Hanging in a Nutshell

Procedure:

    Having a clear picture of what you need to do and in what order is the key to efficiency.        I have found the following procedure to work well in most situations.

1. Set up your table in a well-lighted and open space.
2. Inspect your wallcovering on the table.
3. Prepare your walls.
4. Measure and cut your first two strips.
5. Mark a plumb line one strip-width out from the least conspicuous corner.
6. After booking, install 1^st and 2^nd strip, but do not trim either.
7. Wait ten to twenty minutes to see how wallcovering behaves.
8. Trim and wash.
9. Continue this process around the room.

     Don't worry about minor bubbles while the paper is still wet.  Most small bubbles will dry flat.  If the paper has rows of vertical bubbles, it means you are not booking it long enough.

Windows and Doors:

     Beginning paperhangers frequently try to start hanging from the side of a doorjamb.  They assume that this long straight edge is plumb, but usually it is not. 

     If you need to start on a doorway, mark a plumb line the width of your wallcovering away from the opening.  Hang the strip to lap over the opening slightly and trim it.   This way, you will be plumb regardless of the doorway's position.

     When going over a doorway, put your short pieces up, but do not trim them.  Hang the long strip on the other side of the doorway on a new plumb line.  By not trimming the short pieces over the door, you can make adjustments in the placement of the short pieces to make the pattern match to the long piece on the other side of the opening.

     This may even involve lapping one or two of the seams, but that may be necessary to get the pattern to carry over a crooked doorway correctly.

     If you do need to lap a seam to make the pattern stay plumb, be sure you splice it out (double-cut).  Lapped vinyl seams are highly visible and frequently come loose.

     This same method applied to windows except that you have to adjust the placement of both the top and bottom pieces when going around a window that is out of square.

Inside Corners

     Since most corners are not plumb or square, wrapping around them will cause your strips to lean on the next wall  Even if the corner is plumb,  the wallcovering is going to pull away from an inside corner when it dries and leaves an air pocket behind it.
 
     To turn an inside corner correctly, measure at the top, middle, and bottom widths.  Take the widest measurement and add a quarter of an inch to it.  Cut the strip vertically on the table with your straight edge and install the first piece making sure you tuck it tight where it turns the corner. 

     Make a plumb line one-half inch wider than the width of the second piece of that strip and put this piece in place giving plumb first priority and match second priority. 

     If you have a conspicuous mismatch in this corner and you just can't stand it, you can remedy the situation by using a new strip.  Paste a new strip and trim it one-half wider than the second piece from the first strip. 

     This extra one-half inch of pattern will give you the ability to match the pattern that would otherwise be lost in the process of lapping around the corner.  Re-paste your laps in the corner with vinyl over vinyl paste or border adhesive. 

Outside Corners

     Since outside corners are just as likely to be out of square and plumb as inside corners, you should make a plumb line around the corner just past the width of the strip so you can see how far off of plumb the strip leans.  Outside corners look and wear better if they are wrapped.
   
     If your corner is far out of plumb, cut the strip so that it will wrap around the outside corner about one-half inch.  Mark a new plumb line for the second piece of the strip and hang it to get the best match you can with your pattern and still stay plumb. 

     You can buy clear plastic corner guards that will protect your outside corners from wear at most wallcovering, paint, and home supply stores.  They also help to hide necessary mismatches and seams at corners. 

     Paperhanging takes a lot of 'common sense'.  You will need to think about what you are doing as you go.  If you run into a problem, stop, think about possible solutions, and try one.  It would be impossible to include every paperhanging situation in one book.  So you will need to do some troubleshooting on your own.  That is much of what you pay a professional paperhanger for.  The professional has many years experience in dealing with hundreds of challenging situations.  Professional paperhangers are extremely creative thinkers and they need to be.  Every space will present a unique set of challenges.

     In the next chapter you can turn to the particular type of wallcovering you are interested in installing and find specific information on the hanging characteristics of that product.