If you’ve chosen to go with the wallpapered look and you want to get hanging, there’s several things you need to sorted before you get out the paste and pasting table. You’ll need to make sure you’ve got a good, blank canvas to work with to get an expert finish.

It’s nobody’s favorite job but if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly.

Taking time to prepare your walls for wallpaper can be arduous and time consuming, but it’s essential if you want to achieve a professional finish. It will make hanging your paper much easier, ensure that it stays put and that it won’t be spoiled by unsightly lumps and bumps. It’s pretty easy when you know how…

Strip existing wallpaper

There’s sadly no shortcuts – you need to remove EVERY trace of the old paper if you’re unfortunate to have some there already. You can use a steam stripper along with the traditional scraper if you have one at your disposal as it’ll make it easier to get every layer off.

Just be careful not to leave the steam stripper in one place for too long or you might end up blowing the plaster behind and, if the current wallpaper has been applied directly to plasterboard, be extra careful not to damage the surface by gouging through the paper or applying too much steam.

Smooth and sand down

Gently scrape off any remaining bits of wallpaper or paint with a scraper and then buff and smooth the surface with a sanding block or sandpaper. This is a key step to ensuring you don’t end up with lumps and bumps showing through on your new wallpaper.

Clean the walls up

If there’s any mould present, you can wash down these areas with a bleach solution. Otherwise, use sugar soap to wash down the walls, removing any paste residue, dirt and stubborn bits of liner or paper.

FILL the cracks

Almost always when you remove old paper, some of the plaster underneath will be chipped or flaked – please don’t just ‘paper over the cracks’! Pick out any areas that are damaged and repair using an interior filler. Pay attention to the tops of skirting boards and around door frames too – ensuring there are no gaps – you can use a flexible sealant on these areas to make life easier. Once the filler has set, you can use your sanding block again to smooth the repaired areas.

Sizing or applying a Primer/Sealand

Next we need to apply a primer/sealant or watered-down paste solution with a brush or roller over the entire area to be decorated. This will provide a better base for hanging your wallpaper and will make sure it stays firmly fixed in place – it will also make pattern-matching easier, as you’ll be able to slide the paper into position without risk of tearing.

Lining Paper

Hopefully your walls will now be fully prepped and look ready for your amazing wallpaper but if you’ve still got visible hairline cracks or bumpy areas then it’s worth considering a layer of lining paper. Once your lining paper is up, leave to dry overnight and then hang the final paper.