How to glue wallpaper: step by step instructions with photos and videos

There are many materials for decorating walls, but wallpaper is still the most attractive option. The procedure for working with them depends on the type of selected paintings. However, there are key points that are the same for all species. We will find out how to glue wallpaper on even sections of walls, on the ceiling and in inaccessible places.

What will be needed for wallpapering?

Starting to decorate the walls, you need to prepare everything you need:

• Wallpaper rolls and glue.
• Water and spatula.
• Putty, plaster (will be required if it is necessary to level the surface of the wall).
• Screwdriver to unscrew sockets, baseboards.
• Stationery knife or scissors.
• Level, tape measure, ruler.
• Brush for spreading glue.
• Two pieces of clean cloth. Dry is useful for smoothing cloths, wet - to quickly remove excess glue from the surface of the wallpaper.

Instead of a traditional cloth for removing air bubbles from under the glued sheets, you can use convenient modern appliances: a plastic spatula for smooth paintings, such as silk-screen printing, a rubber roller - for embossed.

The sticking process is imagined by many, but not everyone knows the important subtleties and tricks. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with a step-by-step instruction with a photo and a block of 4 videos, which clearly show all the stages of work, from preparing the walls to gluing complex areas.

Surface preparation

The first step after choosing the type of wallpaper, glue and buying everything you need is the preparation of the walls, which begins with release from old coating.

• Wallpaper on a paper basis before removal can be treated with a soap solution with the addition of a small amount of glue.
• Dense and washable cloths need to be cut, thereby allowing the solution to go deeper to the base for quick softening. After soaking, the old coating is easily removed with a metal spatula.

• If the wallpaper does not go away completely, it is better to wet them again. Places that are still difficult to clean can be ironed with a wet rag.
• Non-woven wallpaper should be removed as follows: make a horizontal incision and remove the first layer. The bottom can be left: it will provide a solid base for gluing new ones.
• If the old coating is a water-based emulsion or oil paint, sandpaper should be walked over the surface, and the weak and swollen areas should be completely cleaned. In this article It is written when the wallpaper can be glued directly to the painted walls, and in which cases the old paint will have to be completely removed.
• Cretaceous whitewashing or an emulsion based on water is soaked in soapy water and removed with a spatula. If the whitewash layer is small, then it is easily washed off with warm water and a sponge. The lime is removed in the same way, but with proper surface treatment You can glue the material directly on the whitewashed wall.

Tip. When choosing light paper or non-woven wallpaper, it is recommended to paint the surface with white paint or use a white primer. So the wall will not shine through, and the tone of the paintings will be more saturated.

Further, each type of foundation is prepared in its own way:

• Concrete floors with cracks and potholes, as well as curved corners plaster and putty. Only after the surface has completely dried can you move on to the next step.
• Drywall requires proper sealing of joints between sheets, priming and hard putty. Step-by-step instructions can be found. here.

• Preparation for gluing OSB boards has its own specifics. They are first sanded, then primed, plastered or puttyed and finally primed again. An important point is the correct sealing of the joints between the plates. Plywood and chipboard are similarly processed. Details - here.

It is important to remember that the wallpaper is fixed only on a flat, dry and clean surface. To dedust the base, you can cover it primer or knead a weak solution of liquid wallpaper glue or PVA.

The nuances of preparing the walls are in the video below.

Measurement and cutting of material

Before proceeding directly to gluing the walls, you need to prepare the material itself.

1. The roll of wallpaper rolls on a flat surface so that the front side is below.
2. A strip is measured, the length of which is equal to the height of the wall plus a few centimeters.
3. If there is no picture on the wallpaper and it does not need to be joined, several bands of the required size are immediately cut. If there is a need to select a pattern, cutting occurs with the addition of a pattern for combination. The packaging often indicates the size of the rapport - a repeating image. It is worth remembering that paintings with a pattern that needs to be joined will require a greater consumption than without it.

Where to start?

Traditionally, gluing is done from the window and goes towards the doors, but you can choose another starting point from several options described in this article. Using a plumb line or level, a vertical line should be noted at the selected location. It will become a reference point and reference point.

Sticking process

The proposed instructions will help you cope with gluing any kind of wallpaper on your own.

• First, glue is prepared corresponding to the type of canvas. It is simple to do: dry adhesive powder is diluted in the proportions described on the packaging, mixed well and left to swell.
• On a cut piece tassel glue is applied. Smear the sheet begin from the center, moving to the sides. Edges are processed especially carefully.

• After applying the glue, the strip is folded in two halves together. Thus, the missed side will be inside. It is important to prevent creasing. The strip must be left for a short period of time indicated on the packaging of the roll. As a rule, for simple paper types it takes 5 minutes, and for dense - about 10. When wetting the canvas, the wallpaper can stretch a little, so you need to impregnate them the same amount of time. So you can avoid the backlog of material from the walls and the formation of bulges.

Important! When working with cullet and non-woven fabrics, the adhesive is applied to the wall, not the material itself.

• The first strip is applied to the wall, aligned along the marking line, and the next sheet is glued butt. No need to overlap when working with vinyl, non-woven, fabric types of wallpaper. It is allowed only when attaching thin paper products. If there is a pattern on the wallpaper, you need to combine it correctly. Special attention should be paid to the joining of an offset pattern.

• The strip that adheres is gently pressed with a dry cloth or rolled with a roller. You need to move from the middle towards the edges, as well as from the bottom up.

• In the case when the baseboard is removed, the lower edge of the canvas after gluing must be cut so that it is hidden behind it. If it is impossible to remove, strip trim is done according to the level of the baseboard. Instead of a ruler, it is convenient to use a metal wide spatula.
• The top edge is removed along the edge of the ceiling baguette, and the bottom is aligned with the plinth on the floor. It is also convenient to use a wide spatula and a very sharp knife. Trimming is carried out immediately after alignment of the strip, in which case it will be flat and without burrs.

Important! If the wallpaper is glued after installing the stretch ceiling, you need to trim very carefully so as not to damage the film.

• Now, all the edges along which you need to go with a rubber roller are carefully checked. Plots that do not stick, once again smeared with glue and firmly pressed against the wall.

How to glue strips in difficult places

Let's start from the inside corner. Most often, the joints of the walls in the rooms are uneven, which leads to the formation of folds or inconsistencies between the paintings. To cover the coating as it should, measure the distance from the previous strip that was glued and add 2 cm. Then cut it along and glue the corner and a small piece of the adjacent wall evenly. In the corner, hold with a special rubber spatula or brush so that the coating better grasps.

When working with heavy wallpaper, you need to stick a piece, giving a lap on the adjacent wall vertically. Cut both strips with a knife with the sharpest blade, using a ruler. Carefully remove the trim and squeeze the edges. As a result of correctly performed manipulations, the bending of the wall is smooth and clear.

When working with thin paper wallpapers, you just need to attach the remaining piece from the corner, lapping onto the previous sheet and strictly observing the verticality.

For proper gluing of the external bend, you need to cut off a strip whose width will be 2.5 cm greater than the distance from the already glued web to the corner. After securing the cut, it must be bent to the other side. If the angle is right, the rest of the web is glued butt, if not, overlap with orientation to the vertical marking.

After that, both layers are cut with a sharp knife using a ruler or rule. The remains are cleaned neatly and the seam is rolled. Any protrusions are pasted in the same way.

If the angle is uneven, proceed as follows: until the canvas is still dry, cut it with a knife in the places where wrinkles occur and fix the edges.

Complex areas also include wall sections behind radiators, sockets, door and window openings. To get a visual idea of ​​working in these places, we recommend watching the video.

Ceiling pasting

The technology for gluing the ceiling has no fundamental differences from gluing wallpaper on the walls. The difference will be in the following points:

• First of all, you need to determine the direction of the location of the stripes: along or across the room, along the line of incidence of light.
• When attaching the paintings to the ceiling, it is difficult to do without an assistant. If you need to work alone, you should choose wallpaper on a non-woven basis. They do not need to be coated with glue, so the strip can be twisted into a roll and raised to a height without any problems.

Step-by-step instructions for pasting the ceiling - here.