How to glue wallpaper on plywood?

Wallpaper is perhaps the most popular finishing material, and plywood can serve as a good basis for them. The problem of how to glue wallpaper on plywood is regularly encountered by the owners of private wooden houses, as well as the inhabitants of old urban high-rise buildings. The features of this type of finishing work will be discussed in our article.

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Which wallpaper is suitable?

Is it possible to glue wallpaper on plywood? You can, but you need to choose the right materials. Almost all types of wallpapers that are on sale will be held on a plywood basis:

• paper;
• vinyl;
• non-woven;
• textile;
• bamboo;
• silk plaster;
• cullet.

Paper

The easiest way is to paste over a plywood partition with paper wallpaper. They are cheap, varied in texture and color, do not damage health and allow air to pass through, allowing the walls to “breathe”.

But they have one serious flaw that severely limits their use in this case. They have a rather thin base, which does not allow to correct uneven walls and joints, and they inevitably form at the joints of the sheets. However, if you properly process the wall - the problem will disappear by itself.

Vinyl and non-woven

These materials are great for gluing wallpaper on plywood. They differ in simply invaluable qualities:

• strength;
• durability;
• perfectly hide small irregularities;
• hold well on plywood walls.

Textile

Wallpaper made of fabric will cost more than vinyl and non-woven, and even more so - paper. But they are dense, through them the base does not shine through, and in addition, they hide even large cracks and chips.

Bamboo

Another suitable, albeit rather expensive option is bamboo wallpaper. Wood and wood stick together easily, such wallpapers are durable, practical and give the interior a special charm.

Important! This is a natural material, that is, it does not cause allergies, does not accumulate dust, and is resistant to moisture. He can serve for several decades until he gets bored. But even then bamboo can be repainted.

Silk plaster and glass

Both options are suitable for decorating any wooden surfaces, including plywood:

• Liquid wallpaper is cheaper, and in addition, with the help of various additives you can make your own composition. You can also give the surface any texture, which will make it possible not only to hide the flaws of the wall, but even turn them into advantages.
• Cullet perfectly fit on the plywood base. They are durable, you can always choose a more or less budget option in the store. Even a novice finisher can apply them, and such wallpapers adhere to the wall very well and hold firmly.

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What is plywood?

Everyone saw this material, but in order to make a beautiful and high-quality finish, you need to know the features of the future foundation:

• plywood absorbs moisture;
• absorbing water, significantly increases in size;
• exfoliates under the influence of water;
• has a dense structure, which sometimes shines through the finish;
• fastens with metal fittings, which can rust and cause the appearance of spots on the wallpaper;
• sheets do not fit well.

At the same time, plywood has a lot of positive properties. This is a natural material that is relatively inexpensive.In addition, any materials hold well on the panels - unless, of course, all the subtleties of working with them are taken into account, and there are a lot of them. How to glue wallpaper on plywood in order to avoid negative consequences?

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Plywood difficulties

First you need to inspect the surface that you will wallpaper. There are two options:

• You are going to put new panels;
• You are going to glue wallpaper on an old, already fixed partition.

In the first case, it is important to choose the right sheets. It is better to give preference to waterproof grades of plywood. They will cost a little more, but you won’t have to think if the wall is deformed from frequent water or not.

Important! Do not forget to inspect the surface itself - it should not have visible chips and cracks.

Old partition

In this case, you may encounter a number of problems:

• the surface crumbles;
• cracks appeared;
• there are swellings caused by dampness,
• there are resin pockets;
• crumbling joints.

Important! It’s better to deal with all this in advance. For this you need a grinding machine or sandpaper with a large fraction. The joints are aligned using a masking tape with a retina, the so-called serpyanka, and putty.

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So that there is no moisture

If you just bought plywood sheets, then you will inevitably come across the question: when is it better to process them - before mounting on the wall or after? The first option is more convenient. For starters, it is very useful to coat surfaces with a water repellent. If the sheet is not attached to the wall, both sides can be processed. Particular attention should be paid to the edges - they are most susceptible to moisture.

Important! Processing with such a composition is a rather long process. Several layers are applied on each side, and after each surface must completely dry. Of course, when the panel, whether it is plywood, chipboard or MDF, is already attached to the wall, it is possible to apply impregnation on only one side. Accordingly, the result will be worse.

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What are the impregnations?

There are a lot of substances with which plywood can be saturated so that it does not absorb moisture. Most commonly used:

• waterproof film;
• drying oil;
• PVA adhesive water emulsion;
• nitro enamels.

Important! The action of all these substances is based on the fact that they are either absorbed into the tree, filling the gaps that are always there, or they form a layer on the surface that is impervious to water.

Special impregnation

The most effective option is the use of special impregnations. It will take a lot of time, but the result is worth it. The range of such impregnations in construction stores is quite large. We must choose those that are designed for interior decoration. Most often used such compounds as:

• “Belinka”;
• “Akvalazul”.

Drying oil

In construction stores you can find several types of drying oils:

• natural;
• synthetic;
• semi-synthetic.

Important! The best option is semi-synthetic, it dries much faster than natural. This substance is called “Oxol”. Before applying to wood panels, it is heated to a temperature of 60-70 ° C.

PVA glue and nitro enamels

The water emulsion of PVA glue gives a lower quality treatment, since a waterproof layer is formed only on the surface. But after applying such a coating, you can do without a primer, putty will be good without it.

Nitro enamel also gives a surface film. Moreover, such a composition protects well from water.

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Cooking the wall

So, the wallpaper is selected, the panel is saturated with a water-repellent composition - it's time to proceed with further actions. Before glueing wallpaper on plywood, the recommendation is to carefully prepare the wall:

1. Tighten the fasteners well - carefully screw them in until they stop or drive in, depending on what you fastened the panel to.
2. If there are protruding nails or nails with a hat torn off, pull them out.
3. If you treated the surface with drying oil or impregnation, apply a layer of soil on the tree.
4. Close up the joints so that they do not shine through the wallpaper - this is especially necessary if you are going to glue paper.
5. Putty all defects.
6. Sand the surface with fine-grained sandpaper.
7. Apply another coat of soil.
8. Wait for it to dry completely.

Important! If you chose vinyl wallpaper, the primer should be with antifungal additives.

Why is soil needed?

Before gluing, it is recommended that the plywood be primed almost always. A primer layer allows materials to adhere better. It is best to choose finished soils. Please note that the composition does not contain acetone.

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Putty

Plywood panels must be staggered so that there are no too large gaps between the sheets when they are located strictly one above the other:

1. Seal the joints with mesh tape.
2. You can glue a fiberglass reinforcing mesh over the entire surface.
3. It can be with or without an adhesive layer - in the second case, PVA glue is used.

Important! As for the putty itself, you can use both gypsum and latex. Gypsum is prepared before work from a dry mixture, latex is sold ready-made, that is, it is a rather thick paste.

Operating procedure:

1. Putty the joints between the sheets, filling all the cracks as much as possible.
2. Apply putty on the entire surface, the layer should be 1-2 mm.
3. Grind the surface - for this you can use a sanding mesh with a bar.

Important! During grinding, the sheet cannot be held in hands - it should already be fixed to the wall.

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Talk about the mistakes

It is always better to learn from the mistakes of others, and not from your own. Therefore, let's talk about what happens if a beginner finisher does not follow the rules on how to glue wallpaper on plywood:

• Wallpaper lay at random;
• wallpaper swell;
• wallpaper is peeling off;
• the wall is wet;
• wrinkles appear on the surface.

Curvature and swelling

If the canvases lie crookedly, it means that the wall was not correctly marked. Alas, it is impossible to fix it; everything will have to be done anew.

Air bubbles indicate that the glue was not applied as it should. Accordingly - the wallpaper did not lie on the wall correctly. In principle, this problem can be dealt with. Until the glue has dried, you need to pierce the bubbles and let out air, and then firmly press the damaged piece.

Peeling off

It happens that the wallpaper begins to peel off almost immediately. This can mean two things:

• glue is chosen incorrectly;
• gluing technology violated.

When there are few such places - half the trouble, you can simply glue the detached fragments. But if large sections have fallen off - well, you will have to redo the work, but already in compliance with all the subtleties.

The wall gets wet

Too wet wall wallpaper will not stick. But this phenomenon itself means a very simple thing - before work, the surface was not thoroughly dried. What to do? If you do not have time to get started, just wait.

Wrinkles

If the wallpaper is wrinkled, it means that they were badly smoothed when glued. There is only one way out - remove the panel, apply glue again, press it against the wall and carefully smooth it.

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Glue the wallpaper correctly

Knowing about possible mistakes, you can try to avoid them. For gluing walls you will need the following materials and tools:

• the wallpaper itself;
• correctly selected glue;
• utensils to dilute glue%
• construction mixer;
• glue roller;
• knife;
• building level;
• ruler;
• a simple pencil;
• rags.

The process itself is not much different from pasting any other surfaces:

1. Unzip the wallpaper.
2. Lay the rolls on the floor.
3. Roll the rolls, but do not need to cut anything yet - it is very useful to let the material “get used” to the conditions of a particular room, so it is better if they lie down for several hours.
4. Dissolve the glue - no need to stir it all, it is better to do a little, and then add as needed.
5. Mark the walls strictly according to the level.
6. Cut the wallpaper with a sharp knife.
7. Apply glue to the wall or canvas.
8. Stick on the canvas and press it firmly.
9. Smooth the wallpaper with a soft cloth.
10. Cut off the excess.

In what order to glue cloths - depends on specific conditions. Many people prefer to paste over corners first, and then all other parts of the wall. If there is a ledge on the wall, it will be more convenient to first finish it by hiding the slices under other panels or gluing pieces butt.

Important! If the wallpaper is glued with an overlap - the cuts should be directed to the other side of the light source, there they will be less noticeable.

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Stock footage

In this article, we told you everything about how to glue wallpaper on plywood, what errors may occur during this work and how to avoid them. We hope that now you better understand all the features of the process and are ready to start the repair.