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.
When I figured rollage and sent a quote to the homeowner, I asked her to order 10 single rolls (5 double roll bolts) of wallpaper. Somehow, we ended up with only six.
It took some engineering and finagling, and there were some sacrifices as to pattern match in a few places. But I got ‘er done!
David Hicks’s “Hexagon” pattern by Cole & Son is a well-loved design. I’ve hung it a number of times. Here it is in a large master bathroom in a very Mid-Century Modern home in the Piney Point (Villages) neighborhood of Houston.
Just this bathtub alcove, along with two small mirror walls over the his-and-hers vanities, received wallpaper.
Just the tub alcove by itself took me over six hours to hang (six single rolls). The complicating issues were unplumb walls, unlevel ceiling and soffit, a geometric pattern that the eye wants to see marching evenly across the walls, thick stiff paper that is hard to manipulate, ink that wants to crack and flake off the paper, complicated room lay-out, and … squeezing behind that tub to put wallpaper on the walls around it!
There are some spots where the pattern match is off a bit, and some areas where the crookedness of the walls is very evident (meaning that the pattern goes off-kilter). But overall, the room turned out great.
The design is called “Hexagon,” and is by David Hicks, designer for Cole & Son, a British company who has been manufacturing wallpaper for way more than a hundred years.
It’s a non-woven material that can be hung by the paste-the-wall method, but I chose to paste the paper, which made it more pliable, and which made it easier to get paste where it needed to be when going around the window areas and behind the tub.
This is a good example of how wallpaper should come off the wall, when it’s been hung properly. The original installer primed the walls before hanging his paper, which is a very good thing. A primer protects the walls, facilitates installation, and makes it easier to remove the paper later, with minimal damage to the wall.
The brown is the original wallpaper. It is a thin layer of inked paper on what we call a pulp substrate (backing). On the right side of the photo, I have peeled away this layer. Left behind is a light tan layer of the pulp backing layer.
The darker tan areas are the pulp backing that I have soaked with water. Once the water has enough time to penetrate the paper, it will reactivate the paste behind it. Once that adhesive gets soft, you can either scrape off the paper with a stiff putty knife (see photo), or, if you are lucky, the paper will simply peel away from the wall in large pieces. That’s what you’re seeing in the upper left of the photo.
It took several hours to strip these 12 single rolls of paper off the walls of this powder room – which is reasonable and expected. Because the original installer took the extra time and expense to coat the walls with a good primer, there was NO damage to the underlying surface.
So the walls are in excellent shape and ready for new wallpaper tomorrow.
The old paper has been stripped off, the walls are prepped and primed, and I’m ready to hang paper tomorrow.
Destined for a large master bath and commode room in the Fondren Southwest neighborhood of Houson are what you see here… 24 single rolls of wallpaper (12 double roll bolts)… A couple of bolts are in the upright cardboard box to the right…bought quickly and shipped via 2nd Day Air, after the family dog chewed up some of the paper.
Yesterday I did the smoothed the wall and primed; today I put the paper up. It was just one wall, 5 single rolls, but took five hours. The homeowners were out of town, and left me a key, and I really appreciated the quiet, empty house, free of distractions, because that allowed me to concentrate on my footing, balance, movements, placing the pattern where I wanted it (see shot between the windows), etc.
Interestingly enough, this pattern is almost identical to the one I hung two days ago (see post). This one has a slightly shimmery silver design on a white background, printed on a non-woven substrate. It was supposed to be paste-the-wall, but for many reasons, that would have been very cumbersome while dealing with the extension ladder, so I pasted the back of the paper instead, and it went very nicely.
This wallpaper is by Brewster, and was bought at a discounted price from Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.
When I originally met with this young family, for their dining room, they were looking at a very finely textured, pale aqua grasscloth from a company I’m not familiar with. I told them I thought the texture and color were both too diminutive, and from a distance, the walls would not look like much of anything. I also hesitate with unfamiliar companies, worrying if their products will have the unpleasant shading and paneling that plague grasscloth decorating.
The homeowner took my suggestion to visit my favorite place to buy wallpaper (below). The result is this beautiful, beautiful grasscloth. The stronger texture shows up nicely, even from across the room, and it has more of the sparkle the homeowner was seeking.
The paper has more color and impact than their first choice, but does not overwhelm the room, plus it blends perfectly with other aqua accents in other rooms around the home. It’s great with their paint color, too. Now the room looks something like a day at the beach, with the colors of sand and water and sky and a little shimmer, like light dancing on waves.
And I was happy with the quality of the product. There is no shading or paneling (color variations from strip to strip, or within a strip). And even though grasscloth cannot be matched across the seams, the seams are nearly invisible (2nd photo).
This wallpaper pattern is by Thibaut Designs, and was bought at a discounted price from Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.
This job was in Bellaire (Houston), and took two days. The first day I spent smoothing and priming the textured walls. The second day I hung the paper, a little over 10 single rolls.
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