How to Apply Wallpaper

Supplies

Gluing and Booking

Booking, or folding, wallpaper strips makes them much easier to handle once they’ve been glued (and before they are hung), so don’t be tempted to skip this easy step.

Note: If any glue gets on the table, it will mar the next sheet. Slide the paper all the way to the edge of the table to apply glue to the ends and edges. Cover the floor underneath with a drop cloth, and clean the table as you go.

  1. 1. Using a large paint roller, coat wall with wallpaper primer and let dry thoroughly.
  2. 2. With scissors and straightedge, cut vertical strips 4 inches longer than the wall height. Arrange wallpaper strips side by side on the floor to ensure that the pattern lines up correctly.

Note: If you’re making a shape (as with a headboard), cut it out on a cutting mat with a utility knife.

  1. 3. Use a tape measure, level, and pencil to mark where on the wall the paper will be placed. For example, mark the top edge of a chair rail or sides of a rectangle.
  2. 4. Pour premixed clear wallpaper glue into a paint-roller tray. Lay the first strip on a clean work table, pattern side down, with excess hanging over one end. Make a pencil mark at midpoint.
  3. 5. With a small paint roller, roll glue thinly over half of the strip, then book (or fold) the strip by lifting the bottom edge of the glued half to the midpoint of the strip. Press this edge down so the paper sticks to itself, but don’t crease the fold. The pattern will be facing up. Glue and book the other half of the strip.
  4. 6. Set aside to let cure according to package instructions (typically about 15 minutes before the glue begins to dry, enough time to hang the strip).

Hanging and Trimming

You may need to use a ladder to reach the top corner; if so, you may want to enlist a helper to hand you what you need rather than schlepping up and down.

  1. 1. Carry the first glued and booked strip to the wall, and unfold the upper half of the strip. Align one of the edges of the strip with the appropriate pencil line, and place the top edge so that it slightly overlaps the ceiling (or the base of the crown molding).
  2. 2. Smooth the paper against the wall with your hands, moving sideways and downward until you reach the midpoint.
  3. 3. Affix the bottom half.
  4. 4. Using a wide scraper as a straightedge, trim the edges with a utility knife.
  5. 5. Flatten any wrinkles with a plastic smoother; wipe away excess glue with a sponge.

Making Seams

There are two methods: A butting seam is the neatest, while overlapping seams are used in a pinch—in a corner, for instance.

Butting Seam: Place the new strip as close as possible to an affixed strip. With your hands flat on the new strip, push it gently up or down to align the pattern, keeping fingertips away from the edge to avoid tearing. Push the new strip toward the old one until the edges of both strips touch and just begin to buckle. Then go over the seam with a smoother. After 10 to 15 minutes’ drying time, run a seam roller along the seam in short up-and-down strokes.

Overlapping Seam: Position the new strip to overlap an affixed strip by ¹⁄16 inch and press as for butting seam. For thicker, fabric-covered papers, run a single-edge blade through both layers of the overlap, and peel away the underlying layers.

Removing Wallpaper

If your goal is to remove the paper and then paint the wall instead, follow these steps.

  1. 1. Cover the floor with a drop cloth. Add hot water to wallpaper remover (which you can find at home-renovation stores) as directed.
  2. 2. Pierce wallpaper with a perforation tool to create holes that will allow the solution to get behind the paper and soften the adhesive.
  3. 3. Apply the solution to the wall with a paint roller or sponge. Let it soak in (timing will depend on the manufacturer’s instructions).
  4. 4. Once the paper has loosened, peel it using a wide plastic taping knife.
  5. 5. After the paper is removed, rinse the wall with clean water (dampen, don’t saturate) and let it dry thoroughly.