How to glue drywall wallpaper?

Wallpapering is the most popular type of wall decoration. This is a fairly quick and uncomplicated process that does not require special skills and knowledge. However, such a coating makes rather high demands on surface quality. Often, the surface of the walls has to be pre-leveled using plasterboard lining, and only then glue the wallpaper. Before you think about how to glue wallpaper on drywall, you should properly prepare its surface. In this case, it is necessary to take into account some of the nuances that we will discuss in this article.

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Is it possible to wallpaper drywall without putty?

The choice of drywall as a finishing material for walls is determined not only by the convenience of installation, but also by its even surface, as well as the possibility of using various finishing options. However, often in the process of repair work the question arises: is it necessary to putty plasterboard sheets before gluing wallpaper?

Despite their smooth surface and good adhesion of drywall with glue, the masters advise that they be pre-putty before wallpapering. In the absence of such work, the wallpaper will firmly adhere to the surface of the drywall, and during the next repair and the desire to update the walls, the new wallpaper will have to be glued on top of the old or completely change the drywall sheets.

Important! Without pre-treatment of the drywall surface with putty, when gluing light, thin wallpaper, sheet joints can be visible.

For gluing an untreated gypsum plasterboard surface, only wallpaper on a non-woven basis is appropriate, which, if you wish to replace it later, can be cut by removing the upper part, and the remaining non-woven layer will not affect the gluing of new wallpaper or applying putty. However, in any case, all existing seams and hats of self-tapping screws should be putty first. Only under these conditions you will get a good result.

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Before starting work

If there are old wallpapers on the walls, then they can be easily removed using special solutions to remove wallpaper:

1. Mix such a product with water, evenly apply to the surface using a spray bottle and wait 10 minutes until the solution is absorbed.
2. Next, use a spatula to pry off the corner - old wallpapers can be easily removed and even remain intact.
3. Defective putty on the surface of drywall (with bumps, cracks) should be removed with special construction scrapers with replaceable blades or putty knife.

After getting rid of the excess wall, it is necessary to process it with a primer and you can paste wallpaper on drywall without putty.

After completing the primer, you need to inspect the wall around the perimeter of the abutment to the floor. It is important that the strip is even, as baguettes and skirting boards will emphasize even the smallest irregularities, and they will be immediately visible. To do this, measure the wall with a rule, find and cover up all the bumps. As a rule, you need to rub about 15 cm of the upper adjacent space. After this, the same operation should be done with the upper abutment, capturing 15 cm of the wall from the corner.

Important! The wall itself can not be processed - many masters do this, because dense wallpapers can hide all the bumps, however, this is not recommended, because they can break through at the joints of the sheets.

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Wall preparation

Before gluing wallpaper on drywall, it is necessary to carefully inspect the surface, highlight small flaws, cracks, protruding parts of the fasteners, misses with dimensions, damage and voids. So that the drywall sheets can expand, the joints are masked with a docking tape.

Important! Here, many make mistakes, especially often at a height, fastening the walls and ceiling tightly, without gaps and crevices, after which cracks appear.

For quality work:

• First, the gap between the sheets is putty, then the reinforcing tape (a sickle that resembles a bandage) is glued, then the docking tape.
• After that, on top of the tape, the wall is also putty with mortar. Keep in mind that all operations are performed without interruption, due to the fact that the solution quickly solidifies. Then the solution is left to dry for a day.

Important! When choosing a putty, you need to pay attention to the expiration date, the scope and conditions under which it must be stored.

• After the first layer has dried, a second layer of putty is applied using a wider spatula. They also cut off all irregularities and smooth out the side transitions of the layers.

Important! Using putty, you can not only align the walls but also strengthen the walls.

• After the second layer dries, the joint is sealed with a third, more liquid composition. Each next layer should overlap the previous one by 50 cm in width. When the seam dries, it should be carefully treated with coarse, and then fine-grained sandpaper, being careful not to damage the panels. The mixture is prepared in small portions, taking into account the instructions that are indicated on the package, thoroughly mixing with a mixer or trowel. Apply the mixture carefully, stretching it as much as possible over the surfaces with a minimum layer. It is best to draw along the surface of the wall with a large spatula, identify the largest defects, and pay special attention to them, small cracks will not be visible.

Important! During the jointing process, “steps” between the panels may be required. In this case, the edge of the protruding sheet to soften the transition will be better cut at an angle of 45 degrees.

• To glue wallpaper on drywall, the corners are also initially closed up, after which two tapes are glued and the wall is aligned with a spatula to both sides of the corner. For the outside, instead of the tape, a special construction angle should be fixed, which allows to increase the strength of the structure.
• The self-tapping hats twist harder so that they are 1 mm deeper from the level of the sheet. They should also be covered with a spatula, cut off excess and polished. If the panel near the self-tapping screw is damaged or there are cracks, then you should fix the reinforcing tape over the self-tapping screw and putty on it.

Important! In the case of preparation without puttying, it is necessary to process the screws with a special solution and stick two tapes for reliability - reinforcing and docking.

• After grinding, dust forms on the walls, which is removed with a primer or a weak adhesive solution, and after drying, you can proceed to sticking wallpaper on drywall. It is important to use a primer that is suitable for drywall, as there are mixtures that are not quite suitable for these structures.

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Wallpapering without the use of reinforcing mixtures

To glue wallpaper on drywall, you must follow simple rules:

• The walls must be dry. Wait for the wet spots to dry out, which look like dark patches against a background of light spots, otherwise, these places can subsequently turn black and mold.
• Walls should be clean - no debris or various points. You can carefully walk along the surface with a lamp. The tape should be the same color with plasterboard sheets, for which a little light dye can be added to the primer.
• For glue, use only clean dishes that have not previously been used for primers, dirt, and dust. Before work, it must be washed well, otherwise - debris and dust will become sour in the glue, and the wallpaper will not hold on well in the future.
• Apply as much as possible or remove all black marks from the pencil, logo, name of the drywall, and more.

Important! For thicker wallpapers this is not scary, but if you are going to use light thin canvases, then everything can be seen through them.

• Before glueing wallpaper on drywall without puttying, it is necessary to glue the cracks with a reinforced self-adhesive tape, and on top of it still stick the docking tape. This will help minimize the absence of putty in the walls.
• Particular emphasis can be placed on the wall along which the light will glide. On the walls where there will be no direct sunlight, you can not devote much time - minor flaws on them will not be visible. If there is a lamp on the wall, then under them all defects and even debris that has fallen into the adhesive mass will be noticeable.
• If in the process of gluing between the wallpapers a gap of 2-3 mm appeared, which you noticed too late, it is better not to touch it. Trying to forcefully pull the canvas and hide, the next day she will reappear. Therefore, you should immediately, while the glue has not yet dried, carefully inspect and, if necessary, correct the wallpaper.

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Stock footage

Thus, the answer to the question whether it is possible to glue wallpaper on drywall without putty is positive. However, it is extremely undesirable to do this, since the putty provides strength under mechanical stress on the wall surface, including floods.