Drywall Has Different Surfaces

Here I’m preparing to hang wallpaper on new drywall in a new addition to a 1930’s home in east Houston .
First I’ve used a damp sponge to remove all construction and sanding dust. Next I’m going to apply my primer.
It’s important to note that, even though this is wall is a new sheet of drywall, it’s not all the same surface.
We have mostly large expanses of drywall / greenrock (the type of drywall that’s used in wet areas ).
But at the joints , and covering where the screws and nails hold the drywall to the studs , we have joint compound . That’s the strips of white areas.
And next to the crown and door molding and the baseboards is overspray from the paint that was applied to the wood trim.

Here I’ve applied my light blue-tinted wallpaper primer over the top 1/3 of the wall.
It’s important to be sure that the primer you use is suited for use under wallpaper . But also that it will properly adhere to and seal all the surfaces on the wall .

My primer (below) will stick to just about anything. But this photo is interesting. Because my primer has been rolled on evenly across the wall , and cut in with a trim brush along the trim and corners . But you see that the primer is drying at different rates . On the right side of the photo, the primer is applied over the bare drywall, and it’s drying quickly. But toward the left, next to the door trim , the primer is drying more slowly. This is because there is paint overspray next to the door trim . The paint is semi-gloss enamel , and my wallpaper primer reacts with it differently from how it reacts to flat paint or drywall or other surfaces.
Not a big deal. Just be aware of the need for different dry times due to different surfaces the primer is applied to.

My preferred wallpaper primer is by Roman , called Pro 977 Ultra Prime. It’s not readily available, but you can find it on-line. All Sherwin-Williams stores can get it from the distribution center – but not all store managers know that, or are willing to do so. I get mine from Murphy Brothers Paint on Bissonnet near the Rice Village , who stocks it just for me.

“There Are No Paperhangers in Katy”

A client called me today and said she lives in Katy and was having a Devil of a time finding someone to hang wallpaper for her.

She said she couldn’t find a local paperhanger, and then she had contacted a number of painters, and even interior designers, and everyone told her that they either didn’t install wallpaper, or were taking it down – not putting it up.

Well, all those painters and decorators must be behind the times, because wallpaper is very much in style – it’s all over HGTV and in all the “shelter” magazines.

Hey, Katy residents! I am here, I hang wallpaper, and I work in Katy! If you’re looking to pump up the decorating volume in your home with a little pattern and color, please call or e-mail me!

Sometimes a Paperhanger Does More than Hang Wallpaper

This powder room had a chair rail running around the middle of the room. The homeowner wanted the new wallpaper to run straight from ceiling to floor, without the chair rail.

Instead of hiring a handyman and paying the extra money (not to mention the likelihood that he would not patch and repair the damage to the wall), I told her I could remove the chair rail. So I pulled out a few tools I don’t usually use, namely a hammer and pry bar, which I keep in the van “just in case.”

The chair rail came off easily, but underneath was some torn Sheetrock, nail holes, and strips of caulk. I removed what I could, floated over the rest, sanded smooth, primed, and – Voilà! You would never know there had been anything around the middle of the room.

I NEED My Vehicle!!

I can usually manage to get vehicle repairs done on Mondays, my day “off.” (It is really bookkeeping / errand / sundry day.)

But after two trips to the mechanic to replace my radiator, they still had not gotten it right, so I had to take it back on a Tuesday.

The lady I was supposed to work for that day was so eager for me to come, she offered to come pick me up at home. Sounds great….but…

The only problem is, my van is like a traveling hardware store… all the tools I need to hang wallpaper are in that van! And how on Earth could I fit my ladder, tool box, 5-gallon bucket of paste, priming tools, etc. into her 4-door sedan? And soon as I got to work, don’t you know I’d need SOMEthing that was still back in my van?

She was very understanding of the out-of-commission van situation, and very sweet to offer to drive me. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t have worked, so we had to work out a schedule change.