Unbacked fabric falling off the walls

[stewart]

Three years ago, a wallpaper hanger installed fabric "wallpaper" in my bathroom.
The fabric is cotton fiber, intended for use as drapery. Now the fabric is coming
off the walls, probably because of the humidity in the bathroom and the fact that he did not use a waterproof adhesive.

I would like to remove the fabric and reinstall it but I do not know what type of
adhesive to use. I have scoured the Internet without success so far. Does anyone know what I should use to make sure that the fabric stays in place?

Stewart

[Chris Murphy]

Yes, it's coming off the wall because of the humidity, but that's not the hanger's fault. There are no "waterproof" adhesives, unless you get into mastics which would stain fabric. The fabric could have been coated, with say a polyurethane, but that definitely changes the look. There are some matte finishes out there, but you'd have to experiment with them to see how they'd look at the point (i.e., number of coats) that they'd seal the surface.

[stewart]

Thank you. That is not what I was hoping to hear, of course. I infer that the reason ordinary wallpaper does not come off the wall in high humidity is that it has a layer of something impervious to moisture? If I understand, I can use the ordinaray wallpaper paste if I can prevent moisture from penetrating through the fabric to the paste.

I had sprayed the fabric with "ScotchGuard" when it was new, but I guess that is not enough. Was it just a bad idea to put the fabric up in the bathroom? I will not be offended by a "yes" answer. Could I try a different silicon-based sealant?

Stewart

[Chris Murphy]

Ordinary paper fails all the time in humid rooms. The lady of the house makes the choice (usually), and said lady does not always consider what the hanger is saying when it's mentioned that her pick may not last long.
Scotch Guard is a treatment to prevent staining, so it does protect the fibers. But there are tiny gaps in a weave, and moisture gets through. the way I explain it to customers is: the way to strip paper is to get moisture to the paste. Your wall covering is porous, thus allowing moisture to get to the paste. What do you think will happen?
Vinyl wallcoverings were the industry's answer to moisture and wear problems. Depending on the product, they can serve those purposes well. But vinyl looks like, well, vinyl; it surely is not as attractive as a nice fabric.
One company owned & operated by a Guild hanger, paper-hangings.com, sells a "Decorators Varnish- dead flat clear." E-mail Bob off the contact button and ask him if he has used the product on fabric. There would be no guarantee, but that may give you a number of years with that material. You'd have to test a piece to see what effect it would have on the look of the fabric. I doubt it would completely seal the fabric, unless you used multiple coats and I'd think that would alter the look too much. But it would slow down the moisture- absorption rate, so maybe with a good vent fan......

[Boston Hangman]

.................or you could have it backed. Either with paper or acrylic.
I think (read:no experience) that the acrylic is still porous ,so that means it may still have the same problems as the unbacked fabric . The backing would act as a barrier to the adhesive. The unbacked is just an open window to trouble.
The problems with paper backing are that it can be laminated but often with a bias. Meaning the pattern may get twisted. I myself "think " it is OK , but would still warn that your wallcovering will not have a long life. This is true of all wallcoverings in high humidity rooms ie: bathrooms. They just don't last as long, but neither does paint or for that matter anything.

Good Luck!
Mark
Boston Chapter

[stewart]

This is just a thank you for the two replies. Since it is an easier job to paste the pieces that are detached and then try the varnish, than removing and backing all pieces and repasting them, I will try it. Worse comes to worst, I've learned a lesson (albeit costly) and will remove the fabric completely.

I wish the paperhanger would have told me it was a bad idea. It's just water under the bridge now.

Stewart

[Bill Archibald]

Stewart,

As you can imagine, we all run into problems with wallpaper coming off bathroom walls all the time. Even vinyl coated paper. As I tell my customers, steam is one of the best wallpaper removers there is.

I insist that they install a fan if they do not have one or upgrade the one they have if it's weak and USE them faithfully.



Another aid to keeping wallcoverings on walls in a high moisture environment is a product by Roman Adhesives: Pro-595 Kitchen and Bath
. WARNING: I do not know if this will stain an untreated fabric, you will have to test. Chris and Mark are more familiar with fabrics and may be able to advise on that aspect.

This adhesive resists moisture, and thus will be difficult to strip when the times comes to redecorate.

-Bill

[stewart]

I assume that it will be difficult to strip once I put any sealant on the fabric, if it does its job. Roman Adhesives recommends using their primer underneath this Pro-595 adhesive for strippability but I do not think I can do that without completely redoing the bathroom. I have to find out how difficult it is to get the Pro-595 off the wall if there is no primer underneath it before I decide to use it. Any ideas?

Stewart

[Bill Archibald]

Stewart,

What is on the wall now? If you have any good primer/sealer, the 595 will not be impossible to strip. If it is bare sheetrook, any adhesive will make the wallcovering "one" with the cardboard face of the sheet rock.

If the wall under the paper is plaster (real lime coat plaster - not skim coat joint compound or "hot mud") stripping the 595 will be possible (but difficult as it likes to resist moisture)

-B.

[Chris Murphy]

It doesn't matter if you seal it, when you go to strip the fabric it'll come off in sheets: it's got it's own 'structural integrity.' Forget the moisture resisitant paste. Get some paste under the loose parts, let it dry, and coat it.

[stewart]

That makes sense. I forget that the fabric itself will peel off in a sheet. Thanks. I will not bother with the moisture-resistant paste. (I do have real lime plaster walls -- it's a 1935 apartment building in NYC.)

Stewart