Wallpaper hanging can be easy or challenging.
It depends as much on your choice of pattern
as on your paperhanging skills. Keep these six handy tips in mind to keep the job going smoothly.
- If you choose a patterned wallpaper, make sure the pattern matches across adjacent strips of wallpaper. This is a skill that takes time to master. If it's your first attempt at hanging wallpaper, go with paper that has no pattern to match or a random pattern.
- The heavier the wallpaper, the easier it should be to hang. Thin, cheap wallpapers tear and crease easily, making them hard to handle, especially for beginners. The strongest wall coverings of all are the vinyls. These are made from a tough printed plastic film bonded to a paper backing.
- If you're hanging wallpaper in a room with a typical ceiling height of around 2.4 metres (8 feet) and the paper doesn't have a repeat pattern, you'll probably get four lengths from each roll. If the paper has a large pattern repeat, you may get as few as three lengths. The vertical distance between repeats will be noted on the packaging; use it as a guide to calculate how much paper you'll need.
- The most important thing when hanging wallpaper is to hang the first strip perfectly vertical and straight. It's rare for your ceiling and walls to be absolutely straight, and a few millimetres of difference at the beginning can turn into a major catastrophe by the end.
- Using a plumbline, draw a vertical line on the wall parallel to the corner so that the distance between the two is equal to the width of the paper, minus 1.5 centimetres (3/4 inch). Now hang your first strip so that one edge is on the plumbline and the other wraps around onto the adjacent wall by 1.5 centimetres (3/4 inch).
- Before you hang your paper, place wooden toothpicks in all the wall outlets and attachment holes you want to retain, making sure they protrude by a few millimetres. The toothpicks will come through the new paper and you'll find it easy to locate the holes for repositioning those hanging or fixed items.
Follow these six handy tips to help make your next wallpaper hanging job easier.
