Find a Wallpaper Contractor Near Me
Wallpaper has been used since the 1700s to cover bare stone walls and add decoration. It was popular well into the 1980s but started to disappear as homeowners began to prefer plain colors to ornate textures and patterns. Today, however, many people are turning back to wallpaper as a way to add a touch of elegance and personality to a room. There are lots of types of wallpaper to choose from—ranging from plain paper, vinyl, and fabric to peel-and-stick—with an endless variety of patterns, designs, and finishes available.
Properly hanging wallpaper is an art and a job best left to the professionals. You will definitely want to hire a reliable, licensed contractor to do the job properly for you. Great Guys Painting offers free quotes from licensed, insured painting contractors who also specialize in wallpapering. Click now for quotes from wallpaper specialists in your area in just minutes!
Wallpaper Removal & Installation Services
To get the best results from hanging wallpaper, it’s best to start with a clean, smoothly finished wall. If your room has old wallpaper which you’d like to replace, you’ll need to bring on an expert who knows how to properly remove it and prep the wall for new paper or paint.
Removing Wallpaper
Removing old wallpaper can be quite a task. Softening the adhesive and scraping are time- and labor-intensive tasks. Great Guys Painting professionals will first pull off any old paper that easily detaches. Then, they’ll score the remaining paper with a special tool to create holes. They’ll spray the paper with a combination of water and wallpaper removal solution and let it soak into the paper. After about 15 minutes, they’ll use a putty knife to dig under the paper and pull it away in strips from the wall. The putty knife is used to remove as much of the glue as possible, along with the paper, so no lumps are left behind. Any adhesive that remains will be softened with hot water and scraped off.
Drywall Repair & Prep
After the old wallpaper has been removed, your walls will need to be prepped for new paper or for painting, whichever you prefer. Once the walls have dried, the pros will patch any large holes from the scoring and scraping process with joint compound. Once that has dried, they will sand the walls using a hand sander and medium grain drywall sanding paper until they’re smooth. If you’re going to have them hang new paper, they’ll coat the walls with an acrylic primer that will make removing the paper easier in the future. Or, if you’re painting, they will coat with a primer designed for use with the type of paint you’ve chosen (i.e. oil-based or acrylic/latex). Then, you’re ready for new paper or paint.
Installing Wallpaper
Putting up wallpaper takes great precision and plenty of time. You’ll want to make sure to hire a professional with lots of experience in measuring wallpaper and cutting it to fit. The process of installing requires great attention to detail to make sure the patterns line up correctly, that the main focal point has been installed in the right place and that everything is level. After the walls have been prepped, wallpaper contractors will begin by mapping out where each of the pieces will go, aiming to have as few seams as possible. Then, they’ll start by applying the paste, hanging the first piece, and smoothing it out. They’ll continue around the room, hanging headers and footers around windows and doors as the last step.
How Professionals Put Up Wallpaper
Opting for wallpaper instead of paint can add great visual interest to a wall or even a whole room. Because wallpapering is often messy and requires patience and meticulousness, it makes a lot of sense to hire a professional to do the job correctly. Following are the steps required to properly hang new wallpaper.
Choosing Your Wallpaper
Once you’ve decided that you’d like to try wallpaper, there are many types to choose from. Non-pasted doesn’t have glue and is affixed to the wall with paste. Pre-pasted comes with adhesive backing and only needs water to be applied. Self-adhesive is like a sticker—you just peel off the backing and stick to the wall.
Prep the Walls
Once you’ve made your decision, it’s time to bring in the pros. First, they’ll prepare the walls by removing art and faceplates. They’ll clean the walls, remove old wallpaper (if necessary) or scrape off peeling paint. Finally, they’ll fill and sand holes and prime the wall.
Plan the Room
Here comes the most important part of the process. The contractor will measure out the room, based on the size of the wallpaper, making sure to mark where the main focal point of the pattern should land. They’ll figure out how to hang the paper with as few seams as possible, ensuring that the patterns continue around corners and align properly.
Prep the Paper
The next step is to carefully cut the paper into pre-measured strips. Each should fit the length of the wall and be pattern matched around the room. Depending on the design, there will be an ideal way to hang the paper so as to create a great look and not end up with mismatched edges.
Begin Hanging
The key to hanging each piece is to hang it straight. The contractor will set a plumb line to ensure each strip is perfectly level. If you’ve chosen traditional or pre-pasted wallpaper, the contractor will have to “book” the paper, covering the entire piece with paste or water and then folding it paste side in without creating a crease. This activates the paste, making it tacky enough to hang. They’ll start at the top, smoothing the paper down, making sure there are no bubbles or ripples.
Trim the Floor & Ceiling
The pros will always leave an overhang at the top and bottom so the paper can be trimmed neatly where it meets the ceiling or wainscoting. They will use a metal edger to push it into the wall’s edge and then a utility knife to cut off the excess.
Hit the Corners
Paper will overlap in the corners, ensuring the pattern wraps around perfectly. The contractors will measure enough paper on this strip so the just-cut edge will go around the corner. The piece on the other side of the corner will tuck into the wrapped piece. This technique prevents the paper from catching and peeling if someone or something runs into it.
Trim the Windows & Doors
Next, they’ll tackle windows and doors. Again, the pros will leave enough paper to overhang the trim. They’ll make diagonal cuts to ensure the paper lies flat around the edges. The excess paper will be trimmed off and edges pushed into the window or door casing and windowsills.
Finally, the contractors will cut headers and footers, the smaller pieces that go above and below windows and above doors. Each of these strips needs to be cut precisely to match the pattern of already affixed pieces. Leaving excess at the very top and bottom, these are pasted, booked, and hung with the excess trimmed off.
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Give your home that added elegance only wallpaper can provide. Request free quotes from high-quality wallpaper installers in your area with just one click at Great Guys Painting.
