wallpapering straight

[dazzy-boy]

when i wallpaper it start's off ok,but by the time i get round to the start,the last sheet & the first sheet never lines up with each other.does anyone have any tips?

[flipflop104]

You should always only paper one wall at a time. So 4 walls - lets call 'em a, b, c, & d. You start on wall A and drop a plumb line (I think that's what it's called).

If your paper is 6 inches wide, drop the plumb line 5 inches from the corner of the room - this way you get an approx 1 inch overlap onto wall D. Paper the whole wall of wall A and when you get to the corner of wall A & B, paper a little overlap from A, of about an inch, onto wall B.

Then start the whole process again dropping your plumb line again about 5 inches in from the corner and papering over the 1 inch overlap (just so there's no gaps).

You may have a small overlap back onto wall A from your first sheet of paper on wall B - cut this off using the corner of wall A & B as your guide.

This means the paper will not match the paper that's come round the corner but will ensure you always have straight up and down wallpaper (especially important if you're using striped wallpaper).

Sorry if that sounds complicated - someone else might be able to explain better. I've only decorated a few rooms myself but this technique worked for me.

[gazzawazza]

Yes, I agree with flipflop, you need to paper each wall separately, don't try to fold a full sheet around a corner. You would never be able to go right around a room without having to cut strips lengthwise at corners and finish perfectly 'on pattern' back where you started. For a start, no matter how well the walls have been finished there are always minor faults which would throw the paper out of true. Any DIY book (or even those free leaflets you can pick up at DIY stores) will explain how to wallpaper a room.

[SaxyJag]

You should also begin papering down the middle of the wall, rather than at on end.

You can make your own plumb line by using a heavy weight on the end of some string. Dangle it from near the top of the wall and use a pencil/pen/piece of chalk to mark the straight line made by the string. If you don't want to go to all that pollaver, use a spirit level to mark the vertical (quicker, because you don't have to wait for it to stop swinging).