Installing Untrimmed Wallpaper

[on Point]

Dear NGPP:
We have just received some absolutely gorgeous wallpaper but it came untrimmed. We have been hanging our own wallpaper for years and have become quite good at this task. BUT, we need some guideance on this type of wallpaper! It is really expensive so we blew our budget on the wallpaper and now need to try and see if we can do it ourselves!
Thank you for your help!

[mike stachnik]

Dear On Point;

We would need more info. on the job. Type of paper (brand), room, condition of walls, etc. etc. Sounds like this caught you by surprise?! Please provide more info., but if possible, I HIGHLY recommend using someone familiar with untrimmed goods. On the bright side, experienced hangers prefer untrimmed goods anway!

Mike Stachnik
Charlotte Chapter

[on Point]

Dear Mike:
Thank you so much for your reply! The wallpaper is Brunswick and Fils. We live in a new home so the walls are just primed and the room is our guest bedroom with just four walls and a window. Pretty straight forward room.
On the edges of the wallpaper are arrows that point out and the word, "trim" written on the side...
It definitely caught us by surprise because we ordered from an interior designer that did not warn us! We should have known since the wallpaper was so expensive.
Thanks for your advise and let me know if you need additional information. I probably should ask what type of paste to use on this type of expensive paper. The design on the paper is absolutely stunning and of the highest quality I have seen. It is raised a little, almost as if were hand-done!!
Thank you again,
Gray Pieja

[Chris Nelson]

When you say "primed",is it primed with a wallcovering primer? Very important step.

[on Point]

Dear Chris:
The walls have been just primed with paint not specific to wallpaper!
Gray Pieja

[Chris Murphy]

You have a silk screened (also called hand-screened) print that is hand made. To see some of the printing process by a different company: http://www.bradbury.com/studio.html

Brunswig will have generic directions in with the paper. You will need a wallcovering primer; you may even need liner paper ("blankstock"); see:
http://paper-hangings.com/products.html#blank

I strongly recommend calling a NGPP hanger in your area.

[Dave D]

Installing untrimmed paper is not entry level or even intermediate level stuff. You need to know a lot more than you can get from an e-mail to expect a successful installation. Wait until you can hire a pro or get some paper to play around with and practice table trimming and double cutting on the wall. After you prime the walls with the appropriate primer.

Dave

[Chris Nelson]

"After you prime the walls with the appropriate primer."

First and fore most!

[Cliff Hayes]

On the bright side, experienced hangers prefer untrimmed goods anway!


Says you! Give me a machine-trimmed Stark or Eisenhart any day of the week. :D

[Bill Archibald]

Gray,

I really sympathize with you, I remember when I was just starting out in this profession some thirty years ago and handling my first untrimmed paper, it scared the you-know-what out of me, and rightfully so.

And you may think by all of us saying that this task is best left to an experienced professional is just a bunch pro's trying to get more work. So please allow me to try to explain why.

First and foremost, you need the proper tools, which include a staight edge - AN ABSOLUTELY STRAIGHT edge, not some hardware store bought metal rule or spirit level, but one made for this purpose.

EXCEPTIONALLY sharp blades, not a utility knife. It takes practice to cut the paper so that the edge is not beveled (QUIET, Murph [inside joke]).

A proper work surface is also important. I would not advise using the dining room table or a hollow core door.

Next, you need to know how to adjust the straight edge on the trim marks to acheive the best cut so that the pattern matches - the trim marks are only an approximation - especially on a B&F. Many of us wish there were no trim marks, they only lead to confusion.

If you were to double cut on the wall, there's a plethora of techniques to learn to do that correctly, especially with a liner.

If the paper is heavily inked, there are specific "tricks" to follow so that the edges do not curl.

As Murph says, there is liner paper to consider (THAT you can install yourself, as long as you use the correct paste)

Speaking of paste, you ask which paste to use. This leads me to believe that your experience has been with pre-pasteds. Mixing the correct paste to right consistancy, proper application, and proper booking time are three more aspects that would be hard to teach via the written word to someone with limited experience.

I hope I have given you the reasons why it is an unwise gamble for you to attempt this with no experience and only an internet bulletin board as a classroom.

Please consider the cost of the paper, the cost of the proper tools, and the cost of your time (which is valuable) and consider having an experienced paper hanger install this so that it will look as good as possible for as long as possible. I heard a great expression this week, let me re-phrase it, "he who can't afford to do it right the first time will always pay to do it twice".


May I ask where you live?

-Bill

[Boston Hangman]

Holy cow I am able to post..<G>

Anyway I would love to chime in on this untrimmed expedition. I have been hanging wallpaper for twenty years and have seen many horrible installations due to ignorance of the product, not so much ignorance of the trade.

If you have truly "blown the budget" then may I suggest you wrap the paper well ,making sure to seal it up as to keep out foriegn contaminants,dust , moisture etc. and wait until you can afford to hire a pro. If you have paid this much for a beautiful paper then why risk having at best an adequate installation?
As for the pro part make sure you hire someone with experience hanging untrimmed goods (stay away from yellow pages) ask for photos of previous installs etc.

Congratulations on your purchase of a fine wallcovering and when it is installed properly will reward you with many years of beautiful design.

Mark white
Boston NGPP
paperhang4@aol.com