Trick for cutting perfect seams?

[Kerry]

For my living room and hallway I've decided to hang my grasscloth differently, this time with the grasses running vertically, and only the width of a roll (36") up the wall from the floor. I'll latex paint the upper portion of the wall and use wainscot molding to cover the top edge of the paper. This means I'll be joining ends of rolls. I believe I understand how to cut through ends that overlap each other so as to get a perfect seam but I'm concerned about getting paste on the one panel. That is to say, the one panel will be adhered to the wall and the other will slightly over lap it with paste on its wall side. Then, using a straight edge I'd razor-cut through both panels and remove the cut strips. I'm concerned that the Pro 888 paste might look badly on the surface of the paper even though it's supposed to be stain proof.

Am I not understanding something? Perhaps I would just dampen a rag and try to remove the paste that got stuck on the grass?

Thanks,

[tomcat]

A roll of grasscloth is usually 24 ft long. If you are running it sideways, you should be able to go corner to corner, or door to door without having to make a seam. But if you do, put blue painters tape over the end adhered to the wall. Then you overlay the other piece, double cut it, remove the scrap pieces along with the blue tape. :)

[Chris Murphy]

Tomcat's advice is good; you could also use wax paper in lieu of tape. Tape can pull the threads & grass. Or, to lower the tack of the tape yet still get protection from paste, adhere the tape to some fabric- your t-shirt, a towel- and then pull off and apply to the grass.

[Kerry]

Thanks great tips.

Tomcat, am I reading you right, that I should join (butt) ends at inside corners rather than creasing into a corner and end the panel say a foot or more from the corner? I do get that I should wrap around outside corners at least a foot.

I am wondering if I should try to bookend a whole 24' roll or if I should make panels 8' or even 16' long. I'm trying to picture how to bookend 24' and then apply it given I'll be hanging each panel horizontally.

Thanks,

[Boston Hangman]

Tomcat, am I reading you right, that I should join (butt) ends at inside corners rather than creasing into a corner and end the panel say a foot or more from the corner? I do get that I should wrap around outside corners at least a foot.

I am wondering if I should try to bookend a whole 24' roll or if I should make panels 8' or even 16' long. I'm trying to picture how to bookend 24' and then apply it given I'll be hanging each panel horizontally.

Thanks

What Tomcat means( I think ;) ) is that if your wall from corner to corner is 11'3" make your length 11'3"" plus trim approx. 3'' . Do not "crease the corner" and end a foot out , just trim it to inside corner and leave approximately a 1/16'' to an 1/8'' overlap onto next wall. When you start the next piece you may want to protect the previous piece with wax paper or I prefer EZ mask tape 3" wide low tack and wide. You will probaly need to overlap the previous wall then trim excess to keep it level .

As for outside corners wrapping is not usually an option with grass, however you are running it railroad style (or horizontally)so that the grass is vertical you may be able to wrap it completely around corner start on the longer wall. Suppose your section of wall is 12'3'' and it starts an outside corner at 7' ,hang the 7' section first then wrap the corner and finish the remaining 5'3'' be sure to add at least 6'' trim to this length as outside corners can eat up waste. If the corner is severly out of plumb you could cut it back after you wrap and doublecut (this is what you are going to do with the blue tape or wax paper from previous posts) after straightening out your vertical grass (keeping it plumb ) you should need no more than 1'' to 2'' wrap to make this stay as most grasscloths lay very nice, possibly less.:)

1. work corner to corner or door casing to corner etc.
1a. do not wrap inside corners more than an 1/8'' and better at 1/16''

2. overlap and double cut using wax paper or blue tape to protect piece being overlapped.

3. get an extra set of hands to help . doing it this way can be cumbersome by yourself:help:

4. you will want a level line around room to hang to. I suggest you leave at least a 1/2'' to trim at base as grasscloth can be ragged at the seams.

5.Where the wainscoating is concerned if it was me doing the work I would install the molding first , prep and paint or stain it and then hang the grass.
(It only seems like it is easier to hang the wallpaper first, in reality it is not!)
Trim to the base and wainscoating to give it a real finished look and make it easier on the next person working on this room.:disco: If you do do it this way then I would leave an 1'' at minimum and possibly 2" to trim on width of panel. IF grass is 36'' then set the moilding at 35'' or even better at 34''.

6. Paste and hang one length at a time. This stuff can delaminate quickly:devil:

good luck,
Mark

[Kerry]

Hi Mark,

I'll reword what I think you mean to see I understand you.

The following example applies to my situation where I'll be applying the grasscloth so that the grasses are vertical. I'm only papering the bottom 36" of the wall.

Example: If I had a perfect 10' square room (no windows or doors) I would cut a panel 10' 1/8" wide x 36" high for wall #1 and butt the paper into the left corner and crease into the right corner so that there's a 1/8" overlap onto wall #2.

I would then cover that 1/8 inch overlap on wall #2 with the edge of wall #2's 10' 1/8 panel. Then wall #2's panel would be flush against the first wall's papered corner. (some day they'll have sketching capabilities for forum posts.:) ) I also have a good understanding about using blue tape/wax paper, etc.

Given that I'll be hanging the paper with the grasses vertical I'm thinking that I should cut the panels to 8' so that they book easily when pasting. Yes? It's tempting to think about pasting a whole 24' roll so as to minimize the number of seams but I can't image how I'd book and paste 24' and hang it without wrinkles.

I'm seriously contemplating your idea of painting the top portion of the wall first and then priming the bottom portion and then fastening the wainscot molding and then hanging the paper up against the bottom edge of the molding. I'm not too concerned about the bottom because I plan on using a 2" high baseboard.

Thank you,

[Boston Hangman]

Example: If I had a perfect 10' square room (no windows or doors) I would cut a panel 10' 1/8" wide x 36" high for wall #1 and butt the paper into the left corner and crease into the right corner so that there's a 1/8" overlap onto wall #2.

Given that I'll be hanging the paper with the grasses vertical I'm thinking that I should cut the panels to 8' so that they book easily when pasting. Yes? It's tempting to think about pasting a whole 24' roll so as to minimize the number of seams but I can't image how I'd book and paste 24' and hang it without wrinkles.

You don't have to paste all 24' to minimize seams ,you just need to cut the lengths as you described above 10' 1/8' for a 10' wall. Cut them dry ,10' is not a big difference from 8' when pasting and booking. Although trying to connect the 8' + 2' pieces together is a lot more work than pasting the extra 2' of grass
(by going from an 8' length to a 10' length.)

Good Luck,

Mark

[Buff1]

I'm going to jump in here with a comment about pasting. I haven't hung a lot of grasscloth, but on the occassions I did, I pasted the wall and misted the back of the paper, using a sponge to wipe the moisture gently to the edges. I found it helpful, particularly when working with large pieces/drops.

Buff

[Kerry]

Hi Buff1,

Pasting the wall and dampening the paper sounds like it might work for me if I want to have a seamless run along a 10' wall around an outside corner and along the hallway for 7' to the edge of a door.

The only problem I envision is that I might discover that the outside corner is not plumb in which case laying the paper at 36 1/2 high along the level line of one wall could cause bulge in the outside corner when I attempt to place the paper along the level line of 36 1/2" in the hallway.

I'm thinking of an 11' run going around the outside corner 1' and then do the seamless cut trick for the hallway's remaining 6'

Your papering looks beautiful. It appears to be the same color as mine.

Mark, thank you. I think I have enough to go on now.

[tomcat]

Kerry, sorry I couldn't reply sooner, but Boston Hangman nailed it, especially number 5. Do all your carpentry, and painting first, then install your grasscloth. Also, you sound concerned about this outside corner. Why don't you just install a piece of corner molding and eliminate your concerns altogether! Few more tips - start with your smallest piece so you can get a feel for this. Better to waste a three foot piece than a ten footer. Also, use lots of new blades. I'm sure it's gonna look great when you are finished!:)

[Kerry]

Thanks all for the tips and encouragements.

I'm rare'n to go.

Kerry

[Kerry]

Hi all,

Update:

Paste arrived.

I hung my first roll today beginning with a 17' panel I wrapped very neatly around an outside corner and down the hall. I couldn't be more pleased.

Buff, I used your misting the paper and pasting the wall trick and it worked like a charm.

Thanks all for your support,

Kerry