How do you prepare a wall for wallpapering?
The Bob the Builder in you has awakened, hiring a professional to install your designer wallpaper is out of the question, and you’re wondering whether you can manage it yourself? The answer is: yes, provided you don’t take shortcuts and follow a few basic rules.
Modern wall wallpapers surprise us with their wealth of patterns, embossing and, above all, durability. However, regardless of which type of wallpaper we choose, installation follows certain rules that must be strictly observed if we want to enjoy a spectacular interior for a long time.
Preparing the wall—why is it so important?
Contrary to appearances, the most important stage of wallpapering, which determines how the rest of the work will proceed, is properly preparing the wall. Just as a house cannot be built on weak foundations, wallpaper applied to an improperly prepared surface is unlikely to stay in place for long.
The surface to which we apply the wallpaper should above all be smooth. Although vinyl on a non-woven backing, on which our dream pattern has been printed
The surface to which we apply the wallpaper, regardless of its type and thickness, must be smooth. Although it might seem that covering wall imperfections with a layer of wallpaper could conceal them, the opposite is true—they will be accentuated.
Make sure to fill all holes, sand down uneven areas
and remove everything from the wall that could interfere with installation. The exception to this rule is openings intended for hanging frames, installing lighting or mounting furniture later. Whenever possible, make them before applying the wallpaper.
The next step is to remove the radiators and the frames of electrical sockets
and switches. Baseboards, on the other hand, should be installed and caulked with acrylic before applying the wallpaper. It might seem that hiding the wallpaper beneath the baseboard would be an easier and more aesthetically pleasing solution, but this is only a short-term convenience. If, after some time, we wanted to replace the wallpaper with a new design, removing it would also require tearing the baseboards away from the wall.
A good primer is key—is it necessary to prime the wall before wallpapering?
Applying wallpaper is somewhat like putting on evening makeup: if we want it to last all night, we should start with a base.
In the case of wallpaper, that base is primer. Just as with facial products, it is worth choosing quality and avoiding half-measures. Quality means using a deeply penetrating primer, while the half-measure we definitely advise against is primer paint. Prime the wall twice, at 24-hour intervals. How can you check whether the wall has been properly primed? Simply moisten it gently; if its color changes, the wall is not yet sufficiently primed. If you’re wondering whether priming might be an unnecessary extravagance, the answer is: definitely not. Primer ensures that the wallpaper adhesive will not soak into the wall, meaning the wallpaper will be firmly secured and will not begin to peel away from the wall.
Can wallpaper be installed on a painted wall?
Of course, applying wallpaper to a previously painted wall does not require stripping all its layers down to the bare plaster. Modern paints are complex substances that create a variety of coatings providing stain resistance, low reflectivity or high durability. Unfortunately, all these highly desirable qualities also make the paints resistant to allowing wallpaper adhesive to bond properly. Simply matt the painted surface with fine-grit sandpaper
and, of course, prime it to ensure that our wallpaper will stay on the wall for a long time.
Time to wallpaper!
You’ve already completed the preparation. Remember that this is an extremely important part of wallpaper installation and, although you probably can’t wait to see the final result, you must not skip it. There’s just one final step—wallpapering.
How do you install vinyl wallpaper on a non-woven backing on the wall? Find out in the next post :)
How do you install self-adhesive wallpaper on the wall?