Wallpapering Question.

[derekpara]

Are there any reasons why it is inadvisable to apply wallpaper paste to the wall instead of the paper ?

It seems simpler to paste the walls with a roller than the traditional method of brushing onto the paper.

Cheers.

D

[nailit]

paper needs 'soaking time'. It expands when wet. If you put paper straight onto a pasted wall you will end up with bubbles in it.

[tonyav]

Usually when you paste the paper your supposed to leave it for around 20 mins to allow the paste to soak into it, doesn't get a chance to do that if you pasted the walls and hung the wallpaper dry.

[nailit]

20 mins Tony? Most papers only need 5 mins soaking time.
Ive been wallpapering for over 30 years and never come across a paper that needs 20 mins.

[tonyav]

Maybe not, nailit. But that's how long I leave it for, always have done and it works for me.

[nailit]

If it works for you Tony, no need to change it. ;-)

[Tilly2]

Yont uses paper with some guts. It needs a thorough soaking.

[alavahalf]

You've got to have a cup of tea between each sheet of paper .. it's the law. Ask any decorator !

[nailit]

Youve got a good point there alavahalf ^^

[tonyav]

alavahalf
You've got to have a cup of tea between each sheet of paper .. it's the law. Ask any decorator !

And a smoke.

[Togo]

It doesn't hurt to paste the wall before hanging the paper. If the house or wall is particularly dry 'sizing' the wall to be papered, prevents it from absorbing the moisture from the paste before it has adhered. av hangs heavy duty anaglypta to stop the sound from his r&b 45s penetrating throught to the neighbours.

[tonyav]

I always size the walls with a thin paste mix the night before I start papering.
Seem to get better adhesion.

[Togo]

Ta db LOL.

[Davemano]

I don't think it's been mentioned, but obviously different papers require different soaking times, and the time required is shown on the labels. I've hung 10, 11 and 12 minute papers.

[Togo]

I always go, paste 3 hang 3 cuppa tea.

[Togo]

Oh and a fag.

[atalanta]

Does anyone remember Vymura ? You had to paste the wall, not the "paper". If you did paste the "paper" it fell to bits. Well, it fell to bits anyway, as it was so fragile. Only woodchip and heavy anaglypta need soaking-in time, in my very wide experience. In some such cases, the stuff even needs two pastings.Especially for ceilings.
True wallpaper "gives" a bit when it's wet, so papering the wall doesn't work so well if you want to stretch the paper very slightly to cover bumps and dents in the walls. Vinyl doesn't "give", so you could probably get away with pasting the walls if you really wanted to.

[atalanta]

P.S. Don't forget to write your name in pencil on the wall under the wallpaper, together with the date. And then, when you have worked out the number of rolls you used, write that on the top edge of the door. ( The door itself, not the frame) Old decorator's trick.
In fact, if you are in a not-very-new house which has had wallpaper before, you might be lucky and find the number of rolls written on the top of the door to save you calculating it.