22. September 2022
Our wallpapering instructions
Many people, especially women, often have an unnecessary respect for wallpapering. They think they can't do it with "two left hands" and often have a completely wrong impression of the effort involved. Here's the good news: you don't need to be an interior design professional or particularly skilled to wallpaper a wall. If you follow our step-by-step instructions and go through our checklist beforehand and have everything you need ready, you'll be finished with an approximately two-square-metre wall in three hours at the most, I promise. The result will be impressive.
These instructions only apply to high-quality non-woven wallpapers, such as those manufactured exclusively by Hohenberger and sold here in the shop. These have the great advantage that you do not have to paste the wallpaper strips; only the wall needs pasting. This makes it much easier to apply and align the wallpaper correctly on the wall, because the strips can be moved back and forth a little, detached again and minor mistakes can be corrected.
Preparation
- Print out our checklist and get all the necessary tools and materials in advance. Have everything ready.
- If your wall has a lot of cracks or unevenness or contains rough fibres, we recommend applying our painter's fleece Pro 150 before wallpapering for an optimal result. If your wall is smooth, clean and dry, but too dark or has too many colour differences, you can prime it with paint. Both tasks should be done at least two days before wallpapering, as your wall needs time to dry.
- Allow three hours for a two square metre wall, more for a larger area. You may be able to finish faster, but you don't want to rush, do you?
- It's best to get a helper to help you wallpaper. It is possible to wallpaper alone, but it is much more difficult.
- Close windows and doors to avoid draughts. If possible, the room temperature should be around 18 degrees so that the paste does not dry too quickly and the seams do not tear.
- The substrate must be light-coloured, solid, dry, absorbent and clean, as well as free of unevenness. If old wallpaper is still on the walls, it must be completely removed. Read our blog article (link) to find out how to remove old wall coverings and perfectly prepare different substrates.
- Remove light switch covers and socket covers with an insulated screwdriver, e.g. a phase tester, and be sure to turn off the power at the fuse box first.
- Protect the floor, doors, windows and furniture by covering and taping them and removing skirting boards if necessary.
Cutting the wallpaper
- First, check your wallpapers to see if they have the same item and production numbers (batches), if the colour and pattern match and if there are any production errors. Having to remove wallpaper that has already been glued because it has a defect is an unnecessary nuisance.
- The length of the strip is calculated from the height of the room plus an allowance of 5-10 centimetres. It is best to cut on a wallpaper table or on the floor and place a folding rule by your side to measure the length.
- When cutting, it is important to unroll the wallpaper roll in one direction only.
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If there is a seamless pattern: You can simply cut your panels continuously from the roll.
- You have to be careful here, because the pattern shifts with every second panel. Overall, the odd and even strips are always identical: you cut strips 1, 3, 5 and all the following odd strips identically, and strips 2, 4, 6 and all the following even strips identically. It's best to use two different rolls of wallpaper for the odd and even strips to keep the waste as minimal as possible.
- How exactly does this work? It's easier with the odd-numbered strips: panel 1 is the template for all the following panels; you simply lay pattern on pattern and cut off the appropriate length.
- With the even panels you have to pay attention to the offset. This is often half the repeat. With Hohenberger wallpapers it is particularly easy, because the distance by which you have to offset the panel is always 32 or 45 centimetres. You can find this information on the insert or in the online shop. The best way to check that the patterns fit together exactly is to lay panels 1 and 2 and also panels 3 and 4 next to each other on the floor.
Pasting and gluing
- We strongly recommend using high-quality paste, preferably our non-woven extra-strong wallpaper paste.
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Fresh paste residue can be wiped off with a damp sponge on our
water-resistant wallpapers
It's best to do this as soon as you notice it
- Mix the paste according to the instructions and make sure that it is stirred in thoroughly and allowed to swell sufficiently long. For heavy wallpapers with glass beads, granite and flock, the paste should not be mixed too thinly and any paste residue should be only dabbed off with a damp cloth, not wiped off.
- Measure the area on the wall that you need to cover with paste for your first strip. To do this, hold the roller against the wall, starting at the left edge and add 10 centimetres to the other side. Make small marks with a pencil.
- Apply the paste to the wall, using a brush for the corners and narrow areas and the paste roller for the large areas. Wipe the paste roll on the scraper grid to pick up the right amount of paste.
- Then stick on your first strip starting at the top, leaving about 5 centimetres of wallpaper protruding at the top and bottom. Press the wallpaper lightly with your hand at first so that you can correct any mistakes. Try to stay as straight as possible when rolling the wallpaper from top to bottom and use a spirit level to align the first strip correctly. If it doesn't fit properly, just carefully pull the wallpaper off again and put it back on.
- Once the wallpaper is correctly aligned, you can press it firmly into place. It is best to use a soft foam rubber roller to press the wallpaper down and never a wallpaper spatula. Try not to create any air bubbles when rolling. If air bubbles do form, you can press them out to the side with a wallpaper brush or the pressure roller. You can finish the butt edge with a seam roller and smooth out any unevenness.
- When everything is to your satisfaction, place the tear-off ruler at the top and bottom of the strip and cut the wallpaper straight along the ruler with a utility knife.
- Then paste the wall for your second strip.
- First lay the second strip loosely, again leaving 5 centimetres overhanging at the top, and then align it so that the patterns match exactly. Then do everything as you did with the first strip.
- If any corners of the wallpaper become loose, simply apply paste again with the brush and press the wallpaper down with the pressure roller.
- When you have applied your last strip and still have an overhang on the right or left edge, you can again place the tear-off ruler in the right place and cut the wallpaper step-by-step along the desired edge with the utility knife.
Sockets and other cut-outs
- Before wallpapering, you should remove light switch covers and socket covers. It is important to turn off the power beforehand and to use an insulated screwdriver.
- When wallpapering, first stick the wallpaper loosely over the recess. Then cut it out with a utility knife and press the wallpaper into place.
- After sufficient drying time, you can reattach the covers of the sockets and light switches.
Done! Proud of yourself? You have every right to be! We hope you enjoy looking at your work every day.
We would be very happy if you shared the finished wallpapering result with us on Instagram!
Feel free to post with #hohenberger or use the tag @hohenberger_wallcoverings and we will repost your picture on our channel.
Looking for the next challenge? Then check out our instructions for wallpapering a non-woven wallpaper.
