How to hang wallpaper like a pro.

 To start, your going to need wallpaper; there are several types: standard, vinyl and flocked or textured. Standard is not very durable and probably shouldn’t be used in high traffic areas where it can be easilydamaged by wear and tear. It can also be difficult work with since it is delicate and requires extra care and patience when hanging. The plus side of standard material is it adheres very well to itself so the seams lay flat instead of curling up. Vinyl tends to be easier to hang since it is more durable and its great for areas that see a lot of use. Textured wallpaper has a raised design and is also a bit easier to hang but special care must be taken to avoid damaging the textured surface during hanging. The rule of thumb when hanging wallpaper is gentle handling. If your wondering how much wallpaper your going to need for the job click here for a wallpaper calculator.

     Let’s take a moment to discuss adhesives now. This is what makes the wallpaper stick to the wall and it’s important to know whether or not your wallpaper comes prepasted (dry adhesive on the back of your paper) or regular (non-prepasted). A lot of wallpapers these days come prepasted and it makes it a bit easier since all you need to do is wet it with water to activate the paste, however it also dries very quickly so you have to work fast. The benefit of regular adhesive is it does not dry as quickly but you will have to take the applying the paste . You’ll usually find your  more expensive or specialty wallpapers generally come unpasted.

     Preparation is very important when applying wallpaper and it’s tempting to jump right in and start hanging but patience grasshopper, patience. You need to prepare the walls which the paper will go on.  You want a clean, smooth surface so the wallpaper not only is wrinkle-free but also to help the paper adhere to the wall. To do this your gonna need some tools:

• Drop clothes
• Paint tray
• Paint roller with a handle and a sleeve
• Paintbrush
• Putty knife (6 inch blade or wider)
• Plaster or spackle (dry wall compound or joint compound are also common)
• Primer
• Wallpaper sizing
• Bucket for mixing
• Sandpaper
• Stepladder

Also this is a good time to mention you need to get yourself a buddy to help out. The prep work you can do yourself but once you actually start hanging the paper another pair of hands (and eyes) is going to be essential.

     OK so we have our tools, we’ve removed the furniture from the room and any old wallpaper that may have already been on the wall (to remove wallpaper you’ll need a whole other set of instructions which I don’t include here so your gonna want to do some Googling for that).  If you need to do any painting, to let’s say to the ceiling or trim, do it now before you hang the paper. It will be much simpler since you don’t have to pay special attention to taping because you will be covering any unwanted paint smudges and drips with your paper. Your also going to take this time mend your wall. Using the plaster or Spackle, fill all the cracks and holes in your wall then sandpaper the compound to a nice smooth surface. You may also want to sand away any imperfections like tiny bumps on your wall. You’ll then want to apply the primer with your brush to the spackled surface. You want to create a smooth,even surface for the paper to adhere too.

     So our wall is clean, smooth and ready for hanging. Next your going to apply the wallpaper sizing (you can buy this wherever wallpaper or paint is sold) this helps you slide the paper into place. It also is good if your wall has a flat finish paint since the sizing makes it easier to to hang. Your going to apply the sizing with your paint roller just as if you were painting a wall.

    OK, it’s time for you and your buddy to get to work. For the actual wallpaper hanging your going to need this list of tools and materials:

• Wallpaper
• Wallpaper paste (for non-pasted papers)
• Adhesive brush or paint roller (again for non-pasted papers only)
• Putty knife
• Smoothing brush (or a smoothing knife)
• Two large sponges
• Seam roller
• Border and seam adhesive (only if using vinyl paper)
• A level
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Single edge razor blades
• Drop cloths
• Stepladder
• Water tray
• Trash bag

    OK now begins the measuring, if your pattern is random you may want to cut all of your paper ahead of time to make the process  go faster, being sure to number the pieces to keep track of where you need to place them. If your pattern needs to be matched, you should just cut the pieces as you hang them leaving an extra 6 inches for ceiling and floor trimming.

     Find a place you wish to start hanging, there will be one place where the pattern won’t match up so it’s better to start in a corner so it’s not so noticeable because that is the seam where the pattern will not match exactly like the others. Behind a door or curtains or a far end of a room are also good. Using the  level, draw a 1/2-inch wider than the width of your paper. This will be the line you use to guage whether your paper is straight or not. You are going to do this for each piece of paper you want to hang.

     Next comes the glue, for prepasted paper you will want to do just one piece at a time. To activate the glue you will run the piece of paper through the water tray submerging the end of the paper in the tray and then slowly unrolling it.  THe entire piece will be in the water. Your going to pull it out and let it drip over the tray for about two seconds than lay it on a large surface such as a table (make sure you have a drop cloth to protect your furniture) and fold the ends in so the glue is touching the glue. Once the ends are folded in, fold the new ends into the center again being careful not to crease the paper. This is referred to as “booking” the wallpaper.

    If you have non-prepasted paper, you will have to apply the glue to the paper. Laying your strip of wallpaper back side up over a flat surface use a paint roller or adhesive brush to apply a thin layer of paste to the paper. Make sure every inch is covered since the paper will not adhere without it and you don’t want any air bubbles. Once the glue is on, you are going to “book” it by folding the ends in the center trying to keep the surface as flat as possible so glue doesn’t get on the printed side of the paper.

     Place the stepladder in the place you want to start hanging. Take the paper by the edge that will be placed on at the ceiling keeping the the rest of the paper folded. Hold the paper between the vertical line and the wall by the upper corners. Once you have it centered, press the paper in the corner leaving three inches at the ceiling and 1 inch onto he adjacent wall. Let the paper unfold and drop to the floor. Check to see if the paper is hanging straight if its not move it into the correct position. then smooth the rest of the paper onto he wall from the ceiling to the floor using the smoothing brush or knife. This forces the air bubbles out. Working from the center of the paper brush the bubbles out to the side. You also will want to clean the paper with a damp sponge to remove any glue residue from the printed side of the paper. Make sure to rinse the sponge well so you don’t just spread the glue around the paper. Don’t forget to do the baseboards and trim too.

     Next trim the excess paper by holding the blade of the putty knife into the corner where the ceiling and wall meet. Use the razor blade to cut the excess paper away. You will also want to do this to the floor end. 

     Now the seam roller to press the edge of the wallpaper down. This will ensure that the edge is securely adhered to the wall, make sure to wipe away any excess glue that may have been pressed out.

     Your going to repeat this process with each sheet of paper. To place around windows or doors let the paper hang as if you were papering the entire wall. You will then go back and trim the excess around the frame the same way you do with the ceiling and floor pieces.

Once all the paper is hung, go back around the room and double check to make sure the corners and seams to make sure they are not curling up. If they are, use the seam roller to push them back in place.

And that’s it, your wallpaper should be dry in approximately three hours or so. Enjoy your new room!