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Prepping For Wallpaper: Difficulty: Easy - Good preparation is basic for good wallpapering. Remove grime; clean smoky or greasy surfaces; and patch, sand, and prime the walls before applying new wallpaper. Removing old wallpaper will guarantee a good job. If the surface is in good condition, professionals frequently paper over the old. Painters often recommend painting over existing paper. If you decide to leave paper on the wall, make sure it is firmly attached to the wall, free of seams and dents, and generally in good repair. Clean vinyl and vinyl-coated paper the same way you clean painted walls. Remove non-vinyl papers--cleaning will do more damage than good. Although several products make removal easier, taking off wallpaper is an inexact science. Be prepared for a labor-intensive few hours and then be pleasantly surprised if the job is easy. Good quality wallpapers hide many blemishes, but cracks and bumps aren't among them. Because wallpaper conforms to the surface beneath it, patch and sand the wall well after it's cleaned. Prime the wall after it has been cleaned, patched, and sanded. Use a wallpaper primer tinted with a color close to the background color of the wallpaper to help hide slight mismatches in seams. Wallpaper primer is formulated especially for wallpaper applications; it gives the paper a better surface to grab onto and keeps the wall from absorbing water from the wallpaper paste. Neither wallpaper sizing nor regular primer does both jobs; choose the right product to prime the walls before rolling out the wallpaper. Shut off power to the room at the service panel. After the power is off, remove switch and outlet cover plates and any surface-mounted electrical equipment. Remove as much dry paper as you can easily peel off. Before you apply wallpaper, place masking tape over receptacles and light switches to keep out water and paste. Perforate the wallpaper. Remove the old paper with the help a wallpaper removal solution that dissolves the paste. Some papers prevent the remover from getting through the paper to the adhesive, and some papers are held up by particularly strong paste. A perforating tool, such as the one shown, left, punctures the paper to allow the removal solution to do its job. Be careful. Run the tool over the surface just hard enough to perforate the paper. If you press too hard, you will gouge the drywall or plaster underneath, which will require repair before you begin to hang new paper. Apply wallpaper remover. To apply the remover quickly, easily, and least wastefully, spray it on with a garden sprayer. Or, apply the remover with a sponge or brush; in small areas, use a plant mister. Mix the remover with hot tap water and pour it in the sprayer. Start in a corner of the room and work from the ceiling down. Spray the walls until they are soaking wet, but not dripping. Take your time to do a good job; the remover needs about 15 minutes to work. Spray the entire room again. Peel off the paper. Start removing paper immediately after you spray the second coat. Depending on the paste and paper used, you may be able to pull off entire strips with your hands. On some paper, the paper will lift off in smaller sections. Use a plastic putty knife or one of the many specialty wallpaper scraping tools to scrape off wide strips. (Be careful with metal putty knives and wallpaper scrapers with sharp blades; they can damage the wall.) After the paper is removed, wash the wall again- then patch, sand, and prime. |
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With Wallpaper The Proof Is In The Prepping: Surface preparation will make or break a wallpaper project. If you fail to follow proper prepping procedures, it is highly unlikely that you will be satisfied with the results. But if you use the proper tools and follow the proper procedures, your wallpaper project will be a thing of beauty. Here are some guidelines for prepping for paperhanging. Your local paint and wallpaper store can provide you with the products you need to ensure a successful project. The Do's - Read all the manufacturer's instructions before beginning any wallpaper project. Choose the appropriate oil- or acrylic-based primer/sealer coating designed to seal porous surfaces prior to hanging. Using a primer/sealer is a necessity on almost every paper project. Make repairs to the wall surface. Make sure all holes, cracks and joints are properly repaired. For painted walls, remove any peeling paint with a scraper, apply patching compound to any cracks or holes, wash greasy or dirty areas, apply a primer/sealer to any newly patched areas, and sandy any glossy or semi-glossy surfaces to "dull" them and ensure proper adhesion. Paint the ceiling, trim, doors, etc., before hanging wallpaper. It is easier to remove wall-covering adhesive from a painted surface (with a wet sponge) than to remove splattered paint from wallpaper. Plus, painting first ensures that no unpainted surfaces show through where trim or the ceiling and wallpaper meet. The Don'ts - Don't get in a hurry. Taking time with the preparation makes the installation go smoothly. Don't cut corners or try to take shortcuts. Don't try to skimp on tools or materials. When prepping for paperhanging and then hanging the paper itself, you will need a variety of tools, including sandpaper, joint compound, a ladder, yardstick, cutting tool, scraper, putty knife, string (plumb line), level, smoothing brush, bucket and sponges, just to name a few. The Sometimes - Sizing is an old industry method that occasionally applies in limited circumstances. Check the manufacturer's recommendations, but in most cases, new premixed primer/sealers have almost eliminated the use of sizing products. Some areas, like basements, bathrooms and closets, develop mildew, which has to be eliminated before hanging wallpaper. Scrub the area using a mixture of equal parts household bleach and water until the discoloration disappears. Rinse with water and allow to dry before proceeding. Some specialty wallpapers like foils, un-backed and grass-cloths require the use of lining paper. Lining paper is blank stock which can be applied to properly prepared walls, maximizing adhesion, providing a smoother surface and minimizing the possibility of mildew and staining. The Nevers - Never hang over existing wallpaper—unless removing the old wallpaper will damage the wall, and even then, remove any paper that is not tight to the wall. Removing old wallpaper and repairing the wall surface help ensure a solid foundation for the new paper. Strippable wall-coverings should come down easily without the aid of removal products. Several methods are available to aid in removal of non-strippable, such as dry scraping, steam, a heat gun and chemical removers. Never cut the first piece of wallpaper until the surface has been properly prepared, all the measurements have been double-checked and the necessary tools are at hand. Wallpapering - Engineering the Hanging Process Determining seam placement of the wall-covering before beginning can affect the ease of the installation. This process, called engineering the room, helps eliminate waste mistakes and ensures that seams will be placed in the least conspicuous places in the room. This process should be conducted prior to installation. Things to consider when planning the hanging are: The placement of the pattern so it is pleasing to the eye. Focal points, such as accent walls, border placement, arrangements of doors and windows, etc. These factors affect seam and pattern placement and also determine starting points, ending points, and area of mismatch. The most likely point to start the engineering process should be the area of the room that will cause the most difficult situations. Once this area is planned, seam placement can be established in two different directions, working from the problem area back to the ending point. By determining where every seam will fall before the wall-covering job begins will eliminate having a seam fall in an undesirable place and minimize the amount of waste during installation. A rule of thumb is to try to avoid having a seam fall less than 2 inches next to an obstacle like a window, door or corner. In some rooms, this may not be possible, but engineering will eliminate as many of these situations as possible. While engineering a room, pattern placement also needs to be noted. Be sure to plan pattern placement so that the design falls at specific points on the wall that are aesthetically pleasing. Areas that need to be watched are ceiling line, chair rails, (do not cut a design element in half), door/window headers and dados, etc. Occasionally pattern placement is more important than seam placement. In this case, the design element should be placed where it will be most noticed. |