Hi all
I’ve managed to avoid ‘wallpapering’ for 42 years…. but seems that is about to change.
The picture below shows a wall (gable end) that ‘was’ damp but the leaky wall was fixed 2 years ago and is now bone dry.
http://picasaweb.google.com/chalkstorm1/DropBox#5518917681743090098
I need to remove all the wallpaper – and paper using ‘lining paper’ which will then be painted.
Not being a decorating person, do I need to do anything to the wall prior to hanging the new paper (other than remove the old, obviously..!)?
Cheers

firstly – check the plaster hasn’t ‘blown’ – if it sounds hollow you may well need to get it replastered – it’ll fall off when you start scraping at the paper.

If it wer eme I’d give the wall a good coat of dilute pva before I started re:papering – the old plaster absorbs all the paste otherwise.

Assuming the plaster is sound (as above), all should be fine – no need to coat in PVA as it has been papered once already.

Preparation is key – make sure the walls are free from lumps and bumps – these show through paper and can be really annoying.

Don’t be tempted to use the really thick lining paper – it seems (on paper – geddit) to be the best option as it will hide more sins, but in fact it is just harder to work with and doesn’t work into corners as nicely.

Great stuff – thanks for the replies fellas…. 🙂

for a really good finish, (and assuming you aren’t going to have blown plaster in which case a reskim might be a good idea),use two layers of the thinner lining paper. Do the first horizontally, the second vertically, so you don’t get overlaps.

Wallpeparing is actually relatively easy, take your time, use a decent quality paste (I used ready mixed tubs personally), and a sharp blade for cutting. Of course try and avoid bubbles but don’t fret too much on small ones, usually they will disappear as the paper dries and contracts slightly, stick a pin in the bubble to allow the air out as it does.

If you “Size” the walls first (a thinner mix of wallpaper paste – although i use it at the same consistancy as for the paper) this seals the wall slightly and stops the wall sucking all the moisture out of the paper when you hang it on the wall, this will make the paper workable for longer.

try using a ‘steamer’ 😉 to get all the wallpaper off and the lining paper off..its much quicker…

But if using a steamer be careful – especially as the wall has seen some action, it might be the thing that makes the plaster come away.

If you can, having a 2nd pair of hands makes wallpapering so much easier too

One pasting and the other applying 😉