Spent the day lining a room ready for the patterned paper tomorrow, holy heck its hard! Anyone got any top tips for wallpapering they can share?

my advice :

yeah, wot he ^^^^ said, every time

There is no way i would do it myself and waste days of my life making a mess of it. I got a decorator in recently. At first i thought it was an expense i could do without but after seeing the quality of work i was impressed. Also it wasnt as expensive as i had thought and more importantly i didnt spend a whole week of my holidays doing something i HATE

D.I.Y. – Don't Involve Yourself!

pay someone else to do it. really not worth the hassle of doing it yourself. Everytime I pick up a paste brush I lose 5yrs off my life from stress, dunno why I just lose it bigstyle while wallpapering.

wot ? lining paper is easy ?
you get alot of waste-age with patterned paper, (prob about a foot each time you measure, cos you have to line up the last flower or wotever pattern with the next lenght of paper and so on.. cant you just colour wash the walls instead… its seems to be the 'in thing' these days…

Walpapering is piss-easy – it is the only DIY I can do (and enjoy).

Make sure all your equipment is spotlessly clean.

My tip – think about where to start – don't start at the easiest bit, start in the least visible corner (so any short end pieces are well hidden) and work around in a clockwise (if right handed) direction. Take your time measuring and double check measurements, allowing for pattern repeat then + another 10% just in case. I always mark on the pasteboard the cut line so once I have measured I know how long to cut each drop.

Make sure all your equipment is spotlessly clean.

NEVER use a wall for a straight edge – use a plumb line – otherwise you may get a shock when you get to a door frame and you realise every drop you have done is not vertical.

Make sure all your equipment is spotlessly clean.

Take your time – wallpapering can't be rushed.

Make sure all your equipment is spotlessly clean.

Have some sharp scissors and brand new Stanley blade.

And finally – make sure all your equipment is spotlessly clean.

Enjoy 🙂

lots of paste, or ideally a decorator.

I do my own lining paper usually and do a reasonable job, however I got a man in to do my fancy expensive patterend stuff. Didn't want ot risk blowing £200 of wallpaper!

Ohh, and allow the paste time to soak into the paper (as per manufacturer instructions) or it will all fall off/shrink/blow up/call your mum a slag.

When pasteing put the wallpaper up to the edge of the table, this way paste will not get onto the right side, then push the paper across to the other edge again, don't let any paste get onto the table. I used some litte weights to hold the paper down when applying paste.

Use a plumb line to get the first piece straight – don't use the side of wall. Continue from one side and carry on around the room.

Pattern matching is tricky. Cut the paper at least 15 centimetres longer than needed, however the repeat may mean cutting the lengths even longer.

Allow the paste to sink in for about 3 minutes. I wore an apron, so I had scissors, mini roller ( for rolling the seams down neatly) and large paper brush all to hand in the pocket.

Just take your time.

MF I am guessing you find this great therapy after your frequent footpath altercations?

You may have the best wallpapered house in all of Halifax 😛

MF I am guessing you find this great therapy after your frequent footpath altercations?

Strangely I do enjoy it – quite a lot too. I have even done the hallways of two houses not belonging to me as favours. It does take me about ten times longer than a decorator though and am very anal about having all cuts spot on – I waste more paper through my own fussiness than anything else.

Ohh, and it's Harrogate, not Halifax 😉 (but only have one wall papered at home because my wife prefers painted finishes).

EDIT: Two walls 🙂

Ohh, and don't panic if there are air bubbles (within reason) – you are more likely to screw things up trying to flatten them out (ripping/marking the paper) than if you leave them to naturally disappear when dry.

if you do have air bubbles pop them with a pin. As MF says, as the paper dries it will contract somewhat but if the air is trapped it has to go somewhere.

The most important tip when it comes to wall papering is…..

'Get someone else to do it!' 😉

I love wallpapering. Sad but true.

start in the least visible corner

complete opposite to what I heard. First drop should be lined up/centre of most visible wall/chimney breast/focal point and work outwards from there. Thats what I was told anyway.

Whichever method the paid professional wants to do it is fine with me
🙂

complete opposite to what I heard. First drop should be lined up/centre of most visible wall/chimney breast/focal point and work outwards from there

It would depend on the circumstances I guess, but if you were papering a full room and start in the most obvious place, what happens if the final piece doesn't line up with the original first piece? This is especially pertinent if there is a pattern to match up. I couldn't imagine what would happen in my house if that happened to me 👿

Well, hanging wallpaper is also very much like making love to a beautiful woman. Clean all the relevant surfaces, spread her out on the table, cover her with paste, and stick her up. Then you clean your brush, light your pipe, stand back and admire your handiwork

It would depend on the circumstances I guess, but if you were papering a full room and start in the most obvious place, what happens if the final piece doesn't line up with the original first piece? This is especially pertinent if there is a pattern to match up. I couldn't imagine what would happen in my house if that happened to me

In that case you'd have screwed up.

If you start with a vertical plumbline, and the paper repeats horizontally, unless you have a rift in the space time continuum somewhere around your room, it'll line up.

😳 that's why I make the final join in a corner 😳

or if the circumference of the room is not exactly divisible by the the width of the wallpaper pieces

If you start with a vertical plumbline, and the paper repeats horizontally, unless you have a rift in the space time continuum somewhere around your room, it'll line up.

Very true. Belt n braces I guess 😉

Good point Steve G

Start with your first piece either in centre of wall or chimney breast if you have one and don't put your first piece where you have to cut around sockets. This way it's easy to get it nice and straight.
Work your way round each way and finish in the least visible corner.

Before you start take a roll of paper and mark where each piece will go.
The last thing you want is for a length of paper to land 10mm short of a corner.

Like the last tip chorlton – will have to remember that one 🙂

Unless your lining and prep are faultless most p and d's wouldn't touch your job, so you may as well do it yourself. My tips would be:

Follow the instructions that come with the wallpaper, pay particular care to the amount of time you need to let the paper soak.

Use a 9" short pile paint roller to apply the paste, this will give you a very even covering of paste and you can do it very quickly.

While you're waiting for your paper to soak apply overlap adhesive (it's a strong mix of PVA) at the top and bottom of the walls, around light switches, window reveals etc, this wil prevent peeling.

Use a jointing roller to get your butt joint tight.

Use a snap off bladed knife (and snap off after every 2 or 3 cuts)

A tool called a 'wallwizz' or similar is excellent for smoothing out the paper. It's used in a similar way to paper hanging brush but does a better job

Keep all your tools clean and pick up offcuts as you go.

Good luck

Give m_f a call. Sounds like he'd love to do it. It's kinda like graphic design anyway isn't it? Lining up patterns, drawing straight lines etc. 😛

Graphic design isn't even that anymore – the computer does it all for you…

Eh up m_f. Well done for not biting! 🙂

dont do it… it is a pain in the arse!!!!!!

i had to get the father in law in to do it for me…

thanks guys, some great tips that helped smooth the job out. just wish i'd figured out before the last half dozen pieces that it was essential to ensure i had 'just' the right amount of paste on the paper so that i could slide the joins together so easily.

job looks ok though, i'm happy and more importantly… the wife's now off my back! : )