Hanging Wallpaper: It's Easier Than You Might Think

For 20 years, we lived in a house that had been constructed in 1905. Tall ceilings, large rooms, and hardwood floors were some of the features that caught our attention when we bought the place. One thing that was apparent, however, the original owners must have been very fond of wallpaper, because, with the exception of the front room, most every room had wallpaper hanging on at least one wall. What did this mean for us? Well, if we were going to survive in the house, we were going to have to learn to hang wallpaper.

As it turns out, hanging wallpaper is not as difficult as it used to be. Nowadays, with pre-pasted paper and tougher fabrics (like vinyl-type paper), the job is much easier for the amateur, and can allow the do-it-yourselfer to end up with a room that looks professionally done. It does take a little practice, and you may have to scrap a few sheets here or there in order to be totally satisfied with your finished product, but even the novice can quickly pick up on methods that work, and should not be afraid to try his/her hand at changing the looks of a room in the house.

Here are a few ideas for the amateur wallpaper hanger to keep in mind:

a) Select a workable pattern. If you are fairly new at hanging wallpaper, it might be wise to select a paper pattern that is rather small, easily matched, or repeats itself within a few inches throughout the length. This way, if you have to scrap a piece of paper that has been cut wrong, or mishandled, you don't waste so much paper. Also, be wary of striped patterns in some cases. Plaster-and-lathe type walls that are in some older homes may not be truly flat, and it will be like trying to hang straight stripes on a basketball...you'll end up having to overlap areas that should be hung parallel. Newer homes, where sheetrock walls have been hung probably won't present this kind of problem for striped patterns.

b) Prepare the walls. You have to prepare the surface of the wall such that the new wallpaper will have good adherence. Walls with existing wallpaper should be stripped to the greatest possible extent. Make sure that when you are ripping off old wallpaper, you aren't removing any plaster, otherwise, you will need to go back and re-spackle or caulk those divot areas. If you cannot remove all of the old wallpaper, sand the edges of any remaining patches so that the surface is smooth and won't create visible lines under the new wallpaper. If the old wallpaper or the cleaned wall is darkly colored, and you are putting on a light colored paper, you should paint it with stain seal paint, and then size the walls with acrylic sizing liquid to make sure that the surface is not porous. While hanging wallpaper can be tricky, it is the preparation steps that can be critical to a professional-looking job that will last for a long time.

c) Have the right tools. There are not a lot of tools for hanging wallpaper, but the ones that are used should be the right kind. Obviously a ladder or scaffolding will be required, adequate in height for the room you are wallpapering. Hand tools include a wallpaper brush, a hand towel, a box knife with a good supply of replacement blades, a good pair of scissors, and level, and a measuring tape or a yardstick.

d) Start in the right location. After preparing the walls and selecting a good study pre-pasted wallpaper, you're ready to start hanging pieces. Begin in a corner that doesn't catch the eye. For example, when you enter the room, consider starting in the corner above or behind the door that you used. That way, if the pattern doesn't match exactly as you wrap around the room, it will be less noticeable.

e) Four arms are better than two. Your wallpapering time will go much quicker if there are two of you on the team. For example, one person should measure the length of the piece that is required, and report that length to the helper. (Remember, you measure from the pattern match and not the actual length on the wall.) The helper cuts the piece to length, wets the piece in a basin, folds or "books" the piece, and then hands it to the team member that will do the actual hanging. The helper may also need to stand on the ground and help straighten the bottom half of the piece as it is being hung. After the piece is in place, the ladder man can begin to brush out the bubbles, and make any scissor cuts that are necessary to fit around woodwork, and finally trim the piece to the proper lengths at the ceiling and floor. The helper could be making the next piece ready while the first piece is being worked.

f) Plumb every piece with the level. Don't use the ceiling, the floor, or a chair board as a guide to hang your wallpaper. Believe me, a piece of wallpaper that is off by just a little will be noticeable to the eye, and can cause pattern mis-matches as you progress around the room. It is much easier to stick a level against every long piece that is hung, and make sure the pattern is plumb. Remember that even in new homes, not every room will have perfectly square ceilings, walls, and floors. That is why you need to use the level. This is most critical on the full or long pieces that are hung. You can probably get away with this a bit more on short pieces, like those above the windows or doors.

g) Don't use your own paste on pre-pasted wallpaper. We did this once. We didn't think there was enough paste on the pre-pasted paper we bought, so we went back to the store and bought some pre-mixed wallpaper paste, and pasted the back as if it had no paste at all. Disaster! The paper did not stick at all. The pre-pasted paper is a wonderful invention, and applied correctly, will stick much better and look smoother than any of the old methods that were formerly used.

h) Don't overlap paper when it is not necessary. In the old days, when wallpaper used to shrink as it dried, the hanger would need to overlap the paper in order to avoid having those blank areas between two side-by-side sheets. Today's vinyl is much better about staying where you put it. Therefore, it is entirely possible to match all the paper edges with a butt joint. If you do have to overlap a bit, in order to keep your pattern straight, make sure the overlapped edge doesn't catch the light from a window or the light fixture in the room. Try to make it overlap the other direction.

h) Consider the use of a ceiling border. Ceiling wallpaper borders are a great way to give your room that "finished" look. A four-inch or six-inch wide border that matches the color pattern of your wallpaper helps to interrupt the pattern as it approaches the ceiling. It also allows you more flexibility in trimming those top sections, since it will be covered by the width of the border.

i) Change blades in the knife often. Nothing is more frustrating than spending all the time to get that piece of wallpaper hung just right, and then end up tearing it with a dull blade when you are doing the final cuts around the woodwork. Blades are cheap, and a new edge every two or three sheets will save a lot of extra work in the long run.

Well, these are just a few ideas that have helped our family redecorate rooms over the years. New wallpaper can give your room a comletely fresh look, and doing it yourself will save some big bucks. It really isn't that difficult. In fact, if you pick an easy wallpaper pattern, learn the best techniques, laugh at your mistakes, and have a little extra wallpaper on hand to fix those problem areas, you'll probably end up with a project that you can be quite proud of.