Due to a mix-up in terminology, the homeowner originally received just four single rolls (two double roll bolts ) of wallpaper . They needed eight total single rolls (four doubles ), so two more double roll bolts were ordered. Being unable to get the same run number , we anticipated a slight difference in shade . But didn’t expect that the two new bolts would be thinner than the two original bolts . What the heck is up?! The selection book says this is a non-woven product, and a paste the wall installation method . Yet the label on both the original and the new rolls says to paste the paper. Even more puzzling, the instruction sheet included inside the rolls says that it’s non-woven material , and to paste the wall. It’s important for the installer to know what material he’s working with, so I needed to know if this was PTW or PTP . Usually, non-woven paste the wall are thick and hard to tear , due to their 20% polyester content . The fat roll felt and acted like a non-woven . But the thinner roll was thin and crispy and easy to tear. I sure thought it was a paper material , which would require a different installation technique . In recent months, I’ve had this same manufacturer send several rolls of the a particular pattern , but some were non-woven, and some were paper. So I thought we might be experiencing this again. It’s important to know what you’re working with, because different materials require different installation techniques. If a DIY ‘er follows the instructions to paste the wall , but it’s actually a paste the paper material, he’s going to encounter a whole lotta mess – and ruined paper . Here I used my 24” wide straightedge to tear off a strip of wallpaper from the roll of thin material. This answered my question. See the little fibers ? Those are indicative of non-woven papers, and their polyester content . Once I saw this, I was certain that it was, indeed, a non-woven material / paste the wall . So this material was easier to hang than traditional papers, because no need to paste , book , and let sit for a few minutes. There are other pluses, too, to NW papers, and most of us professionals like hanging them. But I wasn’t 100% pleased with the thin version of this non-woven material. For one thing, its stiff, crispness made it difficult to manipulate, and prone to crease . Also, notice the splotchiness of the paper. This showed up on the dry paper, right off the roll.But paper that has been pasted and hung on the wall showed even more splotches . This is scary, because there is a issue called blushing or staining , where the paper looks like it’s wet , but never dries out. Do a Search here to learn more. This happens mostly with non-woven papers , and is tied to certain types of paste . Which is why I don’t use those pastes! So curious as to what is causing this slight discoloration.I believe the spots were just due to moisture . As I worked my way across the wall and time went on, the paper I had hung first had a chance to air out and dry. The blotches disappeared .
I’m curious as to why the difference in material. Maybe the manufacturer was using different factories? In different countries? Or supply chain issues / material shortages meant that their usual substrate and inks were not available . Or just trying to cut costs? Saving money isn’t a bad thing. But it is, if it cuts down on the product’s quality.
Painted walls in this new-build in the Woodland Heights neighborhood of Houston have been primed with Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime wallpaper primer . DoneJust the area above the wainscoting / chair rail was papered . Obstacles to trim around included six doors – with a total of TWELVE corners of decorative molding to trim around. In addition, there were EIGHT terminations of wood ceiling beams , also with uneven edges , to trim around. Absolutely NO information came with the wallpaper . No run number , no installation instructions , no nuttin’. Confoundingly, the company’s website was malfunctioning, and pop-ups prevented me from getting information , or even from seeing what the pattern looked like on a large wall . So here I am rolling the paper out on the floor , to get a scope of the pattern and layout . Note the unprinted selvedge edge , which I’ll have to trim off using a straightedge and a razor blade. See previous posts (do a Search) to learn more about this.The pattern is called Kanoko and the manufacturer is Relativity Textiles . This material was VERY difficult to work with. More about that in a future post.
See the difference in color between the tile square in the bottom left and the others?Look closely, and you’ll see that the tile above it is also slightly darker than the tile to its right. These tiles obviously came from a different run , or batch . Just like wallpaper , tiles that are made at the same time with one batch of pigments will be ever so slightly different in shade from tiles made from another batch or run. That’s why it’s important to check the run number on the label , so only tiles (or wallpaper !) from the same run are used next to one another.
It’s important that all your wallpaper rolls have the same run number , also called batch or dye lot . This means that they were printed at the same time with the same ink . Paper printed later with another batch of ink may be every so slightly different in color / shade . Looks bad on the wall. The same thing can happen with trimming at the factory. Different runs can be trimmed differently from each other. With this paper that I hung in a dining room last week (see previous post), the labels on all the rolls / bolts listed the same run number . But there was one bolt that was wrapped in not one, but two plastic wrappers. This raised an alarm in my head, because this indicates that it may have been a roll sent back to the factory, for whatever reason, and then repackaged. When this happens, you cannot be absolutely sure that the run number is actually that which is printed on the label. Somebody at the factory could have just grabbed a handy label and stuck it inside the wrapper. I tried not to use this double-wrapped bolt of wallpaper. But on the last section of wall, I got to a point where I just needed to use it, for just two 6′ strips. I was pleased that the color of both the background and the motifs matched perfectly. But not happy with this pattern mis-match. It was easy to see that the factory trimmers had been placed about 1/8″ to one side, from where they had been placed when trimming the previous rolls. It’s a busy pattern, and, from a distance, this undercut wasn’t all that noticeable. But on the other side, there was repetition of the motif , and this will really catch your eye. Happily, this only affected one seam, and since it was a very busy pattern, from just a few feet away you couldn’t notice it. Still, it bothered me. So I pulled this strip on the left off the wall, laid it on my table, and used my straightedge and razor blade to trim off that repetitive leaf tip – about 1/8″ from the right edge of the strip. The second strip, since it came off the same roll and had been trimmed the same, matched perfectly . This was also my last strip, so no more drama with mis-matched designs at the seams . What the overall pattern looks like. The pattern is by Rifle Paper , which has been finding its way into a lot of homes lately. This brand is usually a good quality non-woven material , and can be hung by pasting the paper or by paste the wall . It is designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece, and with minimal damage to the wall , when you’re ready to redecorate . Very cute , cheerful patterns , and good price-point . Note that the run number is printed on the label. installer houston
The homeowner accidentally ordered half as much wallpaper as was needed, so more was ordered. Unfortunately, we were not able to get the same run number (also called batch number or dye lot ).
Wallpaper bolts printed at the same time will all have the same run number. Then the next time the manufacture prints this material, he’ll mix up a new batch of ink. This new ink will almost assuredly be a teeny slight difference in shade .
You can’t put wallpaper strips from different runs next to each other on the same wall; you will see this slight color difference and the wall will have a subtle yet unpleasing striped effect.
You can, however, use different runs on different walls, “breaking” the run in a corner. You won’t notice the color difference because light hits different walls differently and causes a natural color difference.
This trick works, but it does require extra wallpaper.
Moral of the story:
~Always confirm how much paper is needed with the installer before ordering.
~Always buy a more than you think you’ll need; one extra double roll / bolt at minimum.
Re my previous post, before I visited, the homeowner had purchased 8 rolls (4 double roll bolts) of paper. This was just exactly enough (12 strips) for the headboard wall, but I told him to order 16 more to do the rest of the room. The new paper came in a different run. So we had Run 16 for the headboard accent wall, and Run 17 for the other walls.
(You can’t mix runs on the same wall, because different runs, printed at different times with different batches of ink, will be slightly different shades. This very slight color difference will show up on the wall as a striped or “paneled” effect.)
The wallpaper is by York. It is a non-woven material, comprised of synthetic fibers rather than wood and cotton. The synthetic material does not expand when wet with paste, which means the wallpaper can be hung via the paste-the-wall method, with no “booking” or “soaking” wait time needed.
Interestingly enough, Run 16 behaved differently from Run 17. I hung the accent wall with Run 16 quite successfully using the paste-the-wall method.
But when I started the next wall using Run 17, bubbles and wrinkles developed. The paper was absorbing moisture from the paste and expanding on the wall, creating the small bubbles. Quite unexpected with a non-woven material.
The solution was to paste the back of the wallpaper, rather than the wall. This allows the material to absorb moisture and expand a tad before you get it to the wall, so it will behave itself once it is on that wall.
Unlike a traditional paper, this non-woven material did not need a lot of time to absorb moisture, but could be pasted and hung immediately. This greatly speeds up the installation process.
Pasting the paper has an additional advantage in that it renders the material more supple and pliable, which makes it much easier to work around corners or manipulate into position in tricky areas.
This homeowner bought her wallpaper before I came out to measure. Like many, she bought too little. I told her to order another double roll bolt, and to be sure it was from the same run, so it would be the same exact color as the paper she already had.
When the paper came in, she checked the run numbers, and they were all the same. Too bad she didn’t also check the pattern numbers. That one last digit on the end makes the difference between the blue background and the orange background.
Since I couldn’t use the bolt with the orange background, we didn’t have that extra double material that I wanted. I did a lot of math and plotting and figuring how to get an extra strip out the bolts, and to still have enough for the fur downs and under the vanity.
In the end, I got ‘er done. Do a Search on the words “koi pond” to see pics.
(This post was originally written in January 2018.)
I hung two wallpapers today, both from Anthropologie, and in both cases, the homeowner measured and purchased paper before I had measured and figured how much to buy. In both cases, they were a double roll short. I told them that when they ordered the extra double roll, to be sure to ask for the same run number as the rolls they already had.
Unfortunately, in both instances, Anthropologie sent a different run. Probably, the guy in the warehouse didn’t get the message from the people in the order department, so he just pulled any old bolt of paper off the shelf.
Run numbers DO make a difference. As you can see in the second photo, the butterflies are clearly different colors. And in the third photo, the color difference (red flower, brown leaf) is less dramatic, but still noticeable. The white background is probably a slightly different color, too. If these strips were placed next to each other on the same wall, you would notice an abrupt color difference the full height of the wall.
So it’s important to make sure that all your bolts of wallpaper are of the same run number.
Run number, also called batch number or dye lot, refers to rolls that were all printed at the same time. The next time the manufacturer is ready to print up that pattern, he will mix up a new batch of ink – but that batch might be a slightly different shade than what was printed previously.
Because these color differences will be noticeable on the wall, it’s important that they not be used next to each other. You can use different runs on separate walls, but not on the same wall. If you are forced to use broken runs, as they are called, you’ll need to buy a little extra paper, because there will be more waste as you switch from one run to the other.
Talk about going from boring to bold! The homeowner likes geology, didn’t like the boring beige walls, and wanted to pull in some blue to this dining room, because she has dark blue accents in the adjoining living room. What a great choice this paper is!
The paper is by York, in the Antonia Vella line, and was bought through Anthropologie – but it is available via regular wallpaper retailers, too, like my favorite source (see page at right).
This homeowner purchased her paper before I came out to measure and, like many people unfamiliar with measuring for wallpaper, she ordered too little. So I had her order one more double roll… which, even though she requested the same run of #58, they sent run #88. I ended up needing that additional bolt for just the two short strips over the window, so the color difference between the two runs was not really very noticeable.
The dimensions in this room relative to the dimensions of the wallpaper were amazing. Because the two walls on either side of the window were symmetrical, and because the homeowners had a buffet and a china cabinet centered on each wall, I wanted to center the pattern in the middle of each wall. This meant that as the strips of paper met over the window, there would be a pattern mis-match. But since it was only 10″ high, and since the pattern was so wild, I figured I could disguise the mis-match fairly well.
What’s cool is, each of those wall spaces turned out to be just a tad less than the width of three strips of wallpaper (27″). So when I centered the first strip, and then hung one more on either side of it, only about 3/4″ needed to be trimmed off each side – and the pattern remained virtually intact. Meaning that none of the swoopy lines got chopped off vertically.
And then, as I was bringing the two pieces over the window together in the center of the window, it turned out that the width of the window was amazingly just a smidgen less than the width of the two strips of wallpaper. So when the two strips met in the middle, there wasn’t much of a pattern mis-match at all. Only about an inch of paper was lost, and the pattern was not disrupted visually much at all.
I don’t think I’ve ever hung wallpaper on a wall where the dimensions worked out so miraculously perfectly.
This home is in the Timbergrove neighborhood of Houston.
Thibaut’s “Union Square” wallpaper pattern is a response to the popular Phillip Jeffries’s “Rivets.” Thibaut’s looser design and pattern placement make it much easier to align with the walls and woodwork – including rooms that are out of square and out of plumb. Which is just about every house in every neighborhood in every state.
The 3-D squares are made of some kind of plastic stuff, and are virtually impossible to cut through with a razor blade or a scissors (such as when trimming at the ceiling door or window moldings). I was able to engineer the room so that I did not have to cut through any of those rivets! Because the PJ pattern is much tighter, this would have been virtually impossible.
Also, I found that my soft short-bristled smoothing brush worked well enough to press the material against the wall while skimming over the 3/8″ high square bumps (sorry, for some reason, the photo did not turn out). But my beloved plastic trapezoidal squeegee smoother was just about useless, because it would not accommodate the 3-D “rivets.” So I had to adjust my install tactics a bit, and figure how to get along without the plastic smoother.
This wallcovering is made of grasscloth, which provides the subtle texture that homeowners are loving these days. But because grasscloth is made of natural fibers, there can be a lot of variations between bolts, and even between strips off the same bolt.
For that reason, Thibaut not only notes the run number of a bolt of wallpaper, but also the sequence in which the material was produced (see photo). The idea is that if you hang strips sequentially, you will see less shading or paneling (difference in color between two strips of wallcovering). Thibaut’s insert also includes a LOT of jargon about the color differences inherent to natural products, and the admonishment to use the bolts and strips sequentially.
I used three double rolls / bolts of grasscloth for this entry. Two of the bolts (the first two in the sequence) were pretty homogenous in color. The room was small and had low ceilings, and so I was able to keep the three strips needed for the longest wall all from the same bolt (#1).
I cut my other full-length strips from the second bolt (#2). That left the third bolt (#3) for the many short pieces needed to go over the four doorways in the room. As you can see from the last two photos, even though it was the same run number and printed at the same time, this third bolt was noticeably different in color from the previous two. The background color is the same, but there is a lot – a LOT – more dark brown fibrous material that got worked into the woven grass material.
Keeping these darker strips over the doors was a good way to minimize this color difference. The strips were only 9″ high. If these strips had been placed side-by-side on an 8′ high wall, the color difference would have been abruptly noticeable.
Color variations are to be expected with grasscloth, or any natural product. But helpful labeling by the manufacturer, and careful plotting by the installer, can minimize these differences.
This ’60’s-era ranch-style home in the Briargrove neighborhood of Houston is very much a “sea of tranquility,” as the whole house is entwined in off-whites, creams, and tans, with various textures like rough wood, sisal, and this grasscloth, used to pull in depth and warmth.
The interior designer on this project is Layne Ogden, of Layne Torsch Interiors.
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