Grasscloth

[mars]

Hi there,

I have recently been looking into grasscloth wallcoverings and I was wondering if anyone can tell me how to install this and if there are any special instructions.

Thanks so much

[Cliff Hayes]

There are very many special instructions. Are you a paperhanger or a do-it-yourself homeowner? If it's the latter, it may not be worth your while trying to get it right. If you're in the trade, what do you need to know?

[downhomegirl]

Hello -

I had grasscloth installed by a recommended installer about 3 years ago on painted drywall surfaces. I notice lately that brown spots are appearing sporadically - I can't see any consistency along seams, or high/low or even on the areas of the wall(s).

They look as if they're coming thru from the back of the paper. I had not noticed any spots up until the last few months. Is this an installation problem? Do you have any idea what would cause this?

thanks

[Bill Archibald]

Bari,

I wish there were a simple answer to your spotting qustion. Unfortunately brown spots can be caused by many things, and diferrent color and different shape spots would be indicative of different causes.

Is there a chance that you could contact the original installer and ask him/her if he/she had any idea? Most professionals are responsible enough to investigate and give an honest evaluation as to the cause of any problems.

To ascertain the cause one needs to know the walls underneath, the paint used, the prep coat used, the adhesive, the type of grass cloth, and the environment that the wallcovering suffers through, etc etc

Case in point: One of my best customers had some staining of a paper I installed about five years prior in a bathroom Everything done was per manufacturer's instructions. I did a heck of a lot investigating and testing and THINK the cause was a combination of: 1) Hubby never used exhaust fan while taking HOT showers. 2) Municipal water is exceptionally hard and heavily chlorinated. 3) paper was a pulp. we figured the constant chlorinated steam caused oxidation of the minerals in the water I mixed the paste with. But that was just an educated guess.

I rehung mixing paste with distilled water and hubby has a gun to his head to use the exhaust fan. Fingers are crossed after two years.

Point is: you never can tell without knowing ALL the facts. and who would know them better than the original installer?

-Bill

[mars]

There are very many special instructions. Are you a paperhanger or a do-it-yourself homeowner? If it's the latter, it may not be worth your while trying to get it right. If you're in the trade, what do you need to know?

I am actually a student learning the trade. I am taking a Flooring & Wallcovering class and I've chosen to do my research paper on grasscloth. I would like to include installation methods for this type of wallcovering in my research....I'm also very interested in grasscloth and other natural fibers.

[Chris Murphy]

Hello -

I had grasscloth installed by a recommended installer about 3 years ago on painted drywall surfaces. I notice lately that brown spots are appearing sporadically - I can't see any consistency along seams, or high/low or even on the areas of the wall(s).

They look as if they're coming thru from the back of the paper. I had not noticed any spots up until the last few months. Is this an installation problem? Do you have any idea what would cause this?

thanks

My first guess would be mildew (that's just a guess, now). Water can enter a wall from many places, roof leaks, plumbing leaks, A/C condensation leaks.
I agree with Bill (that don't happen much!) that you should contact the installer and ask him to take a look at it. If it took three years to appear, I very strongly think that he did not cause it; but, he may be able to fix it. If he is not a member of the NGPP, and he does not know what is causing the staining, ask him to get on here (or report yourself) with as much detail as possible- original wall conditions, primer & paste used, appearance/color of spots, etc.- and maybe we can tease out the cause & solution.

[Chris Murphy]

I am actually a student learning the trade. I am taking a Flooring & Wallcovering class and I've chosen to do my research paper on grasscloth. I would like to include installation methods for this type of wallcovering in my research....I'm also very interested in grasscloth and other natural fibers.

There are many posts on this forum on grass, as pro's tend to hang them differently than DIY's. I trim the seams, and balance the walls since the seams show: the sheets are roughly of equal width on each wall.
The natural fibers & textures are pretty popular right now; they have been around for about ever, and go in-and-out of style, but are recognized as a 'classic' look by designers.
Get back to us on your research, if you would!

[downhomegirl]

Thanks very much, everyone - I will try to contact the installer and enlist her help in analyzing this staining problem. What you say makes perfect sense........

[mars]

Thanks for your help,

I will search the forum for some posts on Grasscloth. Look forward to sharing the success of my report!!!

Thanks again!