trim the excess with your scissors or utility knife.
9. Working around corners – Corners can be tricky because the paper will want to bunch up or end unleveled. Push the paper into the corner with your smoothing brush before you let the rest of the paper reach the other wall. Once the entire sheet is pushed smoothly into the corner you can begin smoothing the remainder of the paper onto the other wall. Don’t just cut it off at the corner and start a new sheet. Corners look better when the paper flows around them.
10. Recheck paper when finished – Recheck all the wallpaper for bubbles and curling seams. Smooth out any bubbles with the wet sponge and press down seams that may have curled up. Use a little extra paste on stubborn seams to hold them down. You'll find the smaller bubbles will disappear once the paper is completely dry so don't fret over one or two bubbles.
Once you are done wallpapering you will want to double check for any excess glue on the seams or on the wallpaper and sponge it off. Once the glue dries it will be difficult to remove.
Yes hanging wallpaper definitely takes a little patience but now that your project is completed you can stand back and proudly admire your work and your beautiful newly wallpapered room.
