How to glue paper wallpapers?

Paper wallpapers have been known to everyone for a very long time. A couple of decades ago, they didn’t know others, so they coped with the task of gluing quite easily. Now there are many materials for wall decoration, but paper wallpapers, although they have lost ground, do not disappear from use. About how to glue paper wallpapers butt and lap, as well as other nuances of working with such wall decor, is described in detail in this article.

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The advantages of paper wallpaper

Consider the advantages of this type of wall material, which for many people are quite significant:

• they are environmentally friendly;
• the cheapest;
• easy to glue;
• suitable for rooms with humidity up to 60%;
• perfectly pass air;
• have a large assortment of shades and colors.

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The disadvantages of paper wallpaper

Despite the large number of pluses, paper wallpapers also have disadvantages:

• may fade when exposed to direct sunlight;
• at high humidity (more than 60%) they may come off and fall off;
• they are unstable to mechanical stress, and also easily get dirty.

But given the low price, they are easy to replace with new ones, so all the disadvantages for many people are not so significant.

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Types of paper wallpaper

In stores you can find two types of paper products - simplex and duplex. Each species has its own characteristics.

Simplex wallpapers:

• Consist of one layer of paper.
• The drawing is applied by gravure or flexographic printing using water-dispersion paint.
• They are thin and the cheapest.
• Through such wallpapers all the roughnesses of the walls are visible.

Duplex Wallpaper:

• They consist of two layers of paper, the layers are joined by gluing.
• They are stronger because they have an additional protective coating.
• Such wallpapers are more resistant to fading, damage and moisture, but also more expensive in price.

Important! In appearance, the wallpaper can be smooth, embossed and structural.

If after weighing all the positive and negative sides, you still opted for the cheapest option, then let's figure out how to glue paper wallpapers correctly.

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Stage 1. Preparation of the necessary materials and tools

Before you buy wallpaper, you need to calculate how many they need for your room. For this:

• Measure the length of the walls and the height.
• The perimeter of the room is divided by the width of the roll (usually 0.58 m) and we get the number of paintings.

Important! In a roll of 10 m. If you have a standard height of 2.5 m, then the roll is enough for 3 strips.

• Now divide the number of paintings by 3 and get the number of rolls.

Important! Remember to subtract windows and doors. Take rolls with a margin. The stock is made larger if there is such a pattern on the wallpaper that will have to be selected and combined. In addition, the remains of wallpaper will come in handy for minor repairs (if you have children or pets).

For wallpaper, of course, you need wallpaper glue. This is either universal glue or glue for paper wallpaper. On the package there are indications of what area it is designed for.

Important! Manufacturers are different, respectively - the prices for wallpaper glue are also different.

It is necessary to stock up with the necessary tools. Most likely, you will find almost everything at home:

• Step-ladder (can be replaced with a stable stool or a small table);
• A container for glue and a stick for stirring it;
• Level (plumb line);
• Tape measure and pencil;
• Fleecy roller and rubber roller (or wallpaper brush);
• Glue brushes;
• Construction knife and putty knife (for trimming excess wallpaper);
• Clean soft rags.

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Stage 2. Preparation of the wall surface for wallpapering

It is important to carefully prepare not only paper wallpapers. Pasting and application of glue takes place on prepared walls. The final result of all the work depends on this. Paper wallpapers are quite thin, so all blemishes will be visible.

Operating procedure:

1. Take out from the room everything that will interfere with free movement, and cover everything that cannot be taken out with newspapers and rags so as not to stain it with glue.
2. First, remove all nails and dowels from the wall surface, turn off the current and remove the sockets and switches.
3. Remove old wallpaper from the walls. No matter how dreary this work is, you need to do it carefully:
   • Use water and a spatula if these were paper wallpapers.
   • Whitewash or water-based paint can be removed with a soap solution and a spatula.
   • If enamel or oil paint is applied to the wall, it will be problematic to wash it off, so it is better to walk along the surface with coarse-grained emery paper. This will enhance the adhesion of wallpaper to the wall surface.
4. Next, level the surface of the walls to the maximum - putty all cracks and bumps.
5. After this, grind the walls so that the wallpaper holds better.

Important! Before gluing, close windows and doors, turn off the air conditioner, fan so that there are no drafts or temperature changes in the room.

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Stage 3. Wallpapering:

1. For the first strip on the wall with a pencil, draw markings using a level, plumb line, tape measure. The remaining lanes will be “oriented” to the first lane.
2. Spread glue according to the instructions.
3. On the floor where you will glue the strips with glue, spread a plastic wrap or a layer of newspapers so that the floor remains relatively clean.

Important! For dense wallpapers, experts recommend using warm glue and apply it in two layers. Then it better and faster impregnates the canvas.

4. Apply glue with a fleecy roller or a wide brush. You need to cover the entire surface, without gaps, pay special attention to the edges.
5. Roll the wallpaper with the pattern down, cut the strip of the desired length.

Important! Make a margin of about 10 cm (for height differences). If you do not need to select a pattern, then you can immediately cut several strips to speed up the process. If there is a pattern that needs to be combined, an allowance of at least 30 cm is left.

6. Coat the strip on the wrong side with glue and let it soak for a while.

Important! For better impregnation, the wallpaper is folded with the coated side inward. For thin wallpaper 1-2 minutes are enough, for thick 5-7 minutes.

7. They usually begin to paste over a room from the corner closest to the window.
8. It is more convenient to glue the wallpaper together. It is both faster and more fun:
   • When the glue has saturated the strip, the first person submits it to the second, which stands on the stepladder.
   • This second one applies a strip to the wall and aligns the top and joints.
   • The first (below) helps align the bottom of the strip. Remove excess wallpaper on the ceiling and floor, then you need to cut it off.
   • Now, while one is smearing the next strip, the second removes air bubbles with a rubber roller, wallpaper brush or soft rags.
9. If one person glues:
   • After applying the glue, fold the strip inside out two-thirds. Then it will be convenient to hold her.
   • When secured and leveled top, carefully unfold the rest and lay on the wall, combining the joints.
   • Level the fabric necessarily from the middle to the edges.

Important! Do not forget to immediately remove the remnants of glue that can come out from under the wallpaper, otherwise it will stain the outside.

10. Glue the next strip next to the first. On simplex wallpapers, there will be a special edge that needs to be covered with the next strip. If the wallpaper is thicker, they are glued butt - so the seam will not be noticeable.

Important! It happens that the wallpaper is not thin, but there is an edge. Then it just needs to be carefully cut with scissors.

Features gluing corners

Wallpaper is the most difficult to glue in the corners, as often they are not perfectly straight. Therefore, sticking an entire strip exactly unlikely to succeed. Need to cheat a little:

1. Take not a whole canvas, but two pieces of the right size.
2. First, glue the first one - it should cover the corner and go a couple of centimeters to the adjacent wall.
3. Glue the second piece of wallpaper on an adjacent wall, and it also covers the corner and overlays it on the front page.

For thin wallpaper, the work of gluing the corner ends here, and for duplex it is required to remove this dense seam. Using a spatula, use a construction knife to walk along the edge, remove the excess lower strip, so you should get a flat joint.

Important! When you glue a strip in a corner on a wall that has not been glued, use a plumb line so that the wallpaper lies vertically, it is better not to focus on the corner.

Pasting the wall behind the radiator

Ideally, for gluing walls, the radiator should be removed. If this is not possible, then it remains to glue the wall as much as possible. Usually it’s enough to go 10-15 cm behind the battery from all sides.

Sockets and switches

First, make sure that the room is de-energized, then proceed to business. There are no special difficulties:

• Stick the strip of wallpaper, as usual, and cut the hole for the outlet or switch carefully with a stationery knife.

Important! The housing of the outlet and the switch must be removed in advance.

• First, cuts are made crosswise (for a square shape) or with an “asterisk” (for a round shape).
• Then the paper is pressed against the wall and cut off the excess.

Important! If the edge does not come out perfectly smooth - it does not matter, the plastic overlay of the socket body will hide everything.

Land near the doors

Finish pasting the room usually near the door:

1. Mark up so that the strip lies parallel to the doorway.
2. When the wallpaper is a little dried out and hardened, trim the excess. To do this, press the edge with a spatula, and cut off the excess with the construction knife from above and below.

Important! If the wallpaper is still damp, when trimmed, it can tear and creep.

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Stage 4. Final:

• In order for the wallpaper to dry qualitatively, not warp and bubble, after sticking, leave the room “alone” for a day or two. Do not open windows, create air currents, or turn on a heater, fan, or air conditioner.
• After complete drying, you can replace sockets, switches, skirting boards.
• If you want to decorate the upper edge with borders, they are glued only when the wallpaper is completely dry, that is, not earlier than in a day.

Important! When pasting paper on the ceiling wallpaper, you do everything in the same way. The only thing to consider is that strips of wallpaper should run perpendicular to the window so that the joints are not so striking.

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Air bubbles

When the wallpaper is still damp, air bubbles in a small amount will be present on the pasted surface, as if we would not align it with a roller. After complete drying, they usually disappear. But what if the bubbles remain?

There are a couple of ways to get rid of them:

1. Take a syringe with wallpaper glue and gently pierce the bubble. Squeeze the right amount of glue inside and gradually smooth the surface. Squeeze out excess glue out through the puncture site and immediately clean with a clean rag.
2. If the bubble is large, you can make an incision with a sharp razor on its edge and inject wallpaper glue with a syringe. Then flatten.

Important! With all the manipulations, there is a possibility that after drying, a crease or crevice will appear on the wallpaper. Although, in any case, it looks less noticeable than a large bubble.

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Stock footage

As you can see, sticking paper wallpapers with your own hands is a simple task that does not require special skills and expensive tools. In addition, only one person can fully cope with such work.Now, knowing how to glue paper wallpapers end-to-end and overlap, you will make the wall cladding of the room quickly and without any problems.