Sticking ceiling wallpaper is one of the most difficult stages of repair in any room. This will require special training, effort and material. After all, ordinary wallpaper for the ceiling will not work. They simply come off. But the process of applying ceiling wallpaper itself has many features that need to be disassembled in more detail. Read all the nuances in our article today.
When is it not worth gluing ceiling wallpapers?
It is better to refrain from this operation if you live in an old house. Indeed, in Soviet times, the ceilings were laid out from slabs, respectively, every one and a half meters the surface will have a joint that cannot be blocked. In addition, the plates often lie at different angles and have unequal heights. This can only be seen after removing the previous coating. If this situation is familiar to you, it will be much safer and more thoughtful to install stretch ceilings that will effectively hide these shortcomings.
Also, do not use wallpaper on the ceiling in the kitchen and bathroom. Indeed, in these rooms, hot steam rises, and due to humidity, the material begins to peel off. Thus, the wallpaper on the ceiling in these rooms will not last long. Most likely, they will come off after a few weeks of use. Maximum - in a month.
What wallpaper is suitable for the ceiling?
You should not take wide rolls, because working with them is not easy. No need to try to search for ceiling wallpaper from foreign manufacturers. Basically, they are produced only by domestic ones.
It is not recommended to purchase wallpapers of too bright colors. They look out of place in any design. The best option is considered to be white or any approximate pastel colors, depending on the design idea of a particular room or apartment as a whole. You can not choose too thick wallpaper. After all, they are very heavy for the ceiling. Only specialized materials designed specifically for this surface are needed.
In small rooms you should refrain from sticking wallpapers with large drawings. After all, this will visually reduce the space. If you choose the right ceiling wallpaper, on the contrary, it will create a feeling of comfort and expand the room.
What difficulties arise when gluing on the ceiling?
Do not forget that the wallpaper on the ceiling will always be lit, and you can not, if necessary, mask the flaws with a piece of furniture or, for example, a picture. Here, every nuance will be immediately noticeable.
It must be remembered that the ceiling is the warmest place in the room. Consequently, the glue there will dry out many times faster. This gives an extremely limited time to correct any errors in the process of working with the material.
We should not forget that you will not be able to avoid the seams on the wallpaper. Therefore, you need to come up with a way to mask the joints of the seams or make them as less noticeable as possible.
Types of Wallpaper
There are several types that differ in their purpose and appearance. Among them:
- Paper wallpaper. This is the cheapest category. However, the price here justifies the quality. Paper wallpapers will not last long, so soon you will have to do a second repair.
- Non-woven. They are considered ceiling wallpaper and perfect for painting. Thus, they can act as independent material. Moisture resistant, and this is a big plus.
- Vinyl wallpapers. They may not lose their original color for a long time, allow wet cleaning, and are also unpretentious in operation. This view can mimic a variety of surface structures.
- Fiberglass. They are not infected with mold, and are also resistant to abrasion and not combustible.
- The liquid wallpaper. It is an alternative to stucco. They are evenly applied to the entire ceiling surface with a spatula.
Is it possible to glue the ceiling wallpaper on the previous wallpaper?
This question belongs to the category of "possible, but not necessary." Ceiling wallpapers can be applied to previous ones. However, this is, for the most part, a waste of time.
The fact is that new wallpapers should be fixed on something, and most often they use glue for these purposes. However, it is absorbed into the previous layer, leaving traces on it. Also, in order for the glue to harden, oxygen is needed. Because of this, bubbles appear on the coating, or the surface completely leaves in some places.
This is because the number of layers causes too much load due to massiveness. Consequently, the wallpaper is too heavy for the ceiling and begins to retreat.
You can aggravate the situation if you try to color the resulting composition. The color of the wallpaper is mixed with a shade of paint. Both layers are saturated with moisture, and, most likely, the whole structure will fall down. However, this is only at best. In the worst it will be necessary to tear them away in layers long and hard. But this activity is not pleasant and requires great patience.
Additional stages of preparation
First of all, you need to make sure that there are no several layers of whitewash on the ceiling. If they are, it is advisable to get rid of them. After all, it is not known how they can behave under glue or under wallpaper in general.
Also, we must not forget that to cover the ceiling it will be necessary to turn off the electricity. Accordingly, it is best to start wallpapering in the morning to complete all the work before dark.
How to glue the ceiling wallpaper? When performing this operation, you need to remember that it requires specialized glue, preferably of high quality. There is no need to save on it. It is from this composition that the entire success of the work done will depend.
Step 1. Preparation of the ceiling surface
The first step is the most important, because the whole future fate of wallpapering depends on it:
- First you need to make sure that the ceiling is absolutely clean, does not contain excess paint or whitewash. Some paint coatings may well be left, but they must first be checked. It is enough just to stick the adhesive tape, and then tear it with force. If the tape remains clean, you can leave this coating and not worry about the wallpaper.
- We must not forget that you need to carefully putty all cracks and potholes. Otherwise, they will be noticeable on your wallpaper. Before filling it is necessary to clean the ceiling well. Then close up all the flaws and only after that putty everything on top.
- If any paint or other coating remains on the surface of the ceiling, it must be thoroughly washed with soap, wait for it to dry completely, and only after that you can start wallpapering. The reason is that because of the glue any surface defects will appear on the wallpaper.
Cutting
How to deal with the problem of visible seams? Before gluing the ceiling wallpaper, you need to cut the material. It all depends on the number of windows in the room and their placement. How to glue the wallpaper on the ceiling? Ceiling wallpaper must always be applied towards the window.
If there is more than one window in one room, it is recommended to cut the material along the length of the walls. This will help to avoid a large number of seams and joints. In the process of cutting wallpaper for the ceiling, the elements should not strictly correspond to measurements. Make them a little longer. A margin of three centimeters on each side will be enough for the wallpaper to go slightly onto the wall. If this size is too much, it can be cut off at any time.
If you chose a wallpaper with a picture, you must first measure the length of the first strip, and cut off all subsequent ones strictly in the same place. Thus, you can achieve a successful match of the pattern or texture. Great practice during gluing is not only applying glue to the wallpaper, but also treating it with the ceiling.
How to cover the wallpaper with glue?
To do this, it will be necessary to turn a piece of material so that the front side is at the bottom. The strip must be located on a flat and clean surface.
Next, you need to dip the brush into the glue and gently walk it over the entire surface of the material. If you decide to glue the ceiling, you must strictly cover them with an area equal to one strip of wallpaper.
The steps of gluing the first strip:
- Kneading the glue. The composition should be made as thick as possible, depending on the length of the wallpaper. While it swells, we proceed to the next step.
- It is necessary to note the middle of the ceiling from two different parts of the room. To do this, you can use the chalky cord, you will need to pull it and click it on the ceiling. Thus, you get a flat line, which can be used in the future.
- The light from the window should go along the joints, if in doubt, how to glue the ceiling wallpaper correctly. In this case, the defects will be less noticeable. As mentioned earlier, wallpaper must be glued along the length of the room in the direction of the windows.
- In the process of wallpapering, disconnecting electricity is simply not enough with a switch. It must be turned off on the shield or unscrew the plugs. Only in this way can you be sure that the wiring does not close and you will be safe.
- To find out how to glue the ceiling wallpaper, or rather, how to spread the front page, just use the instructions from the manufacturer. Do not forget that the instructions differ depending on the type of material and the manufacturer. General advice can only lead to useless use of the canvas.
The subsequent stages of wallpapering
For effective work, it is best if at least 2 people work on the glue. In this case, one can stand on a stepladder under the ceiling, and the second serve him wallpaper canvases, holding them as high as possible to the ceiling for convenience. This will greatly speed up and facilitate the workflow.
We must not forget about the stock on each side of the wallpaper. Three centimeters will be enough, but you can take up to five. If the canvas is too long, it must be trimmed. To avoid negligence and glue the ceiling wallpaper as in the photo, you need to use a spatula to accurately remove excess. Scissors or even a sharp knife will not work for these purposes. After all, they can leave torn edges.
To organize a continuous gluing process, it would be nice to have also got a third partner who could prepare the next piece of canvas. The process must be made as quick as possible, because then the wallpaper will dry evenly and there will be no unnecessary difficulties.
If, when connecting a piece of ceiling wallpaper, small air bubbles begin to form, you must immediately align them with a spatula. Later, such an error can no longer be corrected. This procedure must be repeated with each piece of wallpaper. All the following (after the first) strip must be glued butt.
As for how to properly attach the ceiling wallpaper so that the seams are not visible, you must slowly pull one strip to the other with your hands. This is done in such a way that in the end, these bands are in contact with each other.
Tip
It should be remembered that all excess glue must be removed immediately. White rags are better for these purposes. It is advisable to stock up on a large number of them. It is important that the rags are dry and clean. Then it will not print on new ceiling wallpaper and will help to carefully remove the remnants of the previously applied glue. Strips that are last glued or applied around the edges of the room must be cut even from the bottom. Thus, it will be possible to save both strength and time spent on installation.
General conclusions
There are an infinite number of ways to glue ceiling wallpapers. However, the above tips are the most effective and common. They will help even a novice to cope with this difficult task. True, to simplify the work, it will still require the help of one or two acquaintances.