Ten things you need to know about wallpapering
OK, suppose you were hurtling through space when the captain gets accidentally ejected. What are the ten things you need to know to land the spaceship? No doubt there’s a lot of pseudo-science and urban myths about piloting a spacecraft – for instance they don’t automatically go when you say ‘engage’. Wallpapering is much simpler than landing a spaceship, but the practice is also encumbered with all kinds of strange myths and half-baked theories. So let’s take a quick look at the ten things you need to know about wallpapering.
1. Choose the right wallpaper.
The really hard questions about wallpapering simply go away when modern materials are used. For example, check out the easy-to-apply products known as ‘non-woven vlies’ (no not flies, vlies). This stuff goes on like a charm because you paste the wall, not the wallpaper. They don’t shrink or stretch, they come in a great range of designs and they’re easy to remove too.
2. Prime your walls.
Here’s something to consider – wallpaper doesn’t stick to your wall, it sticks to the paint on your wall. Wall covering primers isolate the paste right at the surface of your wall, ensuring that there will be no damage to the wall surface when it comes time to remove the paper.
3. Choose the right paste.
Wallpapering experts traditionally refer to their paste as ‘size’, just to confuse the rest of us who want to call it paste. Hume Internationale has all the right pastes, but you’ll only really need to use two. For non-woven wall coverings, use a non-woven wallpaper paste. For vinyl and embossed wall coverings, using a special paste that we can supply.
4. Try a double seam cut.
No it’s not a cricket stroke or a fancy fashion term – it’s a handy technique. Hang your wallpaper with a generous 5cm overlapping seam, then cut through both layers at the join. When you peel away the excess wallpaper you’ll have a very neat, professional looking job.
5. Don’t panic if you see bubbles.
What’s Michael Jackson’s old monkey got to do with it? Nothing, we’re talking about little pockets of air. Relax, bubbles normally settle out of a paper within a couple of hours after it dries on the wall.
6. Remove modern wallpaper by peeling.
Unlike older style wallpaper that needs to be soaked and scraped, most modern wallpaper can be simply peeled off the wall. That’s a big advantage when you’re seeking to redecorate down the track. Simply grab a corner and pull the whole thing off with no mess, no fuss, no blow torch required!
7. What if I spill paste on the wallpaper?
Two words… damp sponge. You should wipe down the wallpaper sheets several times with a damp sponge during the hanging process anyway.
8. What if there’s old paste on the wall?
Simply wash and scrape. Starch is the main ingredient of all wallpaper pastes and it softens after a soak time of from 15 to 30 minutes. Sometimes white vinegar helps to speed up the job.
9. What is a repeat?
Another snappy term that simply means the recurrence of a pattern.
10. What is a pattern match?
Pretty much what it says, but this is a little trickier than you’d think. Depending on the repeat (recurrence of a pattern) you might have to order a little more wallpaper to ensure you correctly match the pattern. Some patterns are simple, some are elaborate. But don’t worry, we can give you all the advice you need.
Give us a call today on (03) 9335 6711 or read more about all this stuff here.