Another Faux Grasscloth Today

All this week, I’ve hung soft neutral-toned textured wallpapers. Here is another fake grasscloth, this time by Thibaut (pattern #839-T-6815). This client was excited about putting grasscloth in her powder room, because she loves the look and the texture. But, seeing a sink right against the wallpaper, and messy young children in the house, I advised against real grasscloth. She took my advice, went to see Dorota at Southwestern Paint / Benjamin Moore on Bissonnet at Wakeforest, and found this winner.

It’s another thick, heavy, textured paper. But, unlike yesterday’s paper-backed vinyl, this one has a woven fabric backing, much like canvas. (See second photo, bottom right corner.) This woven fabric backing helped prevent the slight curl at the seam edges that I blogged about yesterday.

The first photo shows the primed wall, before wallpaper installation. The others show how the room looked once it was finished. On the close-up, note how realistic the pattern and color are, and the texture that you can feel.

The seams were positively invisible. To help disguise any paneling, I reverse-hung the strips. (Hung one right side up, the next one upside down, and the next one right side up, and so on. If there is a slight variation in color from the right to left side of the roll of paper, this prevents an abrupt change in color.)

The room turned out great, and has a tailored yet serene feel. And best of all, this paper will hold up to water splashes, kids’ dirty hand prints, little boys’ poor aim, and is quite scrubbable, too.

Metal Marks on Wallpaper

See that little grey mark? That was most probably made by my stainless steel straight edge sliding across the paper. Even when you’re very careful, some papers will do this. But not to worry – in virtually all cases, the marks disappear when rubbed with a damp cloth.

I understand that titanium tools won’t do this.

Hmmm. I wonder what avenue a paperhanger should take?,,,, Buy readily available tools and keep prices low? Or invest in upper-end equipment and have to pass the cost on to the customers?

I’ll bet that when homeowners are considering the price a professional charges for wallpaper installation, they have no clue the dollar value of tools and materials in the back of that truck!

The trellis pattern in Schumacher #5005143

22 Years Service Out of the Right Primer

In previous posts, I mentioned that I had had the opportunity to revisit a number of homes where I had installed wallpaper as long ago as 22 years. I was pleased to see that these jobs still look as good now as they did the day I did the work.

One key element to which I attribute this success is A GOOD PRIMER. It’s one of the essential parts of a good wallpaper job.

A good primer:

1. Prepares the surface to receive the new wallpaper

2. Seals off stains that could bleed through the paper (blood, rust, mildew, knot holes in wood)

3. Provides a clean white base, so the true color of the new wallpaper shows to best advantage.

4. Seals a porous surface, so paste stays on the wall to hold the paper in place, instead of soaking into the wall where it can’t do its job

5. Lays a uniform surface for even wallpaper installation (drywall, joint compound, paint, etc., all are disparate materials; a primer on top creates a uniform surface)

6. Wallpaper won’t stick to a slick surface (glossy or semi-gloss paint, for instance), but a primer will, and it provides a new surface with enough porosity to hold the paste, but also enough “slip” so the paper can be slid around into position as required.

7. For this reason, a good primer ensures an easier and consistant installation

8. Creates a layer between the drywall and the paper, making it much easier to remove paper when it’s time to redecorate, without damaging the drywall. Anyone who has tried to strip wallpaper from bare Sheetrock knows how arduous a task and how big a mess this can be!

See why I ALWAYS use a primer?!

For decades, I have used Oil Based KILZ. Like it says on the label, “Number One, Because It Works!”

http://www.wallpaperladyhouston.com/

wallpaper installation houston

DON’T TAPE THE WALLPAPER!!

Please read the links at right to learn about me and my wallpaper installation business.

I got a frantic call from a painter buddy of mine the other day. It seems his crew was prepping a room, getting ready to spray paint a shower area. They were putting plastic over areas not to be painted, and using tape to hold the plastic in place. All standard proceedure.

The only problem was, the surface they were applying the tape to was wallpaper. And not a durable, tape-resistant type like solid vinyl, and not even the more delicate vinyl-coated paper, but a very expensive UNcoated PAPER paper.  And VERY expensive.

Yep, you guessed it – the tape pulled the ink right off the paper, and even lifted some of the paper away from the wall.

Moral: Don’t trust what labels say… Blue painter’s tape, green “removeable” tape…. NO tape can pressed onto wallpaper and then removed safely. There is ALWAYS the chance that it will lift the paper, remove some of the ink, or, most commonly, remove the top layer of paper.

Repairs can be tricky, and in some cases, impossible.

Best to leave the tape on the store shelf!