Wallpaper Hanging

A feature wall puts a bold pattern on one wall, usually behind a bed, sofa or fireplace. It needs the same preparation as a whole room, with the pattern centred on the wall or chimney breast. We can paint the other walls through our painting service.

• Stripping old wallpaper: Soaked or steamed off, and scored where needed, without gouging the plaster underneath.
• Repairs: Cracks and holes filled and sanded smooth. See filling cracks in walls and repairing holes in walls.
• Sizing: New or porous plaster sealed with size or a wallpaper primer, so the paste does not soak in and the paper can be slid into position.
• Lining paper: On older or uneven walls, lining paper is hung first, usually horizontally, so its joins do not line up with the joins in the finish paper.
• Woodwork: Skirting boards and door frames are usually glossed before papering, so the paper can be trimmed cleanly to a finished edge.

In older homes, stripping paper sometimes pulls away loose or blown plaster. If the wall is too damaged to paper over, it needs plaster patch repair first, then time to dry.

Usually not. Fresh paste can loosen the old paper so both layers bubble, and the old seams show through. Vinyl and painted papers also stop the paste bonding. We strip the old paper and prepare the wall. The exception is lining paper, which is designed to be papered over.

It depends on the height and width of the walls and the pattern repeat. A standard UK roll is typically about 10 metres long and 53 cm wide. To work out the number of rolls:

1. 1

   Measure the height of the wall and add the pattern repeat to each drop.

2. 2

   Work out how many drops you get from one roll.

3. 3

   Measure the width of each wall, including doors and windows, and divide by the roll width to find the number of drops.

4. 4

   Divide the drops by the drops per roll, then add a spare roll.

A large repeat or a half-drop match means more waste. Check every roll has the same batch number, as colours vary between batches. We measure the room and tell you how many rolls to order before you buy.

The first drop is hung against a plumb line or laser so the paper is truly vertical, even if the corners of the room are not. Each drop is matched to the last, the seams are butted tight, and the paper is trimmed at the ceiling and skirting. Around sockets and switches, the power is turned off at the consumer unit before faceplates are loosened, so the paper can be tucked neatly behind them.