"Five careful minutes at the beginning saves a lot of frustration at the end."

     In wall covering, there is one fact that remains constant: Everyone starts with a straight line. However, how, where, and by what means that line is determined is a matter of heated debate and controversy. Each installer is adamant about the correctness and appropriateness of his or her own method, whether derived from a trade school, apprenticeship training, mentor, or developed through their own experimentation. As other articles have pointed out, there is really no wrong way to install wall coverings as long as one golden rule is obeyed: the client is satisfied with the end product. However, there are easier, faster, more productive, and more profitable ways to achieve an installation that is “pleasing to the eye.”

     Several years ago at a local CEO’s residence, the general contractor drove this point home prior to my starting his project. The majority of the wall coverings were striped. He did not use a very skilled drywall contractor, and said the corners were quite crooked. The foundation was severely off. When they unloaded the roof trusses, they accidentally dropped the load and tweaked them all. Doesn’t it seem that shortcomings start from the ground up and get magnified as the building continues? The general contractor reminded me, as I had level in hand, that he didn’t care if the sheets were perfectly plumb, only that the finished paper looked pleasing to the eye around the corners, doorways, and windows. Needless to say this project required a bit of “paperhanger magic.”

      Installers too often concentrate on perfection as their goal. At times, our installation problems result from expecting more than the wall covering is designed to deliver. As experienced professionals, we have come to know that we are often limited by the construction and design of the wall coverings as to how good the finished product can look.  Some materials will make the best craftsman look like a rookie. A friend of mine is fond of saying, “Only God is perfect; the rest of us do the best we can with what we are given.” Yet correct room engineering and layout will usually make the best of wall coverings stunning and the problematic acceptable. (In the latter case, some days that’s as good as it gets!)

     First, it may be important to define engineering and layout. Engineering is finding the location of your sheets on the wall to minimize waste and avoid having small slivers of wallcovering that slow your installation. Layout is achieving the most pleasing appearance: finding an attractive ceiling line, balancing the pattern on the wall, and keeping your patterns and sheets running true during the installation. 

     Engineering and layout can be divided into two classes: residential and commercial. Grasses, strings, and silks are most often installed in balanced¹ panels, but in a commercial setting this may produce excessive waste.  Commercial vinyls, on the other hand, are installed in full panels except over doorways, where full-width headers are installed to avoid waste. Residential-type wall coverings will most often require more engineering and layout since commercial materials are predominantly non-pattern random products.

     In either residential or commercial projects, the highest priority is finding the focal point of your room when using pattern goods.  In residences, this is most often determined by standing in the entry to the room. What feature in the room will significantly draw one’s attention?

     The second important decision in the room is where you will “kill²” the wall covering. If all walls are hung in a room, there will be one point where they do not match when using patterned materials.  They actually do come together perfectly on rare occasions.  (If you have spent any length of time in the trade, it is really quite exhilarating when this occurs, and the client comments on your great skill. Little do they know it is a matter of dumb luck!)

    Kill point locations are divided between those who believe they belong in a corner and those who believe they belong over the doorway. Proponents of each approach swear that their preference produces the best results and is the least awkward solution to this daily dilemma. My personal preference is to have the mismatch in the corner behind the doorway. This was the accepted approach in my area. I personally know many installers who prefer to “hide” the mismatch over the doorway by creating “false matches³”. Ultimately, you may be wise to ask the client to make such a subjective choice.

     The third step in finding the most complimentary layout is pattern balance. Wall covering repeats can be as little as a few inches to over four to five feet. “Busy” patterns with little open space pose no problems in selecting ceiling lines or balance on the wall. Patterns with repeats of 18 inches or more typically lend themselves to balancing the repeats on the wall.

     There are no hard and fast rules in this area. It is a matter of personal preference. However, with only a few seconds attention to possible alternatives, rather than just “throwing” the material up, a more pleasing installation can be achieved. Selection of a ceiling line goes hand in hand with balancing patterns. Most installers prefer to find a pattern area that will hide ceiling lines that dip and rise.

     The last step in successful engineering and layout is how the first strip hits the wall. This will determine how easily the job proceeds! Believe it or not, you can significantly increase your production rate by investing a few minutes in your first sheet.

     As previously stated, we all start with a straight line, but how we find it will determine the ease of our installation. Some installers use a three or four foot level, while others use a good torpedo level coupled with their six-foot straight edge.  Both can produce excellent results. My preference, after engineering the room, is to start one sheet away from the most difficult sheet in the room. A friend once told me, “do the worstest firstest and save the bestest for lastest”.  I guess it really stuck because, 20 years later, I’m still doing that. By starting one sheet away, I am guaranteed that the first sheet will hang plumb on the wall and not be influenced by an opening or corner.

     One may think that now we are ready to put the ‘pedal to the metal’ and get the job done. However, the most important step in higher quality, faster, and easier layout remains. Many installers omit this step, thinking that it is just too much trouble and takes too long. But the five minutes it takes to draw a level line around the room will save you hours of worrying about whether the pattern will meet at the kill point and how off the ceiling line really is.

     Once the first sheet is installed, select a spot on the side match to use as a reference point. (Drop matches will require two reference points.)  Use your level and draw a level line around the room, finishing at the kill point. The two lines should meet. If they don’t, do it again and find out where you went off, or find a better level. I have found that most often it’s not the level’s fault -- operator error as a rule seems to run pretty high in paperhanging. Once you have your level line, each succeeding sheet is hung to that line. If your first sheet is hung plumb and your pattern match point hits your level line, all other sheets will be plumb and your pattern will not rise or fall due to being progressively out of plumb.

     Some may protest that they are not able to make the ceiling line perfect using this method. Who said it was supposed to be perfect? I have witnessed installers tug and pull at their sheets attempting to make the ceiling line perfect. The end result was an installation that took at least 50 percent longer, with poor side-matched patterns, crooked sheets, and shrunken seams. One should not sacrifice job quality for a single goal in wall covering installation. The key to a pleasing installation is the correct balance between all the elements involved.

      We cannot rebuild the room with wall covering. Our job is to bring out the beauty of the room within the limitations that any one wallcovering may have. On some days, we may feel like we have done so much with so little that now we can do the impossible with nothing.  However, in our trade, I have not found this either enjoyable or profitable. And if it’s not enjoyable or profitable, why are we doing it?  By using sound engineering practices and aesthetically pleasing layouts, we take a big step towards these business goals.

¹ 'Balancing' is trimming the wallcovering so that seams which will show prominently are equally spaced on a wall. 

² 'Kill' point is where the last strip comes back to meet the first strip. 

³ 'False Matches' are created by creatively cutting through a pattern to make it look correct even though it is not a true match.

Jim Turner's Website:  http://www.regencywallcraft.com