1. CHOOSE YOUR WALLPAPER TYPE CAREFULLY

Reasonably dry rooms:

Living room

Bedroom

Hall

Suitable wallpapers: All types of wallpaper.

Damp rooms:

Bathroom

Kitchen

Toilet

Suitable wallpapers: Soap washable vinyl wallpaper.

Smooth and regular walls

Suitable wallpapers: All types of wallpaper.

Irregular walls

Suitable wallpapers: Wallpaper with large embossed designs, expanded

2. REMOVING WALLPAPER

Removing washable wallpaper:
1.Soak the wallpaper using hot water mixed with a household cleaning fluid or a special wallpaper removal product,
2.Apply the mixture two or three times to the paper (with a sponge or a steamer). Leave the paper to absorb the mixture for about 20 minutes.
3. If necessary, scrape the paper using a metal brush so that the water soaks in better.
4. Remove the paper using a palette knife. Make sure that you work parallel to the wall and from top to bottom, without removing the plaster. Remove while the paper is still wet.
5. Once the paper has been removed, wipe a wet cloth over it to remove paste residues.

Removing vinyl wallpaper:
This type of paper is made of two layers. Usually it is sufficient to remove the first layer. This can be done when dry. Remove the top layer of the wallpaper using a knife. Only pull upwards.
The remaining layer can be used as a backing for the next wallpaper, but we do not advise this.
The paper might come off in places and leave the wall bare. In that case you can just sand the edges of the ripped area. If you want to completely strip the walls, use the same procedure as for washable wallpaper.

3. PREPARING THE WALLS

It is important to note that 80% of successful wallpaper hanging depends on preparing the walls.
To hang wallpaper satisfactorily, surfaces must be:

-Clean
For this, it is vital that you eliminate all traces of:
dust
-dirt, stains
-writing, level lines, graffiti
-paste residues
-old wallpaper
-wall coverings
-paint

The wall must be washed and rinsed, and left to dry for a day.

-Absorbent The wall must have normal porosity, in other words neither too porous (a porous surface) nor not porous at all (impermeable surface).
Both excessive and insufficient porosity undermine good adhesion

Check porosity using the “WATER DROPLET” test:
Wipe a wet sponge over the wall, applying pressure.

-Porous surface: Large stains and no droplets
-Impermeable surface: Droplets run down to the base of the wall, leaving no trace on the wall
-Normally absorbent surface: Large stains with droplets which run down but stop before the skirting board

How to treat surfaces which do not have normal porosity?

        • Impermeable surface
Usually, surfaces are made impermeable by old paintwork or paste. To make them absorbent, you therefore need to:
a. Sand and wash the wall
b. Apply a coat of primer undercoat

        • Porous surface
Mainly newly plastered surfaces. Porosity can be reduced by applying a primer undercoat compatible with the paste (see primer label):
- A glycerol primer + 30% white spirit
- Or an acrylic primer + 30% water
- Or Metylan 1200 by Henkel

-Dry and sound The causes of humidity must be treated and eliminated before hanging to avoid paste-drying complications and mould after hanging the wallpaper.
Walls must be sound. They should not be contaminated by any substance.

-Level Walls must be smooth, flat and uniform because wallpaper tends to highlight any unevenness. Some wallpapers are quite thin so it is possible to see differences in colour and even pencil marks through them.
Small cracks in the wall and screw or nail holes must be filled with a flexible repair product. Use a calico (an elastic cotton cloth) to fill large cracks or to reinforce corners. Finish with filler.

CUTTING THE PAPER

Firstly, measure the height of your wall and add 5 to 6cm at top and bottom (for trimming).

Cut several strips at a time using the paper cutter. Number the top of each strip on the back to ensure that you hang them in order. The start of the roll should be placed at the top of the wall.

If your paper has a match, each strip should be cut to match the neighbouring strip.
It is important to find the match first and to number each strip. This will make the hanging process easier.

PASTING

If you are using a paper-backed wallpaper (not non-woven), place your strip of wallpaper on wallpaper table and paste it, starting from the middle and taking care to reach the edges.

Fold the paper in on itself to the middle, ensuring you do not mark the fold.
Do the same with the other half.
The wallpaper should be exactly folded so that the edges do not dry faster than the centre (the edges should not be exposed to the air).

Leave it dry for several minutes (between 5 and 10 minutes according to the thickness of the paper).