Tips On Hanging Wallpaper On A Ceiling

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Digital Image

After wallpaper is pasted, it is “booked,” which means folding pasted-side-to-pasted-side, usually sectioned off with the top 1/3 and then the bottom 2/3. Then the strip is taken to the wall and unfolded and then positioned and smoothed against the wall.

But when hanging a ceiling, which can be a much longer strip and with gravity working not with you but against you, I’ve found that accordion folds (see photo) make the strip much more manageable. Once the first section is in position on the ceiling, I use push pins to hold it temporarily in place, while I move along the ceiling, working the remainder of the strip into position, unfolding one section at a time.

Since I don’t have scaffolding, I set two ladders next to one another, so that I can step from one to the other (see photo), when enables me to smooth longer portions of the strip of wallpaper into position before having to get down on the floor and move the ladders further down the way.

Sorry – no pics of me unbooking those according folds or smoothing the paper against the ceiling … If I had taken my hands off the paper to pick up my camera, the whole strip would have peeled itself away from the wall!

Getting Wallpaper Onto A Ceiling

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Digital Image

I don’t often hang wallpaper on ceilings. But every now and then I’ll take one on.

Because I have neither scaffolding nor a helper, I’ve devised ways to defy gravity and get the paper up on the ceiling with minimal anguish.

After the paper is pasted, I book it in several shorter accordion folds, instead of the traditional 3′ and 6′ split. I place two ladders facing one another. I get on one ladder, position the paper, then use push pins to hold it to the ceiling while I walk from the first ladder to the second.

I smooth that paper into place, then use more push pins to hold it to the ceiling, climb down, move the ladder, climb back up, unbook one or two of the accordion folds of wallpaper, smooth it into place, tack it to the ceiling, climb off the ladder, move it, and repeat.

How I Hang Wallpaper On A Ceiling

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Digital Image

Ceilings are challenging to hang wallpaper on, and go better if you have scaffolding and a second set of hands. Because I work alone, I don’t take on a lot of large ceilings. But when I do, here is how I do it…

I’ll put my 5′ and my 6′ ladders next to each other, so I can smooth paper onto a section of ceiling, and then walk from one ladder to the other, positioning and smoothing more paper as I go.

Another big help is booking the wallpaper in accordion pleats of about 2′ each (instead of the 1/3 / 2/3 fold that is common for paper to be hung on a wall). In the second photo, you can see me unbooking paper that has been folded like an accordion, and then positioning it on the ceiling.

But wait – what is holding the paper to the ceiling? Wallpaper adhesive will ultimately secure the paper to the surface. But until that dries, when you get down to move the ladder so you can position the next couple of feet of wallpaper, the strip can peel itself off the wall. The whole strip. 😦

So a good trick is to use push-pins to hold the booked paper in place, until you have moved your ladder and are ready to unfold the paper and work with your brush and smoother to get it into place.

The push pins will leave holes, true, but they can be minimized. So be sure to put the pins into an element of the pattern design, rather than into “blank” space.

Wallpapering A Ceiling With Just One Person

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I don’t wallpaper a lot of ceilings, and when I do, I prefer small areas that are not too high. Here I am papering the ceiling in a closet that has 9′ ceilings. I am using two ladders that are placed close to each other, so I can work off one and position the paper on the ceiling above it, and then step to the other ladder and paper another few feet.

The problem is, once you step down off the ladder to move forward, if you don’t have some way to hold the wallpaper to the ceiling, it’s all going to come pulling off.

Working alone, my trick is to use push-pins to hold the paper to the ceiling while I climb down and move the ladder.