Decorating Advice: Wallpaper Hanging

Wallpaper Hanging Tools:

Before you start wallpapering be prepared and have the right paperhangers tools.  Don’t start wallpaper hanging without the essential wallpapering tools and equipment.

• Wallpaper Pasting Table: A sturdy fold up table not just for car boot sales.
• Clean Buckets: A bucket for wallpaper adhesive, another with clean water & sponge for wiping down.
• Wallpaper Pasting Brush: Ideally you want a 6 inch wide paddle or distemper brush.
• Paperhanging Brush: I prefer a Hamilton’s Perfection 9 knot paperhangers brush to smooth out wallpaper. 
• Vinyl Smoothers: Steel straight edge sometimes called a putty knife or flexible plastic used to carefully smooth off vinyl and trim wallcoverings.
• Paperhangers Shears: The best scissors are 10″ stainless steel like Halls-Beeline decorating shears.
• Snap off Knife: Perfect for trimming wallpaper but handle with care the blades are extremely sharp.
• Spirit Level: You can use a plumb bob for vertical lines but a decent spirit level is more practical for decorating.
• Measuring Tape: A 5 metre retractable tape is good  for most wallpaper hanging.
• Seam Roller: Usually an inch wide wood or rubber essential for smoothing down the wallpaper seams.
• Screwdrivers: You will need a selection of screwdrivers for loosening lights and fittings
• Sharp Pencil: For marking out walls and wallpaper. Never use a biro or felt tip for paperhanging.

How to Hang Wallpaper:

Important: When buying wallcoverings you should always check the labels to ensure the batch numbers on each roll of wallpaper are the same this should prevent potential mismatching or shading problems.

Step 1 Before hanging your wallpaper you need to remove any traces of old wall coverings from the surface. If there is evidence of mould growth you should scrub it down with a fungicidal wash or diluted bleach, rinse with clean water and allow the wall to dry out.

Step 2 Prepare the walls using a powder type filler like Interior Polyfilla to fill any holes and cracks. (Ready mixed fillers are not recommended)  Rub down with sandpaper to ensure a smooth finish and brush away any loose dust. Previously painted or shiny surfaces should be thoroughly rubbed down to achieve effective wallpaper adhesion. If in doubt the wall should be cross lined with lining paper.

Step 3 The walls should be sized with a thin solution of wallpaper paste; this helps to even out the porosity of the wall, reducing the absorption of the wallpaper adhesive into the wall giving better adhesion and allow easier adjustability or “slide” of the paper for better edge matching.

Step 4 Take your time to plan where you will start and finish ideally in a corner working away from the natural light but also take into account, artificial light and focal points such as a chimney breast. Measure the wall vertically adding 20cm top and bottom for final. Cut all your lengths to that size ignoring doors, windows etc (Shorter or longer pieces can be measured and cut separately) Measure from your starting point a distance equal to the width of your wallpaper, minus about 20mm. Mark the wall, using a spirit level to draw a vertical pencil line from the top of the wall to the bottom. Only use a pencil for marking out when paperhanging, Biro or felt tip could stain the wallpaper.

Step 5 Apply an even coat of wallpaper adhesive using a wide paddle brush ensuring you keep the paste off the front of the paper. Start down the centre pasting from end to end and then work along the edges of the wallcovering always brushing away from the edge. This is important to prevent damage to the edges and keeps the paste off the patterned surface. By ensuring sufficient wallpaper paste is evenly applied to the whole surface of the wall covering you will help prevent bubbles when the wallpaper is hung.

Step 6 Fold both ends of wallpaper so that they meet in the middle. Allow each length of wallpaper to “soak” as per wallpaper manufactures instructions.  It is important not to under or over soak the wallpaper as that will lead to blisters forming in the wallcovering or pattern mismatching. Always ensure you soak each subsequent length of wallpaper an equal amount of time.

Step 7 Unfold the top and offer up the first length of pasted wallpaper to the wall using your pencil line to guide it into position. At this point it’s always a good idea to stand back and make sure your happy where the design falls and there is enough to trim neatly. Smooth down using a paperhanger’s brush working from the centre out to the sides taking care not to damage the edges of the wallcovering. Carefully trim using a sharp knife or paperhanger’s shears.

Step 8 Hang your next length in the same way taking care to slide the paper into position without overlapping, matching the edges of pattern as you go. Use a seam roller to ensure the seams or edges are stuck down properly. Excessive brushing or rolling will damage the wallpaper.

Step 9 Gently wipe down the wallpaper with a damp sponge to remove any excess paste remember not to over soak the wallcovering.

Step 10 Sit back and have a nice cup of tea you’ve earned it!