How to install a wallpaper.

Wallpapering the walls of a home or office has become one of the most common activities in any interior remodeling. This is because with wallpaper you can transform specific areas of your home, or any work place into totally cozy, visually pleasing and elegant areas that go along with a specific theme. You can have formal settings as offices, cozy settings as bedrooms, eye-catching settings as entertainment areas and colorful settings as children’s rooms and play areas.

The procedure of how to install a wallpaper is very simple. You just need to be very cautious, thorough and patient. You can do this project with few materials and for its installation you will use simple and easy to get tools.



With this new post I will explain in detail how to install a wallpaper in any area of your home or office and you can do it in a professional, fast and easy way. Initially we will see techniques on how to calculate the materials needed to obtain the budget of the project, how to place it and, in addition, we will see common situations that may hinder the installation, such as, the corners of the walls, the encounter with a window or any electrical installation, etc.. Together with the difficulties mentioned above, we will show you the proper techniques to be able to perform the installation correctly.

Necessary materials.

It is important to take into account that as materials we will only need the rolls of wallpaper and the adhesive to stick it to the wall. There are several types of wallpaper, and in different materials such as vinyl or cellulose fiber. The price will vary depending on the material you choose.

As basic tools we will use spatulas (silicone and metal), blades, sponge, brushes, square, level, measuring ruler, wallpaper cutter, brush, container to prepare and apply the adhesive, wallpapering table, ladder and rollers for joints and corners. These tools can be easily and inexpensively obtained in the market.

Procedure of how to install a wallpaper.

To begin with our installation, the first thing to consider is the paper we are going to use. As we mentioned before, it can be of two main categories, a vinyl paper or a cellulose paper. This differentiation is important because it will condition the type of glue that we will use to glue it. Nowadays we also have universal glues which are becoming more and more versatile and can be used for both types of paper.

A very important recommendation that we must take into account is that when we select the rolls of wallpaper, all have the same manufacturer’s code, because if this code is different we can have differences in shades in the colors and this we realize when it is too late, that is, when the roll is already uncovered, or worse, when we have already installed it.

Once we have chosen the wallpaper we are going to use, we must calculate the amount of paper and adhesive we must buy. For this we must measure the total area we are going to cover, preferably in square meters. Then we divide the total area by the amount of meters covered by each roll of wallpaper (usually 5 square meters per roll), and this amount gives us as a result the number of rolls we must buy. It is very important to keep in mind that we must add 10% to the total area to take into account the waste generated by the installation.

A tool that facilitates the calculation of the rolls and adhesives is the digital calculator for wallpaper that we can find in the link below.

Let’s start by deploying our wallpaper table. This professional table allows us to travel with it because it takes up little space and is very light, the table is numbered and is very easy to open.

What we must do first, and to begin with our installation is to always start by measuring the height of the wall, always from the ceiling to the baseboard. To this measurement we add 5 centimeters above and below the total measured length. This will give us a margin to cut the excess at the junction of the wallpaper with the ceiling and with the baseboard. Now we use our table to make the measurement and cut along the mark.

This would be our first roll with which we start the installation. Normally this is located to the left of the entire route. It is advisable to number the strips we are cutting in order to establish an order of placement, since we would cut all the strips before installing.

To cut the second strip of wallpaper, and all the others, we must verify that the pattern of drawings of the previous strip coincides with the next one and proceed to cut them all. We must number each strip as this would be the order we would use for the placement.

Now we proceed with the placement of the first strip on the wall. The first strip always has to be perfectly vertical because this will provide us with the placement line for all the other strips and to do this we use a traditional system using the level and drawing a guide line along the entire length of the wall (preferably one centimeter from the edge of the first strip).

Adhesive preparation.

There are several types of glues or adhesives, pasty, liquid, semi-liquid and powder. Depending on the type of paper, one type of adhesive or another is used. In the case of pasty adhesives, they are simply applied directly on the surface, as well as liquid and semi-liquid adhesives. And in the case of powder adhesives, simply mix with water in the proportions indicated by the manufacturer and beat until a homogeneous mixture is obtained.

After preparing our adhesive mixture, we apply to the wall evenly with the brush, only the area where the strip in question will go, since this type of glue dries very fast.

Then we place the first strip taking into account the surface impregnated with glue. We also place it in its position helping us with the vertical line that we had already drawn previously. Having the vertical line as a guide we extend the paper so that it is completely straight and flat, this is achieved with the help of a brush, and we must also take into account the 5 centimeters of excess wallpaper below and above the strip. This is in order to give the finishing cut for the final finish.

Glue well the space where the second strip will go. We place this strip, first of all, making sure that the image and the patterns match between one paper and the other. Once we have it we will also look at the alignment of the two strips. They must be perfectly parallel together without being mounted or separated. Once we have well aligned the joints and with the help of the brush, we are gluing the strip. We do this smoothly and from top to bottom, avoiding folds or air pockets.

When we find a corner of the wall, we must take the measure from the last strip of paper to the corner and add 3 millimeters to cut the strip lengthwise. After the cut we proceed to glue it. This will cover the entire corner and will exceed it to be able to attach the other piece of strip. Note that the process of attaching the adhesive to the wall should always be done before attaching the next strip in the process.

Obstacles such as outlets and switches.

A very common obstacle that we find is a mechanism such as outlets and switches, for these cases and for safety we need to disconnect the electricity. We remove the cover of the appliance and proceed to place the paper in the area in question. Just where the outlet or switch coincides, we make a cross cut in the wallpaper and remove the excess. It does not have to be a cut to the right size since the cover will cover any imperfection. And we continue placing the wallpaper over the entire surface.

Obstacles windows.

With the next obstacle it is necessary to check the entire window frame and place the paper. We must make a cut that allows us to adhere the paper to the perimeter of the window and give continuity with the strip previously placed. This operation must be repeated with each strip until the window frame is completely covered and the installation can continue. Before placing the wallpaper we must place the adhesive to the wall just in the area where it will cover the strip that we are placing.

At this point it is important to check the joints between one sheet and the next and pass the rubber roller to flatten the joints and remove excess adhesive with a damp cloth.

Conclusion.

As you could see, installing wallpaper is getting easier and more practical every day. With this didactic guide you learned how to install a wallpaper and you also have the facility to do it yourself, as well as the necessary tools to modify your spaces, adapting them to the motifs you want. You don’t need special tools and with a logical criteria you will be able to do this installation in a simple and efficient way.

We hope this knowledge will help you transform your home or office into the space you dreamed of.