How to Prepare for Wallpaper Installation

How to Prepare for Wallpaper Installation

Updating your room with wallpaper is a fun and fast way to change the appearance of your room, bring in new colors and designs to your space, and make a splash with very little effort. Knowing how to prepare your walls for installation will ensure that you do not have any problems in the future with your wallpaper peeling or bubbling. While preparation may not sound that exciting, it’s important if you want to make sure that your wallpaper looks its best when you are done with your project.

Preparing the Room

Your first step in getting ready to wallpaper your room is to prepare the room. You will want to make sure that you have cleared everything that you can out of the room so that you have plenty of space to work. It is also important to take everything off of the walls before cleaning. After the room is empty, turn off the power to the room, remove covers from light switches and sockets, and wash the walls with a damp rag. Next, you will want to use spackle to repair any holes in the walls, then wash the walls again with water and a detergent.

At this point you will be ready to size the walls. This is important, because it will stop wallpaper adhesive from soaking into the drywall. Correct sizing will also prevent the wallpaper from drying too quickly, which will allow you to make small adjustments while hanging the wallpaper.

Ensure the Paper Hangs Straight

If you don’t take the time to make sure that your wallpaper hangs straight, then your job will not look professional and you may end up starting all over. You need to start in the corner of a wall and measure out half of the width of your roll of wallpaper. By using a level or a plumb line, draw a vertical line up and down the wall. After you have the plumb line, you can hang the strips of wallpaper next to each other using the plumb line as a guide. Of course, it’s important to have a plumb line for each wall, so you will need to repeat this step on all of the walls in the room.

Special Considerations

There are a few times where you need to take into consideration special steps to ensure that your wallpaper is hung correctly. If you have new plaster walls in your home, you may need to wait between one and four months for them to dry completely before papering them. Any mildew on the surface of your walls needs to be removed. You can do this by washing the walls with half water and half bleach and then using TSP on the walls. After letting the walls dry, apply a sealer that has a fungicide added to it.

With a little prep work you can make sure that your new wallpaper looks amazing. It does take time to get your room ready for this treatment, but taking your time and completing the steps listed will ensure that you have a professional finish and love the way your new wallpaper looks.

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