“We Had the Painters Go Ahead and Smooth the Walls for You”

Oh, really? So the painters left the walls like this and told the poor homeowner they were “ready for wallpaper.” NOT!

The thinking is, I am guessing, first of all, that many homeowners simply don’t see the unevenness, and trust that their painters know what they’re doing and have done the job correctly. Second, since the wallpaper choice is grasscloth, they’re probably thinking that the coarse texture of the material will disguise these irregularities.

Well, that’s partially true, in some cases. But in this case, the selection is a very fine, thin grass fiber, and even small irregularities WILL show. Second, it’s not just what shows on the front that’s of concern; it’s also important to have a smooth surface for the back of the paper to stick to.

This is a problem on this particular job, because I had only three days to do the two-room project. The best option would be to completely skim-float the entire space, sand, and prime. But this would have added two days and several hundred dollars more. Not an option.

So I spent a lot of time today floating the worst areas, and will have to spend more time tomorrow sanding and vacuuming and repriming. This puts me behind schedule, and leaves about a day and a half to hang 30 rolls of paper. I usually manage about two rolls an hour, so you can see where we’re headed – some really late nights!

Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

Tags: grasscloth, wallpaper