Ceilings should be wallpapered before the rest of a room. The usual order is to start at a window wall, moving away from the window with subsequent lengths. However, sometimes it is more practical to use a different order, to prevent having to handle long lengths of wallpaper.
Mark guidelines on the ceiling to ensure the paper will be aligned correctly. Start by marking them parallel to one wall, and at right angles to the adjacent walls. The guideline should be placed within the width of the wallpaper so that it will be covered.
With the guidelines marked out, the paper should now be pasted and folded concertina style in order to allow the paper to soak. Once soaked, carry the paper over your arm to the starting point on the ceiling, and then support it on a baton (such as a broom handle). Unfold the first concertina fold, and slide it into position, smoothing it with a paper hangers brush. At each wall, leave a slight overlap (about ½” or 13mm); this will be covered when the walls are papered later. Repeat with subsequent rolls, still leaving an overlap on walls.
Where light fittings are involved, ensure the electricity is off at the mains before starting work around them. Most decorators will remove any fittings before papering, which allows the paper to be trimmed from beneath the fittings instead of around it. Care must be taken to cut any excess paper from around wires, as water in paste can potentially cause problems.
Most textured ceiling papers will require painting after application. Usually, a vinyl matt or silk emulsion is best for the job (though some silk emulsions may cause a chemical reaction with some types of paper, in which case an undercoat of matt emulsion should be applied first.
Before commencing wallpapering, it is important to make an estimate of how many rolls you will require. Measure up the walls to establish the height and width of the walls, allowing you to establish the area of wallpaper required. Most rolls of wallpaper will provide 4 pieces of wallpaper, though this obviously varies with the height of the wall. It can also vary with patterned wallpaper which requires matching, as there is likely to be a certain amount of wastage in order to get the patterns matching.
Prior to hanging wallpaper, ensure the walls are free from any previous wallpaper, and that any cracks or holes are filled, to prevent blistering later on. Also, ensure any painting in the room is complete, to avoid getting paint on the new wallpaper.
Lining paper may be applied to the wall first, particularly for a high quality job, or if the walls have previously been coated with a gloss or oil based paint. Lining paper may be hung horizontally, or vertically if you are concerned about aligning the joints of the papers.
To hang the lining paper, use a spirit level to align the paper, by drawing a pencil line along the level. Paste the first length by 'concertina' folding it, and opening out each segment as you apply it to the wall. Once applied, smooth the paper to eliminate air and creases, and ensure all edges are smoothed fully, applying extra paste if necessary. Repeat until the entire room is covered; at which stage wallpaper can be applied.
Next, measure the distance from the top to the bottom of the wall, before cutting the length from a roll of paper, leaving an overhang of 50mm at the top and bottom. Only cut one length at a time.
For patterned wallpaper, ensure the pattern is the right way up. For a particularly bold pattern, choose a focal point (such as a chimney, or the dominant wall), and hang wallpaper from the centre. Also, trim the wallpaper so that there is a complete motif at the top of the wall. For a plainer design, start in a corner, usually behind the door.
Once you have cut lengths of wallpaper, they will require pasting. Wallpaper paste will usually require mixing to give the correct consistency. Many all-purpose wallpaper pastes will contain fungicides, which are required for vinyl and washable wallpapers.
Lay the wallpaper face down on a pasting table. With the paste properly mixed, paste it from top to bottom in a herringbone fashion, covering the surface evenly, taking the paste as close to the edges as possible, though don’t pull the brush over the edge, else paste may get onto the front of the wallpaper. If this happens, the paste must be washed from the front immediately with water and a sponge. Once the paste is applied, fold the strip of wallpaper into three, allowing the paste to soak in. See the manufacturers label for instructions, as soaking time will vary. Soaking enables moisture in the paper to fully expand, preventing blistering later on. Fold over the top and bottom 50mm (2").
The next stage is to hang the wallpaper. To ensure the wallpaper is hung straight, mark a long pencil line along a plumb line or a long spirit level, and use this line to place the wallpaper. Do not place the wallpaper over the line, instead, place it parallel. To affix the wallpaper, unfold the top fold and lightly stick the top half to the wall. Allow about 50mm over the top of the wall, and slide the wallpaper into the correct position. Once positioned, use a paperhangers brush to smooth out the wallpaper in a herringbone method. Unfold the bottom 50mm and stick the remaining half of wallpaper, again smoothing it out using the herringbone method with a paperhangers brush. Once the wallpaper is in position, scissors or a knife should be used to trim off the excess wallpaper. Remember to stick down the edges once the wallpaper has been cut. Finally, wipe any excess paste from around the wallpaper using a damp sponge.
If, after pasting, blisters start to appear on the wallpaper, then you can life the wallpaper and replace it, going over it with the paperhangers brush. The blisters appear as the fibres of the wallpaper expand. If not properly stuck to the wall, then they expand outwards, causing blistering. This is why it is important to ensure the wall beneath the paper is fully prepared, and that the paste is applied all over the back of the wallpaper.
To hang wallpaper around a corner, you first need to measure the distance from the last piece of paper you hung, to the corner. Then, cut the next piece of wallpaper vertically down, to the width you measured earlier, adding an inch (25mm) overlap to the measurement to give an overlap to wrap around the corner (though if a wall is badly plastered, you may require a greater overlap). Paste the paper using the normal method, taking extra care to brush the paper into the corner. The remaining length from the earlier cut should be pasted from the corner, as this will make the join much less obvious. From this, you can continue to hang the wallpaper around the room normally.
This technique is very similar for an outside corner, except the overlap should be a little larger; approximately 2 inches (50mm).
When hanging wallpaper around electrical sockets, the mains power should be switched off to avoid any electrical shocks. To start, the wallpaper should be gently smoothed over the fitting, and pierced using scissors (hence the need to switch off the electricity). Cut diagonally, across the fitting, cutting about an inch (25mm) beyond each corner of the fitting. Press the remaining wallpaper around the fitting, lightly marking out the outline and trimming along the surface outline. An alternative method used by a number of professional decorators is to loosen the socket from the wall (again, turning off the mains electricity, not least because many pastes contain water) and trap the excess wallpaper beneath the fitting.
Circular fittings are papered around in a similar way, cutting a star shape in the paper surrounding the fitting. Accuracy is particularly important in this, as mistakes could make a mess around the fitting.
While most professional decorators will use the normal, hands on method of pasting and hanging wallpaper, it may be easier for a casual decorator to use pre-pasted wallpaper. This requires a small trough filled with water, into which a ready-cut piece of paper is placed, loosely rolled. Allow the paper to soak for about a minute (the specific time to soak will be noted on the roll). This will allow the water to react with the adhesive. Next, pull the top of the paper from the trough. It must be done slowly, as this will allow any excess water to drain back into the trough.
Once the paper is hung, wipe it down with a clean, dry sponge to remove any water from the front of the paper.