Aggghhh Wallpapering

[Prudie]

Any tips, I'm shattered! Like why will the edges butt at the top and the bottom thirds but not quite meet in the middle section? No bubbles as far as I can tell.

[atalanta]

Are you using paper or vinyl ? Paper actually stretches, so you may have pulled some bits too much, or others not enough. If vinyl, which hardly stretches at all, you may just have an uneven wall. Try some very firm ( but careful) smoothing with a lump of old towel or a decorator's sponge.

[Prudie]

It's paper but quite heavy, it doesn't seem to have any give in it at all.

[lslowry]

Leave the length of paper to soak for a while, this will make it better to put on.

[Prudie]

I did wonder if that might be a reason, I'm probably rushing a bit. It's normal paste the back with a brush stuff.

[Graham-W]

Paste one piece, fold it to stop drying out, then paste the next piece. Fold the second piece and hang the first piece. When the first piece is hung, the second piece will be ready to hang.
Repeat as necessary.
It helps the paper to slide if a light coat of paste is put on the wall.

[diddlydo]

Crikey - I can see why the likes of me have only ever used emulsion paint!

[RATTER15]

I usually keep three pieces pasted at a time, it works well if you then keep to the three. You really need to soak it though.

[Prudie]

Good tips I hadn't thought of, by soak do you mean brush on loads of paste? I've only ever done paste the wall or ready pasted before and that was when wallpaper was last in fashion!!

[RATTER15]

just endure all of the paper is covered, you don't need vast amounts just let it soak into the paper so it becomes pliable.

[RATTER15]

endure=ensure*

[venator]

Some papers give an indication of how long they nead to soak for - it's a good idea to let each drop soak for about the same time, as the paper can swell slightly more the longer it's left, so the pattern might not match perfectly.

[RATTER15]

I think most papers require about 3 minutes soak but like Venator says check the label.

[Prudie]

I hadn't read the instructions :-( Have now and it says 5-6 minutes. I'll try to do better tomorrow.

[Clanad]

Perhaps it's done differently in the U.K., but here, in the U.S. we use, almost exclusively, pre-pasted wall paper... much easier and less of a mess thatn the table, brush... etc.

It could be that your wall isn't plumb either. It could actually have somewhat of a bulge in the middle... not uncommon on drywall finished walls...

[Prudie]

You can get pre-pasted Clanad but it's not the norm. I've thought an uneven wall may be a contributory factor.

[Old_Geezer]

Don't put on loads of paste. Put on sufficient. Loads with allow the paper to stretch more easily. Useful tfor trying to pull it in to place but were it not so soaked it might not have needed it in the first place. And if you distort it too much it could pull back as it dries out.

In my experiece paper doesn't need to be left long before applying a newly pasted length to the wall. By the time you've pasted the length you can almost start to place the first end you did at the top of the wall.

[theshedman]

Click on the link below and then use the links in the middle of the page to show how to hang paper, it's easier than trying to explain it and yes always follow the instructions that come with it.

http://www.diyhowto.co.uk/decorating.htm