Tips to achieve success with wallpaper
BY TIM CARTER Tribune Media Services
DEAR TIM: My wife wants me to wallpaper a room. I’ve never done wallpapering before, and I’m worried I will mess it up. What should know before I start this job, and what mistakes should I be careful to avoid? —Brad T., Richmond, Va.
DEAR BRAD: First, you can do an excellent job at wallpapering even though you’re a rookie. It’s impossible in this tiny space for me to pass on all the knowledge I’ve gained over the years hanging hundreds and hundreds of rolls of wallpaper. But I can give you some tips that will help you succeed.
The first thing you need to do is prepare the room for wallpaper. This means the ceiling needs to be painted, all cracks between the woodwork and walls need to be caulked, the walls need to be sealed with a special wallpaper primer, and the woodwork needs to be painted. Actually hanging the wallpaper is the last thing that happens in a room that’s being redecorated.
The special wallpaper primer is critical. It seals the wall surface so the wallpaper glue does not penetrate through to the drywall paper. This primer will be an enormous help to you as a rookie.
It allows the paper to be slid easily after it contacts the wall, in case you need to reposition the paper slightly. Don’t skip this special primer.
I would recommend using a prepasted wallpaper your first time out.
To activate the paste, use a pre-mixed clear activator. Don’t soak the paper in a tray of water to activate the paste. If you soak too long, you’ll dilute the paste. The activators ensure you never dilute the paste. Apply the activator with a new paint roller cover. It’s easy.
Once the activator is applied to the back of the paper, fold the
paper onto itself so the glued surfaces are touching one another. Wait 10 minutes before you try to hang it.
You may panic, thinking you’ll never be able to peel the paper apart. Don’t worry: it will come apart in 10 minutes. This essential step allows the paper to expand and relax. If you don’t do this, but instead apply the paper immediately after you activate the glue, you’ll get bubbles in the paper.
The first strip of paper needs to be perfectly plumb. I always try to start the first piece immediately adjacent to the least visible corner of the room.
Be sure one edge of the paper wraps around the corner no more than 1/4 inch. You want to start in this obscure corner of the room because this is where you will end the job, and the odds of a perfect pattern match here are 1 in a million.
Draw a very fine plumb pencil line 1/8-inch away from the other edge of where the paper will be on the wall. I never hang the paper on a pencil line, as it can show through the seam where two pieces of paper meet. Just keep the paper the same distance away from the line and it will be
See BUILDER, page C17
