For your first attempt at paperhanging, choose walls which are free of awkward obstructions like doors and windows. Move as much furniture as possible from the room, put the rest in the middle and cover it. Give yourself plenty of time paperhanging can’t be rushed and try to work in daylight.Otherwise use a team of Painters & Decorators.
Materials required for decorating
For preparing the walls you will need:
1. Bucket.
2. Sponge.
3. Sandpaper wrapped around a cork block.
4. Plaster filler. (Use a cellulose based proprietary brand )
5. Lining paper. If your walls were previously papered you will also need:
6. An old distemper brush.
7. A broad stripping knife.
8. Chemical stripper (optional).
For putting up the paper you will need:
l. Plumb bob, chalked line and chalk.
2. Scissors with 280-305mm blades.
3. 1 meter rule.
4. Soft pencil.
5. A table or board supported on trestles. (The board should be at least 600 wide and l.8m long to provide an adequate surface for pasting. An old flush door suspended across two chairs could also be used.
6. Adhesive. (Most manufacturers give advice about which adhesive to use for the type of paper.
7. Buckets in which to mix adhesives. ( Plastic ones are better than metal. )
8. Pasting brush.
9. Paperhanger’s brush. (Have two brushes, if possible to save delay if one has to be washed, after picking up paste).
10. A hop-up or stepladder, plank and strongly built box (to make a platform from which to reach the top of the walls safely).
1l. Seam roller.
Quantities of paper, material
A roll, or piece, of standard British wallpaper is about 10 meters long and 52cm wide. This covers an area of approximately 57 sq ft, but some is usually wasted through cutting and matching patterns. Most papers are ready trimmed but if they are not, this can be done by the retailer. To estimate how many rolls of paper you need, measure the total length right round all the walls you want to paper, and the height of the room from skirting board to ceiling (or to cornice or picture rail). Rolls of paper are produced in batches, so check that they come from the same one (each has a serial number), as rolls from different batches may vary slightly in colouring. If you buy a ‘job lot’ of paper in a sale, always buy more than you need to cover wastage by matching patterns or through damage.