DIY Network

Wallpaper 101 Learn the basics to buying and applying self-adhesive wallpaper. From "Home Made Easy" episode DHME-126

Allegra Bennett, editor of Renovating Woman magazine, joins host Stephanie Lydecker and explains how to choose, purchase and apply self-adhesive wallpaper.

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	Allegra shares tips to help make hanging wallpaper a little easier.
	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

Wallpaper 101

• The first step before purchasing wallpaper is to know the square footage of the room you are going to wallpaper. Measure the height and length of each wall you are going to paper. This gives you the square footage that you will need for each wall.

• Make a rough drawing or take a digital picture of the room to show the location of windows and doors and take it with you to the store. You will also need to discuss with the salesperson about the repeat of any pattern as this will affect the amount of paper needed to complete the task.

• Once you purchase the wallpaper and are ready to hang it, let it soak in water according to the manufacturer's directions.

• You don't always need to start in the corner of a room to hang wallpaper. You just need to drop what is called a plumb line which gives you a straight line against the wall. Use a chalk box to get a plumb line. Hold the line at the top of the wall and then just allow the weight of the chalk box to drop down and let it swing until it stops (figure A). Place a finger on the line and then snap the line and it will leave a line of chalk on the wall.

  Note: There is no guarantee that the windows or door frames are "plumb" especially if you live in an older home, as it may have shifted over the years.

• Find the center of the wall by measuring it left to right and mark the area. A perfectly straight line will help you match the wallpaper pattern of every panel.

• It just takes a few minutes to activate the glue. Take the paper out of the water. You will want to make this transfer of paper easy so you need to do something called booking the paper to get it to the wall with the least amount of stress—for you and the paper! Booking just means to pull the wall paper out of the water and fold it back so that the glue side is on itself (figure B).

• Line up the edge of the wallpaper with the plumb line. Carefully but firmly pull the booked end of the paper down. Align the edge of the paper with the plumb line and begin to smooth out the paper; working from the middle to the top and bottom. Use a damp sponge to help get rid of any air bubbles and smooth out the paper.

• Repeat this process with the remaining pieces of paper. Just remember to align the patterns with like patterns. Since you started with a plumb line the remaining paper just needs to butt up against the paper already hung on the wall.

• Use a sharp knife and straight edge (figure C) to trim the tops and bottoms after the paper has started to dry.

GUESTS :

Allergra Bennett
Editor, Renovating Woman Magazine
Website: www.renovatingwoman.com