We will send the material to you by e-mail

Rarely does an apartment renovation complete without wallpapering. This universal look decorative coating is suitable for any interior; it is loved for its ease of installation and ideal appearance.. In this article we will tell you how to correctly build an algorithm for working with wallpaper: from preparing walls and choosing tools to final finishing of the seams.

Wallpaper is a covering that is found in every second modern apartment

Doing it yourself is not a difficult task, especially if you have all the necessary tools. People with experience make do with a brush and roller, but for a beginner, other devices may be useful:

• paint tray and roller for applying glue. It is better to select a roller with medium-length pile, and the dimensions of the bath should correspond to the roller. You can replace it with a wide brush with a comfortable handle. In addition, keep a small brush on hand for taping seams;
• rubber roller for smoothing stripes on the wall and removing air bubbles on thin wallpaper. For thick people, instead of a roller, you can use ;
• roller with a roller for pressing the canvas in the inner corners;
• container for diluting glue: it is better to use a large saucepan or bucket with a lid. Sealed containers will keep the glue ready for use for several days;
• drill or construction mixer for mixing glue. If we are talking about a small amount of work, you can do it manually;
• pencil, long ruler, tape measure and scissors for marking and cutting fabrics. You can use a construction knife for cutting - the edges will be smoother;
• a plumb line or building level for marking the vertical line from which you will glue the wallpaper;
• a sponge to remove excess glue and a dry rag to remove debris.

In addition to the wallpaper itself, you need to prepare glue. The composition is selected according to the type of coating. You can buy glue at the store and dilute it according to the instructions.

Note! Instructions for preparing the glue are located on the packaging. It indicates the proportions of water and powder, glue consumption per square meter surfaces and application specifics.

The preparatory stage before sticking wallpaper on the wall with your own hands

Don’t rush to start wallpapering right away. It’s not enough just to purchase tools and materials, you also need to carry out preparatory work. Examine the condition of the walls, remove the old coating and carefully prime the surface.

How to remove old coating from walls

If the walls were previously decorated with wallpaper, they need to be removed. In most cases, the material comes off easily, but if you have pieces or entire strips left that cannot be torn off, you will have to use special tools. Compositions for removing old wallpaper can be bought in the store, but it is cheaper and easier to make such a mixture yourself. The recipe is simple: add dishwashing detergent and a little wallpaper paste to warm water. Using a sponge, apply the product to the wallpaper and leave for half an hour until the coating softens.

If the old wallpaper is very thick or has a corrugated surface, you need to cut it with a knife before soaking it so that the moisture penetrates deeper. It’s more difficult if the wall covering is paint, which you definitely need to remove. A simple water-based emulsion can be easily removed with the same soap mixture and a spatula. But oil or alkyd enamel will have to be cleaned with a drill with an attachment - a brush or sandpaper manually.

How to level walls and sand the surface

Preparation for pasting continues with the process of leveling the walls. The old wallpaper could have fallen off along with pieces of plaster, this often happens. These areas will have to be re-plastered. Sometimes the surface after paint removal becomes uneven, with potholes and other defects.

Expert's point of view

Dmitry Kholodok

Ask a Question

“Any leveling of walls is accompanied by the formation of a large amount of debris and dust. Remember to use a respirator to protect your respiratory tract and close doors to other rooms."

Primer of walls

Don't neglect priming the walls. If you skip this preparation stage, you risk getting an extremely unpleasant result - the wallpaper will simply peel off. In addition, the primer will even out the color of the wall, and the gray concrete will not show through under the thin coating. The primer mixture will fill the voids in the porous surface, you will use less glue.

For walls made of concrete and wood, use a universal acrylic primer. It is easy to apply and spread plain water and dries quite quickly.

For your information! Unscrupulous sellers may offer you a PVA glue solution instead of acrylic primer. Be careful, the compositions are very similar in appearance, but the glue has a specific smell.

For walls made of wood, plywood, or you can use alkyd primer. It takes a long time to dry - almost a day, but provides excellent adhesion even for heavy wallpaper. Metal walls are treated with glyphthalic primer, similar to enamel. Only it guarantees you high-quality coverage. The same primer can also be used for plastic. This coating will dry overnight. Another option for a mixture for metal is perchlorovinyl primer, but it is not recommended for use in residential premises due to its high toxicity.

How to glue wallpaper correctly - basic techniques

After you have well prepared the walls before the main stage of work, you need to solve several important issues: where to start gluing, how to properly cut the wallpaper and paste it in complex and hard-to-reach places.

Related article:

interesting solutions for the living room, bedroom, children's room, kitchen and corridor. Read our review for the basic rules for selecting canvases and designers’ recommendations.

Where to start gluing wallpaper and how to adjust the pattern

Elder relatives, wise from their own experience, will tell you that you need to glue wallpaper from the window. Indeed, old paper panels were glued this way for one simple reason: the joints were made overlapping, and so that when natural light the seams were not conspicuous; they should have been directed away from the window. Modern manufacturers offer panels that are glued end-to-end. Such seams are less noticeable, but they require a perfectly flat base. So the question of where to start work becomes less relevant: start from any side on which it is convenient for you to draw a vertical line, and glue in a circle.

Please pay attention to several important nuances:

• what the wallpaper will look like in the opening between the windows. It is not always good if a seam is placed in a narrow opening;
• where the furniture will be located. If you plan to install wallpaper and not place it behind it in order to save money, you need to decide on a starting point;
• if you plan to place it on one of the walls, you need to accurately measure the location of the picture and continue pasting from this place.

The first canvas is the most difficult task. It is important to place it strictly vertically so that the slightest distortion does not later ruin the entire work.

Expert's point of view

Dmitry Kholodok

Technical director of the repair and construction company "ILASSTROY"

Ask a Question

“If you use a plumb line, rub the rope with chalk or paint. Secure the upper end of the plumb line and slightly pull the lower end - the paint will remain on the wall and indicate the desired line.”

Most often, rooms in apartments have imperfect angles. Therefore, it is better to mark the vertical on each wall. Wallpaper gluing technology requires adjusting the pattern. The fashionable decoration features complex patterns and bright images. You should know that on the wallpaper packaging, manufacturers indicate the offset distance to adjust the pattern. But in practice, it is easier to do the adjustment manually, visually matching the pattern. And this should be done not only at the stage of cutting the canvases, but also during the process of gluing them.

Video: wallpapering with a large pattern

Glue on wallpaper or on a wall - how to apply it correctly

The answer to this question depends on what type of wallpaper you chose for your renovation. If you have paper wallpaper, the glue is applied directly to the canvas. For reliable gluing of thick vinyl or non-woven coverings, the adhesive composition is applied to both the wallpaper and the wall. Non-woven wallpaper can be glued without applying the composition to the canvas, limiting itself only to wall treatment.

How to properly glue wallpaper in the corners of a room

Most often in the process of work you have to deal with internal corners. Here you should make sure that the strip covers the corner and a few centimeters beyond it. Even if the canvases are glued end-to-end, you need to overlap in the corners. This is the only way you will get an even angle. Use a level or plumb line as a guide. To prevent the overlap on thick wallpaper from being noticeable, after applying the sticker, cut both layers along the ruler sharp knife, and while the wallpaper is still wet, remove excess stripes from one side and the other. If necessary, add glue using a small brush.

You will also have to tinker with the outer corners. They are rarely perfectly even, so here you also need to use an overlap of 3 centimeters. After the first canvas has been glued, you need to trim it, leaving a thin edge at the corner. The second strip is aligned vertically on the other wall and secured so that there is minimal overlap on the first strip. How to properly glue wallpaper in corners in a short video course.

How to glue wallpaper near windows, doors and behind the radiator

So, you are gluing wallpaper with your own hands, and you have reached. Feel free to fasten the new canvas so that it forms an overhang on the window. If you need to seal the slopes, make two horizontal cuts and fold the panel over. If it does not reach the frame, you will have to make another cut, preferably joining it at the corner (see gluing technology external corners, described above).

- a serious obstacle. You won't be able to place wallpaper behind them, so you'll have to cut them off. This must be done so that it is not noticeable that there is a bare wall behind the battery. To do this, leave a part of the canvas so that it extends 10 centimeters onto the radiator, and then tuck it behind the device, pressing and smoothing it with a spatula. How to properly hang wallpaper behind the battery yourself in the video.

How to make joints invisible

Why can seams between panels remain noticeable? There are several reasons for this effect:

• defective coloring of the edge of the wallpaper. A minimum strip of tenths of a millimeter without paint can cause the seams to be visible;
• an error in gluing the canvas - skewed to one side leads to minimal overlap or the appearance of a gap;
• poor adhesion of the material to the base; part of the strip may fall behind due to an air bubble.

It happens that you noticed a marriage too late, what to do? There are several ways to disguise a seam so that it becomes invisible. If there is an unplanned overlap, you just need to cut through both sheets as when working with internal corners and remove the excess strips.

Important! To ensure that the edges of the wallpaper adhere tightly to the base, additionally coat them with glue and roll them with a rubber roller.

Noticed uneven edge paint? It is best to return such wallpaper to the store, it is a defective product. If for some reason this is not possible, for example, you bought the material in another city, then try cutting off the unpainted edge. It's complicated, and new joint problems will inevitably arise. It is best to do this during the gluing process, deliberately making an overlap and cutting off the edge already on the wall. An alternative to this method is to use paint that matches the color. It is better to take a color half a tone darker.

How to properly apply different types of wallpaper

The wide range of wallpaper in modern stores includes products not only for every taste, but also for every budget. You can limit yourself to buying cheap paper-based wallpaper or purchase more expensive non-woven or vinyl options. Is there a difference in the sticker? different types wallpaper?

How to properly glue paper wallpaper

Paper is an inexpensive and environmentally friendly coating. Experts advise applying glue to the panels when gluing paper trim. Keep in mind: the paper quickly absorbs the glue, so you will have to work very quickly, otherwise the strip will get wet and tear when gluing.

Do not be alarmed if, even after careful leveling, unevenness appears on the surface after a few minutes - after drying, the canvas will “tighten up” and will be smooth again.

How to properly glue vinyl wallpaper

For vinyl wallpaper, you definitely need to purchase a special glue. This material is thick and should only be placed end-to-end. On the packaging of vinyl wallpaper it is usually written where the glue should be applied: on the panel or on the wall. Unlike paper strips, vinyl strips must be saturated with glue within 10-15 minutes. The video below gives recommendations on how to glue vinyl wallpapers with your own hands:

Article

In this article, you will learn how to glue wallpaper on a wall with your own hands. Before wallpapering, you need to thoroughly clean the room. The quality of future walls depends on the cleanliness of the room;
The outer parts of the switch, sockets (telephone wires, cables) must be removed in advance;
Dissolve the glue.

• Measure from the corner a distance equal to the width of the wallpaper minus 1.5 cm and place a dot here. Mark where the seams will go and move them slightly if necessary.

• Using a level and ruler, draw a vertical line through this point. On the wall where the pattern of the wall wallpaper should be combined with the wallpaper on the ceiling, draw a vertical line from the first seam of the wallpaper pasted on the ceiling.
• Paper wallpapering read

• Trim and prepare the first piece of wallpaper. First straighten top part accordion folded wallpaper. Paste the wallpaper along a vertical line so that the panel has an allowance of about 5 cm on the ceiling. Make sure that the pattern is not cut off at the ceiling line.

• Cut the top corner of the wallpaper to prevent the wallpaper in the corner from wrinkling. Use your palms to move the wallpaper so that it is in place and its edge is in a vertical line. Smooth out the wallpaper with a smoothing brush.

• Straighten the bottom of the wallpaper and use your palms to move the wallpaper so that its edge runs along a vertical line. Smooth out the wallpaper with a smoothing brush. Check carefully to see if there are any bubbles left.

• Use a sharp wallpaper knife with replaceable blades to cut off the excess. If the ceiling is already covered, bend back the edge of the wallpaper with a wide spatula, and then cut off the bent part with scissors so as not to damage the wallpaper pasted on the ceiling. Wash off all glue from the surface of the wallpaper.

• Hang the next panels of wallpaper edge-to-edge so that the pattern matches. Leave the wallpaper hanging like this for about half an hour, and then lightly roll the seams with a roller. On embossed or textile fabrics, lightly tap the seams with a smoothing brush.

• Turn off the power and hang wallpaper over outlets and switches. Make small diagonal cuts to expose the rosette. Along the edges of the electrical panel, trim the wallpaper using a knife with interchangeable blades.

1. Trim and prepare a whole strip of wallpaper. While the wallpaper is soaking in glue, measure the distance from the edge of the previous pasted panel to the corner at the top, middle and bottom of the wall. Add 1.5 cm to the largest measured value.

1. Align the edges of the folded wallpaper. Measure from the edge at two points a distance equal to the value obtained in step 1. Place a ruler at these two points and cut the wallpaper with a sharp wallpaper knife.

1. Place the wallpaper on the wall so that the pattern matches the pattern on the previously hung wallpaper. There should be an allowance of approximately 5 cm on the ceiling. Use your palms to carefully butt the edges of the wallpaper panels end to end. The wallpaper panel should slightly extend onto the unpainted wall.

1. Make small narrow cuts in the corners at the top and bottom of the panel so that you can glue the wallpaper in the corner without wrinkles appearing on it. Smooth out the wallpaper with a brush, and then trim off any excess near the ceiling and baseboard.

1. On an unpasted wall, measure from the corner and mark with a dot a distance equal to the width of the remaining strip of wallpaper plus 1.5 cm. Draw a vertical line from the ceiling to the floor in this place. Using the same method, cut a new strip of wallpaper this width, starting at the leading edge of the new piece, so that the patterns meet at the corner.

1. Place the new cut strip on the wall with the cut edge in the corner and the uncut edge along the vertical line. Press the panel against the wall and smooth it with a brush, and then cut off the excess at the ceiling and at the baseboard.

1. If you are gluing vinyl wallpaper, then bend the edge in the corner and apply vinyl glue along the seam. Press the overlapping panel evenly, wait half an hour, then roll the seams with a roller and wipe the area with a damp sponge.

Option. Projecting corners, as a rule, can be pasted over without cutting the wallpaper. If the corner is not vertical, follow the instructions for taping the inside corners, but add 2.5 cm to the measured value obtained in step 1, not 1.5 cm.

Most owners prefer to glue wallpaper in their apartments themselves, without turning to specialists for help, since this work seems uncomplicated and, at first glance, does not require special skills and knowledge. In addition, the services of professional workers will result in additional costs. However, the quality of the work done often leaves much to be desired. In order for the new interior not only to please the eye with its updated color scheme, but also to look neat and professional, it is worth remembering the most common mistakes when gluing wallpaper, as well as how to avoid them.

Mistake #1 – improper wall preparation

The first and perhaps the most basic mistake when hanging wallpaper is improper preparation of the walls. A fatal mistake would be gluing new wallpaper onto old sheets or paint. Pasting wallpaper onto an unleveled and unprimed surface will inevitably lead to partial or complete peeling of the wallpaper. Therefore, before carrying out work, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the wall of old materials and level it with putty, then clean the surface of the wall with sandpaper and prime it or cover it with wallpaper glue diluted in the primer. After completing this work, the walls must be allowed to dry completely, otherwise high humidity will lead to peeling of the paintings.

You may find it useful

Advice: To check the cleanliness of the wall surface, you can use regular tape. Stick a small piece on the surface of the wall and peel it off after a while. The absence of small particles on the sticky surface of the tape indicates its cleanliness. After this, you can safely start gluing.

Mistake #2 – poorly selected glue

The next mistake is incorrectly selected wallpaper glue. Today, manufacturers offer a huge number of different types of wallpaper. They all differ not only in pattern and color, but also in density. Therefore, for thinner paper wallpapers it is not recommended to use too thick an adhesive composition, and for denser or so-called “heavy” wallpapers, for example, non-woven or vinyl, on the contrary, you should use a thicker adhesive intended for this type of wallpaper. In this case, it is important to saturate the wallpaper thoroughly (the solution is applied from the center to the edges), and then carefully smooth it over the surface of the wall. If the wallpaper is very heavy, then you should apply the adhesive solution not only to the wallpaper, but also to the wall.

When purchasing wallpaper and glue, consult the seller. Thus, you will not only save time, but also protect yourself from the possible consequences of incorrectly selected glue.

You may find it useful

On a note! If you decide to make cosmetic repairs in rooms such as the kitchen or bathroom - that is, in rooms with high humidity - then you should opt for glue with fungicidal and bactericidal additives. They will help protect walls from fungus and mold.

Mistake #3 – slanted seams

Slanting seams are also a fairly common mistake. This problem occurs when the first strip is glued unevenly and manifests itself in the form of a significant distortion when applying subsequent strips. The only way to fix this is to completely re-glue the wallpaper. To avoid this unpleasant procedure, you should mark the place where the first sheet will be glued using a plumb line, which can be used as a thread with a weight attached at the bottom. You can also use a level by initially drawing a vertical line across the entire surface of the wall as a guide.

You may find it useful

Important! Very often they try to straighten a crooked strip of wallpaper by tugging and pulling it. This gross mistake leads to damage to the material. If you glued the strip unevenly, it is better to remove it and re-glue it.

Mistake #4 – incorrect fitting of joints

Incorrect fitting of joints is another common mistake when gluing wallpaper, which can cause gaps to form between the sheets. It is important to consider that some wallpaper may shrink as it dries. Therefore, before starting work, you should conduct a small experiment: spread a small piece of wallpaper with glue and let it dry completely. If, after drying, it has clearly decreased in size, then such wallpaper should be glued with an overlap (as a rule, 5 cm in reserve will be enough to avoid the consequences of shrinkage). After the wallpaper has dried completely, trim off the excess at the joints using a sharp wallpaper knife and jointed ruler.

Warning! Don't do the work in separate steps. For example, under no circumstances cover all sheets of wallpaper with glue and then stick them one by one.

Advice: To make the joints less noticeable, the wallpaper should be glued taking into account the organization of the light space in the room: if you have chosen thin paper wallpaper and decided to glue it overlapping, then the work should be carried out moving from the window into the room.

Mistake #5 – bulges and folds

Blisters and folds after gluing may be the result of incorrectly prepared glue or non-compliance with the temperature conditions in the room. Carefully follow the instructions on the can of adhesive solution. Wallpapering should be done with the windows closed and at constant room temperature. The optimal temperature for wallpapering is considered to be from +18 to +23 degrees Celsius. If you are wallpapering in very hot and dry weather, you should take care to pre-humidify the room using water containers placed in several places or a humidifier. It is strictly forbidden to ventilate the room at least during the first 24 hours after completion of work - this may cause premature peeling of the wallpaper. Also, on the first day after work, you should avoid contact with direct sun rays on the surface of the walls.

Advice: When bubbles appear, draw the adhesive into a syringe, pierce the bubble with it and inject the glue inside, then carefully smooth the surface.

To prevent wrinkles from appearing on the wallpaper, immediately after transferring the canvas to the wall, smooth it out from the center to the edges. To smooth paper wallpaper, it is better to use a soft cloth or roller; for non-woven wallpaper, a special spatula or rubber roller is suitable, and for vinyl wallpaper, a plastic spatula or a stiff brush is suitable. Under no circumstances should you use wet or even slightly damp tools and cloths, as this will cause irreparable damage to your repair.

Hanging wallpaper indoors is a very responsible and time-consuming undertaking, which very often requires the involvement of assistants, since it can be very difficult to cope with the tasks on your own. But if you take into account the following recommendations, you will be able to paste on high level even on your own.

In this article we will look at how to properly glue wallpaper with your own hands quickly and efficiently, and what you need for this.

To carry out high-quality wallpapering in a room, you need to prepare the following tools for wallpaper work, which will help you do all the work yourself at a high level:

• lightweight and at the same time practical stepladder;
• a clean plastic bucket for diluting glue;
• a construction ditch in which the glue will be located;
• paint roller for spreading glue;
• wallpaper ruler for measurements, which also serves for cutting fabrics;
• tape measure, pencil;
• a wallpaper brush or plastic spatula, which will help smooth out all the unevenness and bulges that arise when wallpapering;
• rubber roller for joints;
• sponge or gauze rag to collect excess glue and thereby create a clean finished surface.

This list is the necessary minimum, without which it is simply impossible to do. All of the listed tools for wallpapering can be purchased at any hardware store.

Preparatory stage

Answer the question: “How to properly glue wallpaper with your own hands?” in a nutshell, it’s unlikely that anyone will succeed. The gluing process is distinguished by certain actions, which must be treated with the utmost care and precision in order to ensure the proper outcome of the work.

Rules for choosing wallpaper for gluing

The selection of wallpaper is, perhaps, the very first stage. The appearance of the room after renovation, as well as the gluing process itself, largely depends on it. After all, gluing thin, low-quality canvases will be much more difficult.

It is important to choose the most suitable wallpaper according to pattern, color scheme, type, using the required number of rolls to completely cover the room.

The range of wallpapers at the moment is quite large, so you need to treat your choice with maximum responsibility, choosing for yourself exactly the option that suits you best.

Preparing the wall surface

The quality of finishing largely depends on how correctly it is carried out.

First, remove the old wallpaper using hot water, rags or brushes. Sometimes ordinary water is not enough, and the old coating can be easily removed with your own hands only using a soap solution.

After removing the old coating from the walls, all unevenness must be removed by applying a thin layer of putty. If this step is ignored, after wallpapering all sorts of defects can spoil the appearance.

Gluing technology

It is better to start this stage by preparing the glue, since you will have to wait some time for it to thicken. Wallpaper glue must be diluted in accordance with the existing instructions, which spell out all the details.

If the adhesive mixture is diluted incorrectly, wallpapering may be complicated by the appearance of extremely undesirable problems in the form of lumps or too liquid consistency.

While the glue thickens, you can move on to preparing the wallpaper, namely selecting a pattern and cutting strips to the required length.

After the materials have been prepared, you can begin gluing the surface.

Where to start gluing

Many people start wallpapering the room from the window the old-fashioned way. This is explained by the fact that the seams of overlapping paper wallpaper are less noticeable with this type of pasting.

Since modern vinyl, non-woven and many other types of wallpaper are glued end-to-end, you can start pasting from anywhere. However, there are still some rules and techniques that will help you find answers to the question of how to glue wallpaper in various unusual cases:

1. When gluing vertically, it is best to start from the door or window slope, since it is very important here to glue the first strip strictly perpendicularly. In this case, it is better to additionally use a level or plumb line, which is quite possible to do with your own hands.
2. It is recommended to start pasting from the corner only if the corners of the room are perfectly even.
3. If you are covering a room with a large number of windows, openings, niches or projections, you need to start from the largest landmark.
4. You can also paste a room from several lines. This technique is justified when decorating a room with large windows or a door with wallpaper. The wallpaper joint will be less noticeable if it is made above them.

How to glue correctly

During the gluing process, the wallpaper strips must be carefully applied to the wall and gradually glued from the center to the edges, while pulling diagonally. Next, using a dry cloth or paint roller, we expel all the air and excess glue from under the canvases.

Wallpaper can be glued overlapping or end-to-end. The first option is acceptable for thin paper sheets, but end-to-end is better.

Heating radiators are a problematic but important place when wallpapering

Every person who has at least once had to paper a room with their own hands has encountered the problem of finishing behind the radiator. This warmest and most comfortable place in the room creates certain inconveniences during the pasting process, so special attention and a competent approach are paid to it.

If we are talking about new buildings, where, as a rule, removable batteries and heating radiators are located, the question of “how to hang wallpaper behind them” is solved very simply: first, the battery is dismantled (and it is done very easily and quickly), then the wallpaper is glued, and After they dry, the radiators are installed back. But what if it is not possible to remove the battery?

To properly paste the wall behind the heating radiator, it is recommended to cut the wallpaper into narrow strips and place it behind the radiator. In this case, the surface of the wall behind it must be additionally coated with glue.

In what cases is it necessary to glue wallpaper horizontally?

You can save a lot of time and effort when gluing the wall behind the battery by using horizontal gluing. Also, this wallpapering technology can be used in the case of combining several types of canvases, that is, if you decide to glue the wallpaper horizontally to divide the room into two horizontal halves, or if you want to emphasize some details in the design.

In any case, wallpapering must be done with high quality, avoiding the occurrence of air bubbles, scuffs and other damage and defects.

If it is not possible to paste wallpaper with a perfectly even horizontal stripe at the junction of two different canvases, you can resort to the following secret: paste border tape, which will hide the unevenness of the joint.

Important rules for wallpapering

In order for the wallpapering of walls to be done with really high quality, you should pay attention to the following rules for wallpapering:

1. Wallpaper glue. It is important not only to choose correctly, but also to use glue correctly, so read the instructions and rules for using the material in your work.
2. Room temperature. You cannot paste walls indoors at low temperatures, since the glue will not be able to provide the desired effect, and the wallpaper will freeze. Also, you should not paste over the walls and ceiling in a room with high temperatures, since in this case the completely opposite effect is ensured: drying out of the glue and the canvas itself.
3. Measurements. It will be unsightly if the canvas somewhere does not reach the right place, so it is recommended to accurately measure the walls or ceiling in advance in order to avoid inconvenience in the future. The secret to getting the measurements right is to cut the strips a few centimeters larger than required. In the future, this reserve can be trimmed or hidden with a plinth or baguette.
4. Selection of drawing. Many modern wallpaper options require a high-quality selection of patterns in order to create an attractive external effect with a precise pattern or design. If you don’t want to waste time on selection, you should choose wallpaper without a pattern. A significant advantage of such options is the fact that, if necessary, you can not completely re-glue the wallpaper, but just one or several strips.

In the list of materials in demand in interior decoration, paper wallpaper is far from the last place. Invented back in medieval China, they are practically the cheapest and, most importantly, environmentally friendly solution, with the help of which you can create a cozy and pleasing environment without much effort. But in order for an interior made with paper wallpaper to serve as long as possible without causing unnecessary hassle, it is important to study the basic criteria for their selection and understand the practical intricacies of gluing and caring for them during operation.

Types and features of paper wallpaper

Paper is a fibrous material whose structure is easily penetrated by moisture and fat. It is an excellent springboard for dust and can even absorb odors. All this must be taken into account when decorating the premises - if you choose the wrong wallpaper, the atmosphere that reigns here will very soon leave its indelible imprint on it.

Protection of the paper web from aggressive operating factors is provided by a number of modern technologies. In accordance with them, the following types of paper wallpaper are distinguished:

1. Smooth

The basis is paper of various types, sometimes with a light-resistant base, and the design is applied to the front side using a printing method.

1. Duplex

They have 2 layers, thanks to which they do not tear, and, if necessary, can be easily removed from walls or ceilings.

1. Embossed

Also double-layered, but the front side is embossed, i.e. has a certain, often patterned, relief.

1. Structural

Manufactured with the addition of seals - sawdust, crushed nut shells, etc., due to which they acquire a unique facial relief.

1. Acrylic (foam wallpaper)

They are a two-layer canvas, on the front side of which a thin layer of foamed acrylic is laid - the result is quite unusual designs.

1. Moisture resistant

This type of wallpaper has a moisture-resistant coating, thanks to which it can be cleaned and washed.

Obviously, the more aggressive the atmosphere in the room being finished, the more wear-resistant the wallpaper should be and the more it will cost. But the most important thing when buying is not to confuse different kinds canvases. For example, some paper wallpapers are practically indistinguishable appearance from vinyl, which cannot be said about their price. In short, make sure you don't accidentally overpay for features you don't need.

Preparation for gluing

Paper wallpaper is a fairly simple material to work with, which is not difficult to handle even if you have no pasting experience and alone. But first, it is necessary to properly prepare the surfaces to be finished: dust, remnants of whitewash and old wallpaper, etc. will not allow the gluing to be completed properly, and defects in the rough finishing will immediately appear on the front side of the canvas.

To hang paper wallpaper you will need:

• roller or brush;
• wallpaper brush;
• tracer;
• plumb line;
• construction knife;
• sponge;
• container for glue;
• wallpaper table;
• ladder;
• roulette;
• long ruler;
• wallpaper glue.

Having collected everything you need, you can begin preparatory work. They are performed in the following order:

1. Removing old wallpaper, whitewash and peeling plaster

Old wallpaper can be removed very easily if you first scratch it and moisten it with a soapy solution using a sponge. It is most convenient to work with a metal spatula. Those areas that come off poorly will have to be moistened again.

1. Removing paint residues

Oil paint or enamel is removed using coarse sandpaper. Water-based emulsion and whitewash, similar to old wallpaper, are first soaked in a soap solution and then removed with a spatula.

1. Elimination of defects in pasted surfaces

For high-quality gluing of paper wallpaper, it is necessary to carefully plaster all the cracks and smooth out any unevenness on the walls or ceiling, after which they should be cleaned using a plaster mesh.

1. Primer

Before wallpapering, the surface of the walls and ceiling must be primed. This will ensure normal adhesion of the glue and prevent the formation of air bubbles under the wallpaper.

1. Cleaning

After finishing preparatory work must be carried out indoors wet cleaning. This will avoid contamination of the new wallpaper during the cutting process.

Preparation for gluing paper wallpaper in the photo

Fabric preparation

Wallpaper is sold in rolls, which are printed immediately before starting work. But first you need to mark the walls. To do this you will need a plumb bob and a tracer. If you don't have the latter, you can use a level, a long ruler and a pencil or chalk. You should mark the top level of the wallpaper (for rooms with high ceilings) and use vertical lines to mark the joints of the canvas.

There are two methods of wallpapering: butt and overlap. If the first option cannot be used, gluing the canvas should be done in the direction towards natural or electric lighting.

Immediately before gluing, you can perform wall stripping: apply a 10-cm strip of glue along the corner lines, as well as the area along the baseboard and ceiling line. After 2-3 minutes the wall will be ready for gluing.

When starting to cut wallpaper, you should wipe the surface of the table or, in the absence of the latter, the area of ​​the floor on which you will temporarily stack the cut pieces of canvas. The cutting is carried out with a 3-5 cm margin on both sides of each segment for a small overlap along the line of the plinth and ceiling. The finished stack is shifted with a 10-15 cm indentation, due to which, when applying glue to the top sheet, you will glue the joint strip on the next one. And remember that paper tends to get wet quickly, so the glue should be applied in a moderate layer.

After gluing, the top strip is folded in half, after which the same action, only in the opposite direction, must be repeated. The folded strip is set aside, after which you can proceed to the next one while the previous one is soaked in glue. It’s not worth using more than 3-4 strips: you may not be able to complete the pasting in time, since wallpaper glue dries very quickly in air.

Selection, preparation and application of wallpaper glue

For gluing medium-density paper, lightweight wallpaper adhesive, for example, KMC, is ideal. As for its quantity, it depends on the area to be pasted, which, like all the necessary proportions, must be indicated on the packaging. When purchasing, it is very important to pay attention to the presence of a quality certificate. The glue must not contain substances harmful to health.

Preparation of wallpaper glue:

• 5-7 liters of water are poured into a pre-prepared container;
• the water is shaken and the dry adhesive mixture is poured into the resulting whirlpool;
• the resulting mass must be thoroughly stirred and then left for some time to swell.

Thickened wallpaper glue should be uniform. If you find lumps, they can be easily eliminated by re-stirring the mass.

The glue should be applied evenly to the back side of the wallpaper, distributing it over the entire surface. It is most convenient to use a roller for this. After applying the glue, you need to wait 5-7 minutes so that it is well absorbed by the paper web.

If the glue accidentally gets on the front side of the wallpaper during application, it must be removed with a damp sponge. You shouldn’t use too much force – it’s better to use more water. This will preserve the structure and color of the front surface.

Some types of wallpaper glue have special additives that reduce its setting time. Therefore, before cooking, you must carefully read the instructions, otherwise you will face unpleasant surprises in the form of a composition that thickens too quickly.

Technology of pasting walls and ceilings with paper wallpaper

You need to glue wallpaper quickly and carefully. That is why it is advisable to work together. Paper wallpaper is almost always laid with a slight overlap, otherwise, due to the low wear resistance of the canvas, the joints will fray very quickly.

The sheet of canvas that you glued first, after 5-7 minutes, is unbent so as to gain access to the upper edge. Next, you need to stick the top strip on the wall - just on the section of the wall that you treated with glue. Now, holding the canvas by the top, you need to carefully unbend it and stick it on the wall. At the same time, using smooth arcing movements using a dry sponge or rag, you need to smooth the wallpaper until it sticks properly.

Small air bubbles can be left alone. When the glue dries, the paper wallpaper will shrink slightly and allow air to escape. If large bubbles have formed, they need to be carefully pierced with a needle and the air removed. In such areas it won't hurt to add glue. This can be done using a syringe, while the edges of the canvas are best glued using a brush.

After gluing 4-5 sheets, it is very desirable to remove the indents - after the glue dries, carefully cutting them off without affecting the main sheet will be very problematic. Do not forget to control the orientation of the pattern on adjacent sections of the canvas - it must match.

Wallpapering the ceiling is done in the same way, with the only difference being that the canvas should be placed perpendicular to the direction of lighting. Please note that wallpaper on the ceiling is always glued end to end.

The joint lines between adjacent sheets need to be rolled with a narrow rubber roller. It doesn’t hurt to carry out this operation when gluing wallpaper onto walls with an overlap - as practice shows, this is where they most often come off due to the different microstructure, and therefore the absorbency, of the front and back surfaces of the wallpaper. You also need to remember to cut out the fabric in the currents for placing switches and sockets. It is advisable to do this before gluing - after the hole, all that remains is to correct it with a stationery knife.

If you have carefully prepared for gluing, chosen reliable glue, and correctly cut and pasted the paper wallpaper, it will serve you for as long as possible. Of course, provided that you protect them from damage, moisture and dirt.