How to glue wallpaper: detailed instructions with photos and videos

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

You will make repairs no worse than professionals.

How to prepare a room

Take out the furniture and cover any items that cannot be removed with plastic. Remove shelves and decorations, sockets and switches, and, if possible, door trims and baseboards from the walls.

Wallpapering is a wet job. Therefore, be sure to turn off the electricity.

If this cannot be done in just one room, insulate the ends of the wires and close them with plugs.

For a dark room, you can make temporary lighting. For example, stretch extension cords from another room and place table lamps.

If the floors are finished with a material that is afraid of moisture, cover them with plastic wrap.

How to remove old wallpaper

If you stick new wallpapers on old ones, the result is unlikely to suit you. The top layer of old paper wallpaper can peel off after contact with water-based glue, and when everything is dry, a bubble is likely to form at this point. And if there is a convex pattern on the previous wallpaper, then the new coating will turn out to be uneven.

In addition, mold can form under the wallpaper due to poor wall ventilation.

You can remove the old paper covering with a spatula. Pry the wallpaper on them, pull on the bent part and tear it off the walls.

Anton Toskuev head of the construction department for the service of ready-made repair solutions "Tnor"

To make the process easier, soften the glue that holds the old wallpaper. To do this, you need a container of water, a scraper and a sponge. Dampen the canvases with water using a roller or spray them with a spray bottle. Scrape off the wallpaper with a scraper and rinse off the residue with a damp sponge.

To be more effective, you can dissolve a little detergent in water. It will definitely help if there are wallpapers on the walls that could not be removed with plain water.

Thus, you can easily and quickly remove the paper wallpaper. But on non-woven or vinyl, you need to first walk with a needle roller in order to violate the integrity of the cover.

Sometimes the wallpaper is treated with hot steam, passed over it with a needle roller and only then moistened. Water will penetrate better through the holes.

Anton Toskuev head of the construction department for the service of ready-made repair solutions "Tnor"

If the water does not work, it can be replaced with a special wallpaper remover. Such formulations dissolve the glue.

How to remove paint

On a smooth surface, the wallpaper will not last long, so you need to get rid of the paint layer. You can clean it with the same spatula, but it will take a lot of time.

You can use a hammer drill with a wide blade or a grinder with a grinding attachment. Please note that there will be a lot of dust in the process. So don't forget to wear a mask.

There are also special solutions designed to remove paint. They are applied to the surface with a roller or wide brush, moving in one direction. After the time indicated on the package, the paint will soften, and then it will be much easier to remove it.

Keep in mind that such products are very toxic and take a long time to fade. It is necessary to work with gloves, goggles and a respirator and with open windows.

A construction hairdryer can also come to the rescue. Under its influence, the paint melts and is easily removed with a scraper or spatula. In this case, you also cannot do without a respirator: there will be a pungent smell in the room.

This video shows the process of removing paint with a building hair dryer:

How to prepare the walls

After getting rid of old finishing coatings, the walls must be primed. This will prevent mildew and prevent putty and new wallpaper from falling off.

Apply the primer from the bottom up. It is most convenient to do this with a roller, and in the corners with a brush.

Then you need to wait for the liquid to dry. It takes about 10-15 hours, but the exact time should be indicated on the package.

After that, small irregularities, holes or chips on the walls are hidden with a layer of putty. It is applied with a wide spatula and leveled with it with even pressure.

The drying time of the putty is also indicated on the package.

Julia Soldatova expert of the decor department of the company "Leroy Merlin"

After the putty has dried, level the surface of the walls using a trowel with an abrasive mesh attached to it. Then clean the walls with a brush and a damp cloth to remove any dust that has formed.

After that, the walls need to be treated again with a regular store primer.

You can also use a weak solution of wallpaper glue: about 300 g for 10-12 liters of water. A primer made of PVA construction glue will cost much cheaper: it is enough to dilute 2 glasses in a 10-liter bucket of water. These methods are effective, but they will not protect the walls from the growth of microorganisms, since the glue does not have antiseptic properties.

After the final primer coat has dried, the wallpaper can be glued.

How to measure and cut wallpaper

If the wallpaper does not require matching the pattern, you can simply measure the height of the wall with a tape measure and cut the required amount from the wallpaper rolled out on the floor. To keep the strip even, the wallpaper is folded in half and cut along the fold.

If the walls in the apartment are not very even, you will have to measure the length of each strip.

If the wallpaper needs to be customized according to the pattern, you will have to act a little differently. It is necessary to cut the strips from two rolls at once. In this case, the consumption of wallpaper will be less than if you adjust the pattern using only one roll.

First, cut one strip, lay it face up on the floor, roll out the second roll and place it on the strip so that the pattern matches. Then you can cut a new strip.

Lifehacker told in great detail about calculating the required number of wallpapers in this article:

And yes, don't throw out the scrap. They can be used near windows or above a door.

Where to start gluing wallpaper

Wallpaper must be glued in a circle, that is, one strip after another. The place where the pasting starts is really not that important. However, for many, the usual starting point is the edge of the window.

First, the front lane needs a level reference, and windows, especially in older houses, are often smoother than corners or doorways.

Secondly, several decades ago, paper wallpaper, which is glued with an overlap, was most often used. And if the light falls from the side of the window, during the day the seams are less conspicuous.

But if the strips of wallpaper are glued end-to-end, then you can start from the door or corner.

It is better to start gluing wallpaper with a pattern in an inconspicuous place. For example, where the closet will be. The fact is that the space between the first and the penultimate stripes can be quite narrow. Because of this, the last stripe may not coincide in the pattern with the first.

It is very important to glue the first strip evenly.

Using a building level or plumb line, draw a strictly vertical line on the wall. It will serve as a beacon to guide you when gluing. This will avoid distortions.

Julia Soldatova expert of the decor department of the company "Leroy Merlin"

How to glue stripes

Be sure to close all windows and doors tightly before gluing the wallpaper. If there is a draft in the room, the wallpaper will simply fall off the walls.

On the liners in rolls it is written where the glue is applied: on the wallpaper or directly on the wall. In addition, the time for impregnating the canvas with glue should be indicated there. In this article, Lifehacker explained what the signs on the roll mean:

And the package with glue should indicate how to properly dilute it.

It is good if the glue contains substances that prevent the formation of mold. In addition, the glue must be environmentally friendly.

Anton Toskuev head of the construction department for the service of ready-made repair solutions "Tnor"

If glue is applied to wallpaper, then for better impregnation, fold the ends of the strip to the middle with glue inward, and then several more times without pressing the folds. Do not overdo it, take into account the time indicated in the instructions.

Then attach the wallpaper to the line drawn on the wall. The canvas is glued from top to bottom, while a few centimeters must be brought to the ceiling and floor or baseboard.

Smooth the wallpaper with a roller or dry brush from the middle to the edges and from top to bottom.

There should be no air bubbles between the wall and the canvas. If they do appear, pierce them with a needle and gently smooth the surface.

Cut off any excess wallpaper at the top and bottom. To do this, press them well to the edges so that a fold forms, which will serve as a cutting line. You can also press down on the wallpaper with a spatula and cut off any excess with a utility knife.

The next strips are glued according to the same principle, only the edge of the previous canvas will serve as a guide.

Please note that thin paper wallpapers are glued with a little overlap, and wallpapers made of thicker materials are glued end-to-end.

The joints between the strips should be ironed with a small rubber roller. Excess glue can be removed with a soft, damp sponge.

How to glue wallpaper in inner corners

Glue the first strip, leading it around the corner by 1–2 cm. In this case, it must first be cut to the required width. Glue the next strip straight from the corner, overlapping.

If the wallpaper is thick, then a double strip of wallpaper will be visible. In this case, press the wallpaper firmly with a spatula in the place where the canvases are glued to each other, and draw a line with a clerical knife. Then remove the two narrow strips left over from both strips and smooth the seam.

How to glue wallpaper in outer corners

The technique is almost the same as the previous one. The first strip should be wound around the corner by a few centimeters, and the second should be glued with an overlap.

Then place a ruler at the corner and use a utility knife to cut off the edges of both strips. Remove excess parts and tighten the blades if necessary. Iron the seam between the strips with a roller.

How to glue wallpaper around windows and doors

When you get to a window or door, stick the strip in the same way as the previous ones. Then carefully trim off any excess wallpaper around the edges.

Trim the edges of the stripes with a utility knife and press down on the wallpaper.

How to glue wallpaper behind batteries

Measure in height and cut the required amount of wallpaper. Attach the sheet to the battery and make vertical cuts on the wallpaper in the places where it is attached to the wall. Liberally coat the canvas with glue, put it behind the battery and level it.

The video shows this process in detail:

How to glue wallpaper behind pipes

Start gluing the canvas, and make an incision at the beginning of the pipe. Having wound the strip behind the pipe, cut off the excess wallpaper around it and smooth the canvas.

Here's a detailed instruction:

How to glue wallpaper around outlets and switches

Mark their edges on the canvas with four diagonal lines. Then carefully cut a window in the right place and level the wallpaper with a roller.

How to fix shortcomings after pasting

Directly in the process of work, until the glue has dried, the strips can be slightly pulled to each other right on the wall. After this it will no longer be possible to repeat it. Therefore, be extremely careful.

Defects in the form of air bubbles that appear on the wallpaper after drying can be corrected.

To do this, type glue into the syringe, pierce the bubble and insert a little glue from top to bottom. Then smooth the surface with a roller or cloth.

If the edges of the wallpaper have lagged behind, they can be glued either with a brush or using the same syringe with glue. Smooth the canvas and press it down with a dry cloth for a few minutes to make it secure.

If a wide gap has formed between the strips of wallpaper, cut out a strip of the required thickness from the remnants of the wallpaper and glue it end-to-end at the gap.

If the gap is very narrow, you can dip the edge of a spatula or ruler in paint of the same color as the wallpaper and paint over the gap. You can also use a regular felt-tip pen for these purposes.

Do not forget that after pasting the room, it cannot be ventilated until the wallpaper is dry.

As a rule, paper wallpapers dry for at least 12 hours, non-woven wallpapers take about a day, and vinyl wallpapers take about two days. The time may increase if the room has high humidity and low temperature. To check for sure, touch the pasted walls with your hand: they must be dry.

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