How to glue wallpaper on walls

Recommendation points

• Preparing the walls
• Preparation for work
• Cooking and applying glue
• We glue the first page
• Features of work on gluing wallpaper on the wall
• Difficult areas: corners, sockets, batteries
• Expert advice

Wallpaper gluing will go smoothly if the technological chain is correctly drawn up. We offer a detailed step-by-step instruction from which you will learn how to glue the wallpaper on the walls with your own hands. We will tell you how to properly start wallpapering walls, professionally and quickly do the job.

It would seem that there is no need to glue the wallpaper! However, when it comes to the case, a number of questions and unclear points arise. The final result and life of the finish depends on the initial preparation of the substrate and key points. In this article, we will answer all possible questions about wallpapering walls, talk in detail about surface preparation, the choice and method of applying glue, and, of course, about the process as a whole..

Preparing the walls

You need to glue the wallpaper on flat walls. You can find out in detail how to prepare the walls for wallpapering from our material..

Next, we start applying the primer. An acrylic primer is best suited for priming walls under wallpaper. It will help level the absorbency of the walls and improve the adhesion properties. Wallpaper glue is also suitable for priming walls, with which you will glue the wallpaper, only it should be diluted with a volume of water 1.5-2 times larger than for preparing wallpaper glue. It is necessary to open the walls with a primer 1-2 times, with a break for drying the first layer for 1-2 hours. Drying of the second layer takes 2-12 hours at natural humidity.

Before wallpapering, mark the walls. This will help you stick the first sheet vertically. To do this, you need a building level or plumb line..

Preparation for work

1. Prepare your work surface: thoroughly wash the floor and remove any excess.
2. Carefully remove the protective film from the wallpaper roll.
3. Measure the ceiling height.
4. Unroll the roll facing the floor.
5. Measure the required length with an increase of 2–5 cm, and if you need to combine the pattern, add the height of the pattern stamp. Take a utility knife, and carefully cut a strip under the ruler. Do not forget to pre-place a thick sheet of cardboard, otherwise you risk damaging the floor covering.
6. Repeat the manipulation exactly as many times as you need strips on the working wall.
7. Now prepare the container for the glue and determine the method of application: on the stripes or on the wall. When pasting walls with heavy wallpaper such as vinyl or non-woven wallpaper, the adhesive is applied to the wall. When pasting walls with light wallpaper, for example, paper, the glue must be applied directly to the wallpaper.

Advice! Carefully inspect the sealed roll of wallpaper, the label necessarily displays the method of applying the glue in the form of a pattern: roller – on the walls, brush – on the wallpaper.

Cooking and applying glue

The glue is sold in three types: powder, ready-made liquid or concentrate. There are no specific recommendations, but it is better to opt for the glue recommended by the wallpaper manufacturer. Follow the recommendations for preparing the glue according to the instructions on the package.

It is convenient to apply the glue on the walls with a roller, and on the wallpaper with a special wallpaper brush. If the work is to be done alone, do not worry, the glue-treated strips can be neatly folded, and also gradually gently unfold during the process of gluing on the wall. You can assemble the canvas with an accordion or fold edge to edge with glue inward. And if the glue is applied to the wall, then the strip is easy to glue, straightening the canvas completely, joining along the edge and the pattern.

Advice! After applying the glue, wait 8-10 minutes. The glue will have time to saturate the canvas or wall. When pasting walls with paper wallpaper, there is no need to wait, as paper wallpaper can get wet.

We glue the first page

Start gluing the first strip from the window. Earlier we wrote: in order to avoid skewing, it is necessary to carry out a markup to guide the starting strip. This will provide a great end result. Let’s start gluing.

Take a strip of wallpaper and glue it at the top of the wall according to the markings, leaving 2–3 cm at the ceiling to fit. Check that the edge of the blade is evenly seated along the marking line. Then, with a wallpaper spatula, smoothly smooth the canvas from the center to the sides, gradually moving downward, not forgetting to immediately remove excess glue with a damp cloth.

You can also remove excess glue or air by making a neat cut with a blade in the wallpaper, but most inconspicuously this can be done on dense non-woven or vinyl wallpaper..

When the first strip of wallpaper has successfully laid on the wall, move on.

Features of work on gluing wallpaper on the wall

A few important details that can make the whole process easier:

1. It is important to determine the vertical, which we did before gluing the first strip.
2. Choose glue with pigment, then you will see the areas not treated with it. In the process of drying, the color is neutralized and the glue is discolored.
3. After applying the glue, fold the wallpaper in a special way (accordion or edge to edge) and leave for a few minutes to soak.
4. Smooth bubbles and creases under the wallpaper from the center up, then down.
5. Trim the wallpaper exactly at the junction of the wall and ceiling. On window openings, trim the canvas under the edge after complete drying, if partial or complete pasting of the slopes is not expected.
6. If the wallpaper is dry, but the joints are not glued well enough – use special glue for joints.
7. Paste the walls with wallpaper at an air humidity of 50–70%. So the wallpaper will dry evenly and the quality of the pasting will be higher..

Difficult areas: corners, sockets, batteries

For inner corners: glue the strip so that it overlaps the corner by a few centimeters. Use a wallpaper trowel to create a beautiful corner – gently press the canvas into the corner so as not to tear. Frequently, folds and wrinkles form in such places. In order to avoid such a defect, it is necessary to make small notches along a narrow strip. Second strip of wallpaper – place right in the corner.

Try to glue the outer corners in such a way that the strip of canvas goes around the corner by 3-4 cm. If wrinkles are formed, make notches as indicated above. Glue the next strip with an overlap of 5–6 mm. At the joints, carefully walk with a rubber roller.

The sockets and batteries must be removed and the electrical contacts insulated. When installing wiring accessories, you can cut working holes in the wallpaper. Then finish the neat openings using a spatula, ruler, and utility knife..

Expert advice

When cutting a strip from the roll, mark the top. This is necessary for the correct layout of the wallpaper on the wall. Otherwise, you risk getting an uneven tone of the wallpaper. Trouble can happen to wallpaper, as is the case with some fabrics: the same side of the textile fabric will look completely different depending on the direction of the pile and the lighting.

After finishing pasting the walls, go over the joints with a rubber roller. During the pasting process, close the windows and through passages, drafts and temperature changes will negatively affect the adhesion of the canvas to the wall and the drying of the glue.

Remember, when sticking wallpaper on the wall, care and accuracy are required, and the haste should be left to someone else..