Anyone have experience hanging wallpaper? Is it really tough to do well? Will I need a second person to help me?
It seems as though wallpaper is currently out of fashion (I can find a lot more advice on removing wallpaper than hanging it) but I found this amazing photomural I’m dying to put up in my kitchen. (it’s not a beach sunset) I’d love to hear some first hand accounts of the pitfalls of hanging wallpaper.
I’ve done it. I think it’s easier without help, unless your helper has some experience, or unless he will take direction without second-guessing you.
It’s easy to hang pre-pasted paper. There are some cool tools now that they didn’t have in the old days – the tub for the water, seam rollers, cutters, etc.
The hard part is choosing the design. I’ve used designs that have to butt up and designs that can be overlapped. I like the overlap better, especially if the room isn’t exactly square. Once I thought I’d chosen a design that didn’t need to be precisely matched, but I was wrong. Bad lesson after spending $300 on the paper.
Get lots of blades for the cutter and change them often, maybe every couple of cuts. Clear as much stuff as possible out of the room so you have plenty of work space. Prepare the wall surface well. Scrape, smooth, prime. Use a chalk line to make sure your first strip is straight. Take it slow. Be extra careful in corners. Space the work out over a couple of days so you won’t be tempted to rush. Buy extra paper if you can, to allow for tears or mistakes in measurement.
ETA: :smack: Just noticed you’re doing a mural. That should be even easier, since you won’t have to worry about corners. As long as the wall surface is smooth, you shouldn’t have a problem.
Cool, thank for the advice, I was worried it was going to be this enourmous, impossible task. The wall is textured but I’ve been reading about using wallpaper liner to cover up imperfections and it sounds like a good way to also get some experience before I hang the mural. The mural isn’t prepasted so I figure I’ll use unpasted liner as well.
Do you start by affixing the paper at the top of the wall and smoothing it downward? Are air bubles a big problem? I’ve tried to affix a poster to posterboard before and it always looked rotten. Does wallpaper paste have a little “give” so you can smoosh it around a little or does it instantly glob onto the wall?
Wallpaper paste doesn’t instantly set - you can smooth and move the paper as necessary.
I wallpapered the master bedroom in my house - three walls textured paper and one wall is a mural. Since I had no experience, a friend of mine came over and helped me with the mural and one wall; Mr. SCL and I did the other two.
Plenty of room is a must - and a helper who will take direction. My married for over 30 years sister in law put wallpaper in a bathroom with her husband as assistant and said it was the closest they have ever come to divorce.
I don’t recommend stripes or patterns that have to be matched for your first try.
Good luck! I love the look of wallpaper.
There should be instructions included with your mural. For that type of project you have to see if the mural is too long for your wall, then decide what part you want to give up - top, bottom or some of both. Don’t try to cut it exactly - leave some overage at the top and bottom. Decide where you want the center to be, have your assistant hold the paper at that point to the center mark on the wall, then you on the ladder start the paper at the top. Use a line or a level to make sure the paper is straight. I found that my room isn’t square, so if I had just used the side wall as a judge I would have had a tiliting mural.
As for smoothing, I started at the top, working from the middle of each strip of paper to the sides. If you discover a bubble you missed, you can take a tiny needle and puncture it, then smooth the bubble. I had to do that more than I like to admit, but it looks fine.
Prepasted is much easier to use. I recommend the prepasted liner. Then you’ll have a better feel for how much paste you need and how thick it should be to get good adhesion.
I wallpapered my dining room twice (the first batch of paper was defective so that the paste showed through after the wall dried - the company replaced it for free). The top 2/3rds of the room was not prepasted. It wasn’t terribly difficult - just take your time and be particular lining everything up. The bottom paper was prepasted and went much more quickly (also because no ladder was needed for that portion.
You can slide the paper around a little bit once it’s on the wall, but the closer you get it at first, the easier it is to line it all up. Big brushes are available for smoothing out air bubbles.
You don’t want to do a mural as your first project.
Something that can be a problem is the seam between sheets can end up with a gap showing after you’re done and the paper is dry. You never cut to the exact length, until it has been hung and positioned. The corners of walls should have a narrow strip put up spanning them, and the large width sheets put up to the corners. The shrinkage on larger sheets can cause the paper to pull away from the corner when it dries.
Seal and size the walls. Ensure that there is no problem with them regarding unstable drywall/plaster, etc.
I’m better doing wallpaper myself, so I don’t have to justify my perfectionist tendencies. My Dad tried to help me do my kitchen (before the cabinets were set) and didn’t share my zeal in preventing the pattern flowers from marching down behind the future counter backsplash.
I can lend myself to many things and can often quickly acquire the rudiments of a new skill without any explicit tuition. Wallpapering is not one of these skills. My wife can do it and make it look incredibly easy - I, OTOH, just end up wasting materials.
It’s been a long, LONG time. The wallpaper was patterned and of the type that needed its own paste, but I did a very good job and IIRC it was very quick and easy. The new “prepasted” stuff shouldn’t be too hard. I do remember I needed a step stool though.
Also, mine had the pattern running vertically and it wasn’t terribly busy or complicated a pattern either, so that might have helped. I also asked the paint store guy for a bunch of pointers. That helped. Sorry that’s about all I can remember (I put it up when my daughter was about 5, she’s 28 now and I live in a completely different house of course).
When you said “mural” I was dubious, but that actually is quite cool. I wonder why it looks so much better in the “room view” photo than the first one?
Oh! Just read this from the mural site:
That changes things a bit, particularly the positioning and adhesive bits. My advice regarding the wall liner still holds.
Do not do this with somebody you’re married to. My parents never came closer to divorce than over a bathroom.
Razorette and I have wallpapered numerous times. I’ve found it’s best, if a male is helping his female partner do the wallpapering, to simply follow orders and keep his mouth shut. It does often take more than two hands, but it takes only one head. Women tend to be pickier about matching the pattern, bubbling, and so on, so if there is guy labor involved, he needs to put his brain in neutral and speak only when asked a direct question.
Most wallpapers today are pre-pasted, which makes it much easier to do; instructions are simple and tool requirements are minimal. Home improvement places always have easy-to-follow instructions, as does any paint store that sells wallpaper.
Final advice: For heaven’s sake, have fun with it.
My first recommendation would be to paint instead. Wallpaper isn’t that hard to hang, but it’s a bitch to remove when you’re tired of it. I’ve had good luck with stenciling, since I don’t have much artistic talent, and there are a lot of designs available.
We’ve done several wallpaper projects (back before we realized it was a bitch to remove) except that we had our kitchen professionally done because we were daunted by all of the cuts that were required around the cabinet trim.
We always screwed up with the second piece of wallpaper. The first would go on beautifully, but then we’d cut the second wrong and the pattern wouldn’t match up.
I think it’s easier with two people to handle long strips of paper. As others have said, go into it with a good humor; you’ll need it.
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think I will try it myself, starting with the liner. If I find the liner too frustrating, maybe I’ll find some more experienced help.
Yeah, that worries me a bit 'cause I’ve used that spray on stuff for posterboard and it’s sticky. Instant adhesion and no second chances. I’ve seen these same murals available at other sites without the note so I’ll probably just use the paste provided with the mural. (BTW, the mural is also about half as much at other sites but that site has the cool room view)
After reading the instructions for hanging the mural, I’d be tempted to hire someone to do it, especially if the mural is expensive. The word “lightweight” is scary. They’re telling you that it’s easy to tear the mural, and even normal weight wallpaper will tear if you’re not careful. And telling you not to brush or rub it? I don’t mean to discourage you, but it sounds like a job that requires some experience.
Glad to see I’m not the only one who’s had problems with helpful assistance from a spouse. “Honey? Shut up!”
I’ll echo the sentiments that this mural is not going to be a good “Learn how to wallpaper” project, especially after reading their installation notes about how delicate it is.
My advice is to either do some regular wallpapering first, to get a hang (heh!) for the craft, or to call a couple painters in the area and ask what they’d charge to install it, or if they could recommend someone in the area who’s experienced at murals.
Nothing will look worse than a mis-aligned mural. This one complicates matters by having the horizontal seam, so you’ll have to be sure a whole bunch of corners are all perfectly aligned, and that will be a wicked beast of a task if you’re using Super77.