Starting repairs in an apartment, people often imagine only the result of their labors and efforts. They lose sight of many intermediate stages not because of negligence, not at all, but only because they do not know the many subtleties of the upcoming process. It is very important to carefully and carefully approach the issue of choosing rough and finishing building materials, in particular to the purchase of wallpaper. The modern market offers such a diversity that it can be quite difficult for a person without experience and knowledge to navigate it.
Manufacturers who care about their reputation help their consumers make the right choice. On their products, they provide all the necessary information that may be useful to customers regarding the method of use and subsequent care of the goods. First of all, it is plain-looking black and white icons on the wallpaper. Deciphering these symbols sometimes presents difficulties, but in reality there is nothing complicated in it. We will help our readers to understand these Talmuds.
What do the icons talk about?
Often, buyers in their choice of wall coverings are guided only by aesthetic preferences, paying little attention to its technical and operational indicators. This is their main mistake, and also lies the reason for possible disappointments in the future.
Having bought a product, the consumer most often simply unpacks it, discarding the wrapping film and the label on which the manufacturer leaves special badges. On the wallpaper, the decryption will no longer be in principle visible and possible, and the owner of the apartment will only have to guess how to glue the material, what are its properties.
Experienced craftsmen engaged in the repair business can immediately determine the characteristics of the finishing material. An ordinary person will be helped to learn about this by factory marking of wallpaper. The decoding of the icons on the wallpaper will tell about the following parameters of the wall covering:
- pasting method;
- whether cleaning and mechanical impact are possible;
- what is the resistance of this type of wallpaper to moisture, sunlight;
- how to dismantle;
Also, by symbols, you can find out whether a drawing requires a combination of elements. Based on this parameter, calculate the amount of material, as well as possible waste.
International classification
A very important function that the icons on the wallpaper perform is to decrypt information given in a foreign language. Not all consumers can find a decoration material that they would like in the assortment of domestic manufacturers. The purchase of wallpaper, as well as other building materials, abroad is a simple matter, and sometimes even profitable.
The downside is that the buyer does not always know how to properly use his purchase. To avoid mistakes, overseas manufacturers also label their products in accordance with international standards.
The icons on the wallpaper and the decoding of these symbols are the same in all countries. This greatly facilitates the work of many people. Incidentally, the absence of these marks on rolls may indicate that the purchased product is of inadequate quality, defective, or even a fake.
The properties
Now let's talk in more detail about what the icons on the wallpaper mean. Decoding some characters can tell you how the material will behave in a collision with external factors such as moisture and bright light. So, the icons that depict wavy lines indicate the level of moisture resistance of the wallpaper. It can be low, medium or high, which corresponds to one “wave”, two or three. Also, this picture can be supplemented with a schematic image of a brush, which means the possibility of mechanical impact on already glued walls.
A very important factor is the light fastness of the wallpaper, which is indicated by the icons with the image of the sun. In order to increase this indicator, the material can be with sufficient, relative, good, very good and excellent light fastness.
Sticking
A fundamental characteristic for all types of wall covering is the method of their application. In the case of wallpaper - their sticker on the wall. The fact is that people who still remember how to cook paste and perpetuate the decorative finish in the room with the newspaper "Pravda" can not come to terms with the idea that the wallpaper just needs to be moistened with water. And then attach them to a wall prepared in advance (using a primer method, for example).
Nevertheless, the symbols and signs on the wallpaper, and their decoding, indicate that this material can be of several types:
- with adhesive already applied (on the marking is shown a basin into which the roll is immersed);
- Wallpaper that needs to be treated with glue (a roll and a brush are drawn);
- Wallpaper that is applied to the wall with a layer of glue applied (the label of such a material shows a perpendicular straight line with a brush against the surface).
There are also several other icons. For example, the one where the wall and the hammer are depicted gives the right to judge that the surface on which the wallpaper with this marking is applied is resistant to shock.
Dismantling
Another important property of wall coverings is the ability to easily remove them. There are wallpapers that tear off after wetting. This is done either with a wide brush or with a spray gun. There are those that, prying off with a spatula, are simply removed from the wall. There are also multilayer wallpapers in which only the top layer, on which the image or embossing is applied, is removed during dismantling.
Drawing features
Well, the last group of symbols - these are schemes that help determine the need for the selection of a drawing in a specific form of decorative material. A little below, the reader is presented with the corresponding table. The icons on the wallpaper, the decoding of their meaning and appearance, talk about how to combine strips of material so that the pattern on them becomes one.
Of course, this can always be checked by simply laying out the wallpaper on the floor and choosing a pattern. But such a procedure will not be difficult to produce at home, but in a store or mall, and even more so when ordering material online, such a test will be quite problematic.