How to prepare walls for wallpapering?

Wallpapers - modern finishing material, allowing to get a beautiful and attractive surface of the walls. Today, manufacturers produce many modifications of such products, different design and durability of the base. The application of cloths is carried out with the help of special adhesives, which allow to obtain a strong adhesion between the material and the surface. But this condition is also influenced by the quality of the walls to which the products are fixed. Therefore, it is important to learn how to prepare the walls for wallpapering.

Papering wallpaper is one of the easiest ways to change the design of a room or housing in general. A variety of materials allows you to create universal interiors, adapted to specific styles.But to get a similar effect, one should pay attention to the condition of the walls before applying the canvases. It depends on how long and quality wallpaper will be kept on the surface.

Processing the walls before applying the wallpaper is needed to solve several major problems:

• Uneven surfaces. Theoretically, it is possible to glue on paper canvases on curved walls, but this will not allow to get the desired effect. The joints between the sheets will be uneven, forming overlaps or significant gaps. Therefore, in order to apply the wallpaper qualitatively, you must first repair the base.
• Fragile base. The walls in many apartments are already several times covered with plaster, which can peel off. This can lead to the fact that the wallpaper will not dock tightly with the surface and quickly disappear. Inside such bases small cavities may occur, resulting in the formation of drafts and other unpleasant phenomena.

• Fungus. Mold often develops in a humid environment. If it appeared on the wall, it means that the surface absorbs water quickly and does not dry out. In such cases, the processing of walls with special substances is required, as well as additional plastering of the base.In some cases, in order to get rid of this phenomenon, it will be necessary to remove the top layer of wall decoration, in which the causative agents of spores are located.
• Dirty base. Wallpaper glue is intended for processing only certain types of materials. If there are greasy, oily stains or paint on the surface of the wall, then it is simply impossible to fix the canvas. After a certain period of time, the substance will simply peel off and fall off.

It is necessary to make surface preparation, even if none of these problems exist. But at the same time, the wall is affected by special compositions that only improve the quality of adhesion between the material and the base.

Decorating the walls before applying the wallpaper is a complicated procedure that requires patience and care. In this case, a person has to use a lot of additional building materials that he inflicts on the surface.

To simplify and speed up this procedure, you should stock up with a few basic tools:

• Several types of spatulas. They allow you to better process the surface when they are leveling or dismantling the oldcover. In this case, you will need both metal and rubber tools of various sizes.
• Construction mixer. Mechanisms allow you to quickly and accurately mix the solutions that will be used to process the walls.
• Personal protective equipment. This should include everything from rubber gloves, glasses to protective respirators.

• Roller. It is used to apply a primer or other liquid substances.
• Skins different size.
• Level or plummet If the alignment of the walls is performed, then you should take care of the presence of special beacons to facilitate this procedure.

If you intend to remove the old coating or clean the walls, then for such purposes you will need:

1. Construction dryer. With it, the paint is heated to make it easier to remove from the surface.
2. Bulgarian with several types of nozzles. Apply it to the mechanical removal of paints or auxiliary alignment of surfaces. During operation of this device, a lot of dust is generated, so it is important to protect not only the furniture inside the room, but also the human respiratory system.

Wall preparation is a complex, complex procedure involving the use of a variety of ancillary products.To solve such problems, it is often necessary to stock up on several types of mixtures:

1. Plaster. Similar products are used for leveling walls. Today there are many types of substances that differ in the structure and quality of components. The most popular are gypsum-based mixtures, to which a fine fraction of sand is added. They are intended for the final alignment of the walls, but they are not used if you need to form thick layers. Cement-sand materials are used as primary plasters. Often they can be found in the initial decoration of the walls in new buildings, where they have not yet been covered.
2. Primer. Use it immediately before pasting wallpaper. These substances are liquid mixtures that should not be prepared as in the previous case. The composition of these solutions includes many different components, which allow to increase the adhesion between the surfaces, as well as, if necessary, to act on harmful microorganisms. Therefore, they are very often used in the fight against mold, which is physically impossible to remove.

Primers can be divided into several main types:

• Acrylic. Mixtures are universal, since they can be used to process almost all types of wall materials. Among the advantages of products can be distinguished by a minimum odor and quick drying.
• Alkyd This type of mixture is perfect only for wooden walls, so their use today is limited.
• Mineral The main components of this mortar are lime, gypsum and cement. Designed to cover surfaces of concrete and brick. Some species dry for a long time.
• Primers deep penetration. The main focus of this product is to increase the strength parameters of the walls. The mixture can penetrate into the depths of up to 2 cm, which also allows you to influence the development of mold and fungi from the inside.

The technology of preparing the walls before wallpapering depends only on their original condition and the material that will be attached to them.This procedure can be divided into several successive steps:

• General training. This could include the preliminary cleaning of walls from dirt or old protective materials. This process can be completely different depending on what was applied before it on the wall. If this is the usual old wallpaper, then they should simply be removed. More difficult is the preparation of painted surfaces. Today, many argue that these walls are perfect for sticking. It is only necessary to make several log cabins on the paint in several places, which will increase the adhesion between the glue and the wall. But it is best to completely remove the paint from the surface. This can be done mechanically with the help of grinders and grinding wheels, as well as with special chemical liquid solutions.
• Pre-primer. Impregnation of the wall will allow it to degrease and slightly strengthen the adhesion between the remaining components. For such purposes, use different types of mixtures that can be purchased in hardware stores.

• Putty. This process is complex and also depends on the state of the surface.If the walls or ceiling were aligned earlier, then their preparation for sticking involves the removal of small irregularities and the repair of cracks with putty. Recently plastered planes, which have already been processed without the use of putty, can also be minimally affected. A more common case is when the geometry of the walls in the room is not followed. Therefore, such a plane is important to properly prepare for the application of materials. The procedure begins with the alignment of the corners, which should be joined strictly at an angle of 90 degrees. This will allow to get even joints without cracks and drops. After that proceed to level the walls themselves. To do this, they put a thin layer of plaster in places where there are significant differences.

• Padding. Finishing with primer mixtures is always carried out before gluing almost all types of wallpaper.

Wallpapers today can be glued not only inside apartment buildings where the walls are made of concrete or plastered. Similar materials are great for other reasons.

Therefore, it is important to properly prepare them depending on the type of surface:

• Concrete walls. Wallpaper does not stick to this material, as it absorbs moisture well, which will affect the operation of sheets. Therefore, experts recommend be sure to finish the concrete. This procedure begins with cleaning the surface with fine emery paper. After that, it is important to remove all dust and coat the wall with a primer. To prepare the concrete, the wall should be completely covered with putty. This will not only flatten the plane, but minimizes moisture absorption. A similar algorithm can be used for brick walls that need additional plastering.
• Drywall The walls of this material are the ideal basis for the application of wallpaper. When preparing them, one should pay attention to the joints between the sheets where gaps are formed. Many experts recommend that drywall should be covered with a thin tie, which will hide all defects and make them invisible after gluing. After this procedure, the material is required to be primed in order to increase adhesion.

• Plywood, chipboard and other wood-based panels. These substances as wall surfaces are also very common. Theoretically, the wallpaper can be fixed on them without preparation. But such an approach is not always optimal, since wood quickly swells and fails. To improve adhesion, experts recommend to completely putty plates or additionally paste over them with special paper, which will act as an intermediate layer.
• Clay. Clay walls are not as common as this material is used as a building only by lovers of environmentally friendly technologies. If the walls of clay are fairly smooth, then they do not need additional preparation. But this does not preclude their priming, since this step is necessary for all types of bases.

The type of wallpaper also affects the surface preparation algorithm for attaching them.

It is important to consider a few simple nuances:

1. Paper has a small thickness, so even small irregularities will appear through them. Therefore, the walls under them should be perfectly smooth.
2. The treatment of the base should be performed only with the use of reinforcing nets.This applies to areas of the house where there is a risk of cracks that will lead to rupture of the material.
3. The surface under vinyl wallpaper or materials on non-woven base may have small irregularities that they hide. The peculiarity of these species is that they do not allow (flizeline ones only after painting) the air inside the wall structure. This, in turn, can lead to the development of a fungus. To exclude it, the bases need to be impregnated with special antiseptics.
4. Liquid wallpaper is a certain layer of decorative plaster, which allows you to hide significant irregularities. But it is still recommended to level the walls under them, since when replacing them with other types, this will allow them to be applied faster and with better quality.

The electrical network is often located directly on the surface of the walls or inside them. If your cable is simply nailed from above, then it is advisable to place it in special strokes, which are small channels.

The process of preparing the walls for wallpaper also includes several operations with electrical appliances:

1. Dismantling of external elements. Before applying primer or putty, remove the switch and sockets. At the same time, their entrails should be carefully protected from ingress of dirt and foreign materials.
2. Replacing the cable. Almost all the wiring today is hiding under the wallpaper, which does not allow for the repair of high quality and timely. Therefore, if your network is quite old and does not withstand loads, the replacement of wallpaper is the ability to completely change all the wiring to a new one. This operation is not mandatory and depends only on the state of the electrical network.

A feature of any wallpaper is that they consist of several layers. This, in turn, can affect not only the strength, but also the transmission of the base color. Today, after gluing many types of wallpaper through them, a dark base or various types of stains appear. This feature applies only to thin sheets as well as liquid materials. To eliminate this, you should glue them on the walls of light shades.

Before the wallpapering is done, it is recommended to paint the base in light colors using lime or special primers. A similar approach is required for concrete and clay surfaces, which differ in significant contrast.

Please note that if you use thick wallpapers, then spots will not appear through them. They can be noticeable only if the wallpaper has a transparent structure that allows you to see the darkening under the main layer of wall covering.

Preparing walls for sticking wallpaper is a rather complicated procedure, involving many different operations.

To get a quality result, you should follow a few simple recommendations:

1. Putty walls preferably in several layers. Start this procedure is best on top.
2. When choosing finishing materials should pay attention to what surfaces they are intended. It is important that they are compatible with the base, since the durability of their service depends on it.
3. Regardless of the wallpaper used, the walls should be leveled as smoothly as possible.This will allow you to use them in the future to work with different materials. After dismantling the old sheets will only need to clean the surface and perform its priming. The versatility of flat walls is that they can also be used both for sticking and for painting.
4. The base is covered with white whitewash only when necessary. If you make its full alignment, then it will be bright even after applying the finishing putty.

Interior wall decoration for wallpapering is a universal opportunity to solve several problems at once:

1. Drawing cloths will be much easier, which saves time.
2. Smooth walls allow you to decorate a room with various elements that were previously impossible to install.

It is beautifully possible to do wall decoration with your own hands, since it does not require special knowledge. It is only important to choose the right materials that are suitable for solving certain problems.

Here is one example of how ideally a wall looks like, which with the help of drywall leveled and pasted gray wallpaper. Despite the gloomy, at first glance, shades, the design of the room looks great thanks to the correctly chosen furniture and bright accents - pillows.

Another original design, which managed to get with the help of a plasterboard wall and wallpaper. Everything is selected with a delicate taste and looks wonderful.

See the video for the preparation of walls for wallpapering with your own hands.