Not every builder in the process of his work (masonry walls, rough plaster) thinks about preparing the walls for wallpapering, or rather, whether the walls are suitable for this. Of course, not all builders are like that. Sometimes, little depends on them: the customer (employer) is often more important than speed than the quality of work.
Work order
The step-by-step preparation of the walls for wallpapering can be different and depends on the following factors:
- The condition of the walls.
- The type of wall material, that is, what the walls are made of: brick (or various blocks), concrete, drywall (or similar materials, for example, GVL) or wood.
- Type of wallpaper to be glued at the finish stage.
- Customer wishes. That is how important the final result will be for him.
Based on these factors, you can draw up a step-by-step instruction on preparing the walls for wallpapering, or a work plan. It does not matter, you will carry out repairs yourself or with the help of hired specialists, the progress will be approximately the same. The main thing is to understand that the final result will directly depend on the preparation of the walls. So, the order:
- Dismantling.
- Alignment of the surface of the walls.
- Putty.
- Wallpapering.
- Painting (if wallpaper is for painting).
Each stage, except the last two, ends with the application of 1-2 layers of primer.
Dismantling
This step is excluded in preparing the walls for wallpapering in the new building. It is not needed for partitions erected during redevelopment.
Dismantling can include a huge amount of work, from cleaning the surface to the demolition of unnecessary partitions. Therefore, we will touch on the most important points:
- Removing old wallpaper. In most cases, they very easily move away from the wall if they are preliminarily moistened with plenty of water and then scrubbed off the wall with a spatula. The surface of the washable wallpaper must first be pierced with a needle roller or cuts with a knife on the entire surface. This is done so that water can penetrate the washable layer. It is recommended to use a long-nap roller and a small spatula.
- Removing old paint can be quite a painful procedure in preparing the walls for wallpapering, especially if there are several layers of paint. Therefore, if wall plaster is subsequently proposed, it will be enough to scrape off the exfoliating paint with a spatula and apply medium-sized notches over the entire surface. Then concrete contact is applied to the entire surface. If the walls are not plastered, then the simplest and most effective option is to use special chemical washes.
- Whitening or water-based paint is removed by abundant wetting and further scraping with a spatula.
- Removing flaking wall elements: plaster, putty.
- Electrical and plumbing work. They do not apply to dismantling, but are carried out at the preparatory stage, before the walls are leveling.
Primer
Many underestimate this important step in preparing the walls for wallpapering with your own hands, but in vain. After all, in addition to its main property (increased adhesion), the primer also has other useful properties:
- The primer is able to reduce the consumption of material during subsequent finishing (paint, wallpaper glue), as it reduces the absorption of the surface.
- Prevents the development (appearance) of mold, fungi and rust.
- Fastens the most loose sections of the wall, making the base more durable.
- Perfectly removes dust from the surface of the wall.
- Often there is a situation when, after sanding the walls, “bald patches” remain (places that are different in color from the general background of the wall), and you have to go through another layer of putty. A white (or leveling) primer can solve this problem when preparing walls for wallpapering. It perfectly brightens and evens out the overall background in color. This is especially true before sticking light and thin wallpaper.
Partial alignment
Suitable for walls with minor defects, or in rooms where a full-scale repair is not planned. The bottom line is to fill in small irregularities (up to one centimeter) with a stucco mixture in separate sections of the wall. It is carried out by a short rule or a spatula 40 cm wide. To prepare the walls before gluing wallpaper is the cheapest and fastest option. But it must be borne in mind that this type of plastering does not level the wall surface in a plane or level, but only improves its visual perception. More suitable for thick types of wallpaper that are less demanding on the state of the wall.
Plastering as a rule
A more advanced and relatively inexpensive way to level the wall. Therefore, this option is most often used in preparing the walls for wallpapering.
Includes the alignment of the horizontal and vertical planes of the wall, as well as the plane of the angle. It is carried out by the long rule (2.5-3 m) as follows:
- First, the horizontal plane (top and bottom) of the wall is stretched. To do this, the plaster mixture is thrown on the bottom of the wall along its length with small flip flops (slightly less than the length of the rule), and then it is pulled by the rule to a height of 30-35 cm in zigzag movements. Unfilled sections are again thrown with plaster and aligned with the rule. The same procedure is carried out with the top of the wall. It is important to guide the rule precisely along the wall, excluding the increase in the layer and the breaking of the plane. The essence of this step is to achieve an even (under the rule) horizontal plane of the top and bottom of the wall, thereby obtaining peculiar beacons for further alignment.
- After drying the received beacons, you can proceed to the next step: vertical alignment. A process similar to the previous step, but now a vertical plane is thrown with stucco. You should start from the corners of the room, keeping the rule perpendicular to the wall. It is not advisable to press the rule hard, as it tends to bend, which means that the plane will eventually be concave. But also do not allow the increase in the layer. Depending on the condition of the wall, this step may need to be repeated. Particular attention must be paid to the corners of the room, since when gluing wallpaper, an uneven corner can cause a lot of trouble. Yes, and such a corner will look ugly, even under the wallpaper.
Lighthouse plaster
Perhaps the most time-consuming and costly way to prepare the walls for wallpapering, but the most effective and efficient alignment option. If everything was done correctly during the work, then the resulting walls and corners will be smooth not only in plane, but also in level. This requires the following:
- If the wall length is longer than the rule length, it is recommended to pull the thread to avoid curvature of the horizontal plane.
- If you need right angles (90 degrees), then the thread is stretched around the entire perimeter of the room, taking into account the rotation of the corner. The thread should be pulled over the most protruding parts of the wall (bottom, top or middle), at a distance from the wall, taking into account the lighthouse.
- Lighthouses are set strictly on a string, and then, using a long rule and a building level, are set vertically. The gaps between the lighthouse and the wall should be completely filled: you should get a tubercle with a lighthouse on top.
- The distance between the beacons should not be too large (usually 1.5-1.7 m), slightly less than the length of the working rule. Firstly, it will be difficult to physically align a large gap, especially on a thick layer. Secondly, the greater the distance between the beacons, the more likely the plane to deflect.
- Leveling is carried out only after the plaster mixture has completely dried under the beacons.
- After the initial setting, carefully trim the settled plaster. Actual for a thick layer.
Putty
This stage is definitely recommended before gluing the wallpaper, it does not matter which type of alignment was applied, or the preparation took place completely without plastering. After the plaster has completely dried, you can begin the finishing step in preparing the walls for wallpapering - for puttying. The period of full setting of the stucco mixture directly depends on the thickness of the layer, the level of temperature and humidity indoors. It can be from 1-2 days to a week. A fairly simple and voluminous stage.
For quality performance, the following is required:
- Before you begin, it is necessary to clean the surface of the wall with an emery mesh or a spatula, thereby removing the flaws made during the plastering process. Then be sure to prime the wall.
- The mixture is applied to the wall with a thin layer, the thickness depends on the quality of the plaster. Usually they start from any of the corners, with smooth movements along the entire wall, as if smoothing its surface.
- The number of layers also depends on the quality of the plaster, for walls under the wallpaper usually need 1-2 layers.
- Putty is applied with spatulas of various lengths from 10 to 45 cm.
- After the putty layer has dried, the wall is sanded and primed. If necessary, apply a second layer.
Concrete wall preparation
Whoever and no matter what you say, in no case can you paste wallpaper on a concrete surface. Any, even the thickest wallpapers, necessarily repeat the relief of the concrete wall, and these are numerous bumps, chips and bumps.
Thin wallpapers are likely to tear, while light ones will take on the color of concrete. And this is provided that the wallpaper will generally be held on such a surface. Therefore, the main stages of work in preparing concrete walls for wallpapering are simply required:
- First of all, the surface fights off all protruding elements: tubercles, pieces of reinforcement, and the like. Doing this manually is unlikely to work, so use a hammer drill. You can also make notches.
- Be sure to treat the surface of the wall with a special compound (concrete contact). Before this, it must be thoroughly mixed. Apply to the wall with a roller and brush.
- It is necessary to apply at least a minimum layer of plaster 5-10 mm to the wall, the costs will be minimal. But the guarantee that nothing falls off in a couple of days will increase.
- Next is a putty layer and a primer.
Drywall Wall Preparation
This is perhaps the best option for walls just for wallpapering. Drywall walls have several advantages over other types of partitions: they do not require long preparation, which means they save time and money. This, of course, provided that the installation work of the gypsum plasterboard was qualitatively completed. Therefore, the preparation of drywall walls for wallpapering is suitable for beginners. Includes the following steps:
- Primer surface. Mandatory stage before starting any work.
- Next, you need to close up all the joints and holes from the screws. The joints of the drywall sheets are filled with a plaster mixture and glued with a sickle or special tape for reinforcement.
- Then you need to strengthen the external corners (if any). This is done using metal paint angles, which are set in level. It is only necessary to set the corner on the plaster mixture, and not on the putty. Since the putty will not hold the corner, and very soon cracks will appear, and then completely fall off.
- After the plaster dries, it will be necessary to sand, primer and putty the surface of the wall. If you skip the putty, then when dismantling the wallpaper, the surface of the drywall will be damaged.
- As soon as the putty dries, the surface should be sanded and primed again.
Wallpaper selection
In the end, I would like to touch on this topic, since step-by-step instruction in preparing the walls for wallpapering depends on their type:
- On a paper basis, as a rule, thinner and quality-sensitive wall surfaces. For such wallpaper you need to carefully prepare the wall, especially for photo wallpaper. Not recommended for new buildings, as they do not tolerate shrinkage of walls.
- A non-woven base is more undemanding to the surface of the wall than paper wallpaper. But here it all depends on the thickness and structure of the upper layer. Such wallpapers are able to "align" small wall defects.
- The liquid wallpaper. They are capable of realigning the wall structure, therefore, thorough surface preparation is not required. Resistant to wall shrinkage. Before applying, it is recommended to primer the walls at least two times, as well as even out the tone of the surface (the walls should be plain white).
Conclusion
Whatever the wallpaper, it is still better to thoroughly prepare the surface of the walls.
Of course, much rests on the possibilities, but as they say, wallpapers are glued for a while, and walls for a year. In addition, any coating will also fall on a quality foundation with high quality, and with repeated repairs you will not have to do the same steps again.