Installing wallpaper yourself? Here are a few tips!
Buy the correct tools
It's very useful to purchase some wallpaper tools. This is different of course for every project. A primer (if necessary), wallpaper glue, a ladder, a sharp knife, a squeegee, felt strips for your squeegee, a roller for the glue, a smaller brush, cloths, a pencil, a tape measure, a spirit level or laser, a seam roller, gloves and some stuff to clean the walls for example. We sell a few of these tools ourself, check it out here!
Always check what kind of wallpaper you purchase and buy the correct wallpaper glue to go with it. At Annet Weelink Design, all our wallpapers our Non Woven. Which means you need a glue for Non Woven wallpaper.
Prepare your walls
The most important thing: your wall is smooth (so no holes or bumps) and clean!
Of course it's very important to first prepare your walls correctly. Take down any old wallpaper. Depending on the type of wallpaper, you can remove the wallpaper by itself or use some tools to remove it properly. Switch off the power and then remove the covers from your socket outlets.
Do you have a painted wall? Very lightly sand the wall and then clean the wall. Remove things such as nails and screws. Remove loose plaster and if there are holes in the wall, fill it with a wall filler.
If you are dealing with a bare concrete wall (a wall that is not plastered) or a very absorbent surface, you need to prime the wall before you can start wallpapering. You can test this by running a wet cloth or sponge over the wall. When the water is quickly absorbed, the substrate is absorbent and you must therefore use a primer.
Tip: If the main colour of your wallpaper is completely different then your wall colour, you can choose to paint the wall in an equivalent color as the main color of the wallpaper. We recommend this especially if, for example, your wall is dark and the wallpaper is white. We will of course assume that you install the wallpaper neatly so that there are no seams, but this can be a good option if the color of your wall is much darker than the color of the wallpaper.
Prepare your tools
Make sure everything you need is ready to go and easy for you to grab. Also make sure you read the manual that we deliver with the wallpaper or that you received from us by email. You can find the manual for Non Woven wallpaper here.
Prepare the wallpaper glue as indicated on the packaging.
Always check your wallpaper before starting. Check if the total sizing is correct, check if the design is correct and preferably lay the parts next to each other on a clean surface to see if everything lines up correctly. If you notice that something is wrong, if you have the feeling that something is not correct or you are in doubt about something, don't start with the installation. Give us a call or send us an email. We are happy to help you!
We advise you to do the installation with at least 2 people :)
Let's go!
Once you've prepared everything, you can start wallpapering!
For convenience we guide you through this starting on the left. But you can of course also start on the right side, as long as you check carefully which part you start with. If you start on the left, you start with part 1. If you start on the right, you start with the last part.
The first part must, of course, hang perfectly straight. The wallpaper parts are numbered, so check if you have the correct part. The wallpaper parts are 53cm wide. Use a pencil to draw a perpendicular line about 49cm from the left corner, you can do this with a spirit level or a laser. You draw the line at 49cm because you want to have a little overlap of wallpaper on the left to make the cutting more easy. Now spread the glue evenly over the roller. Apply the glue directly to the wall and roll it out evenly. Glue a slightly wider piece of wall than the wallpaper part is wide. With the smaller brush you can glue the corner, the top, the bottom and the sides of the wall. Hang the wallpaper against the wall and place the edge as close as possible to the drawn line on the wall. Allow the wallpaper to slightly overlap at the top and bottom and on the left, you can cut this away later. It's easy to start at the top and smooth it out first with your (clean) hands from the top to the bottom. Now smooth out and flatten the wallpaper carefully with a wallpaper spatula or squeegee, pushing out any bubbles that might occur. Make sure the sides of the wallpaper really stick. You can put the monkey strips on the squeegee to make sure you don't scratch the wallpaper. Now you can cut off the excess wallpaper with a sharp knife if you want. You can also do this at the end, it's whatever you prefer. If some glue gets on the wallpaper, that's no problem. Remove it immediately with a clean dry cloth.
Now we start with the second wallpaper part. Apply the glue to the wall and roll it out evenly. Again you glue in a slightly wider piece of wall than the wallpaper strip is wide. Now you make sure that the pattern continues into each other from the first to the second part. Press the edges of the parts against each other so that there is no seam. If necessary, press the seam between the two parts with a seam roller. Because you line up everything, the wallpaper will automatically overlap again at the top and/or bottom. Again, you can cut this away later.
We advise you to take a few steps back after installing a wallpaper part, checking to see if you are happy. Our wallpaper can handle quite a bit. So if you do see that it is a bit crooked or not lined up correctly, you can carefully take it off the wall, move it and reapply.
Just repeat this until you've hung up all the parts. It is possible that the last wallpaper strip has a part without any print, a white part. You can choose to pre-cut or trim this white part of the last part before you start putting it on the wall. This may work a bit easier, especially if the white part is big and if you work in a corner.
And that's it! Good luck!