Since launching our debut wallpaper collection, we've received a lot of questions about the wallpaper installation process. At Caroline Cecil Textiles we always recommend using a professional installer to ensure that our wallpapers are hung correctly for lasting quality and beauty. To help answer the most frequently asked questions and concerns about wallpaper installation, we sat down with professional wallpaper hangers from across the country to hear their tips and tricks. When it comes to measuring your space, how to prepare walls and recurring pain points commonly faced during the installation process, this post has you and your walls covered! 

 

 

Let's kick things off with John from San Francisco based CMC Paper Hangers who has more than 50 years of experience in the trade. During our conversation, John provided an abundance of detail when it comes to installation and maintenance.

 

How much extra wallpaper do you recommend ordering to keep on hand for the future?

We recommend ordering an extra double roll. This way if a problem occurs during the installation process or a panel gets damaged at some point in the future, you have a roll from the same print run on hand. It’s always better to have more than less!

 

 

What would you say is easier to install, a simple or complex wallpaper pattern?

They both have to be hung perfectly, so they both take time. You don’t last very long in this trade if you’re not a perfectionist because perfection is what clients expect of you!

 

How should our customers prepare their walls before installation?

We use a product called Gardz, a primer that makes it is easy to have control over what you hang. There are other options on the market, and depending on your walls it might be an irrelevant step, but this is our trusted method.

 

Are there any recurring pain points or problems you face when installing wallpaper?

Every job is different! In new construction builds, it is easier for us to be there before the toilet and vanity are installed because it will make our job easier and the process of construction faster than us having to cut or figure out how to move things. Material wise, untrimmed paper can often be problematic as it often comes with trim lines which sometimes are uneven and make the process more difficult. For this reason, I prefer pre-trimmed papers.

 

  “You don’t last very long in this trade if you’re not a perfectionist because perfection is what clients expect of you.” 

 

Any tips on maintaining wallpaper once it’s installed?

My biggest tip is to be aware of the environment you are applying it in and your long-term expectations of the space. For example, if you're hanging wallpaper in a powder room in the future make sure when you’re cleaning a vanity that you’re not messing up the wallpaper behind it. If you get something on the wallpaper like a spilled drink, always use diluted Simple Green, as opposed to something more abrasive that could harm the wallpaper. 

 

  

The next installer we sat down with, 78 and Sunny, is a family-owned business with over 20 years of experience installing wallpaper in the New York City area. Business owner and operator George was kind enough to take time from his busy schedule to answer some questions about his experience. Read below to hear his opinion on the importance of prepping walls before installing and how using a laser tool is the best option for measuring a room. 

 

Do you have any tips when it comes to measuring for wallpaper installation?

When measuring I will use a laser measuring tool, which I find works the best, especially when the room is wide or tall.

 

How much extra do you recommend to add into calculations / keeping on hand for the future?

I recommend an extra roll for a room or an extra panel for a wall.

 

 

 

How should our customers prepare their walls before installation?

Usually, the installer should prep the walls, and we recommend using Gardz sealer primer before the wallpaper installation process.

 

Any tips on maintaining wallpaper once it’s installed? For example, if something gets spilled on it how would you recommend to clean it?

When it comes to maintaining the wallpaper after installation, we usually recommend just using water to clean something that has been spilled on it, and then just let it dry afterward.

 

Do you have a favorite brand/type of wallpaper paste?

Roman 838 wallpaper paste.

  

 

Next up is our local Phoenix installer, Sue Pregger, who recently hung our CITRA / DENIM wallpaper for Caroline's nursery. She's also the lovely babe in overalls pictured throughout this post. Sue started hanging wallpaper in the valley 30 years ago. Sadly for us, she'll be retiring soon and are lucky to have had the opportunity to sit down and pick her brain!

 

Do you have any tips when it comes to measuring for wallpaper installation? 

The most accurate way to measure how much paper is needed is to calculate the room size and roll length.

 

 

“With any design, I always start by making sure to find a vantage point in the wallpaper pattern so that all rolls line up the same before I begin the hanging process.”

 

What would you say is easier to install, a simple or complex wallpaper pattern? 

They’re both about the same. With any design, I always start by making sure to find a vantage point in the wallpaper pattern so that all rolls line up the same before I begin the hanging process.

 

How should our customers prepare their walls before installation? 

If an ultra-smooth finish is desired, skim coating would be the best way to prepare the wall. Then priming over that - Shieldz is a good pigmented white primer! One aspect that I really enjoyed about hanging the CITRA wallpaper from Caroline Cecil Textiles is the thickness and quality of the paper. Caroline's nursery has slightly textured walls but due to the thickness of the paper, we were able to skip skim coating and go straight to installation. The result is really beautiful and smooth and you would never know the wall behind it isn't perfect! But keep in mind that not all wallpapers are of this quality, you run into more problems with the thinner options on the market.

 

  

Are there any recurring pain points or problems you face when installing wallpaper? 

The recurring pain point I come across the most is the visibility of the seams with a darker paper. I diminish the look by using a crayon on the roll before I unroll it. I’ve only seen it on instructions once before, but it is my secret trick... sshhh! 

 

What’s the craziest installation you’ve ever completed?

Covering built-in shelving completely! And then trying to match it with the surrounding wall.

 

  

To learn more about our brand approved recommendations for wallpaper installation and maintenance, visit our Care & Quality page. Looking for the perfect wallpaper for a new project? Shop samples or rolls of our wallpaper collection here.

 

Cheers!

Allanah