Do I need to hang lining paper before I put up wallpaper

Is it necessary to put up lining paper prior to wallpapering? in most cases the answer would be no. If your walls are old and have been filled many times or there are lots of imperfections then you may consider lining the walls before wallpapering. Putting lining paper up before wallpapering doesn’t mean you don’t have prepare the walls first, because you do. Preparation is always the most important part of decorating.

Another reason for lining the walls prior to wallpapering would be if the wallpaper is thin, or if it is a foil paper and you need a good sound surface to wallpaper onto. Some manufacturers say on their wallpaper, “We recommend you line the walls first”, in which case it is best to take their advice.

You may also have different finishes on a wall such as gloss where shelves used to be or maybe different strong dark colours that may show through, in this case you could simply use matt emulsion to obliterate the colour and have the same finish over the entire room, or you may decide to use lining paper.

Lining paper shouldn’t be required for heavy textured papers, Anaglypta wallpapers, of woodchip as these are designed to hide imperfections on walls. If you line the walls unnecessarily you are just wasting your time and money.

What grade of lining paper

In most cases 1200 to 1400 gauge lining paper will be sufficient to apply to the wall before wallpapering. However if your walls are in a really bad condition you could use a 2000 gauge lining paper. You can also buy specialist papers such as thermal liners, sound proofing liners and damp proof liners, but typically standard lining paper will suffice.

How do I measure for lining or wallpaper

Before you buy lining paper or order wallpaper you need to know how much to buy. I have written an article on how to measure a room for wallpaper that explains how you need to do it. I have also written a wallpaper calculator so you can work out how many rolls of wallpaper you need to buy.

Things you should know about lining paper

Before you rush out and buy lining paper and hang it there are a few things you should know first, lining paper can shrink when it dries, this isn’t too much of a problem if you are wallpapering over it as long as the gaps are small.

You may also consider hanging the lining paper horizontally, or cross lining as it’s known. This will prevent any joints of the wallpaper laying on top of the lining paper which may lift the lining paper when it dries.

If you use lining paper before you wallpaper, ensure it is well stuck , you don’t want the lining paper lifting once your expensive wallpaper is on the top of it, ensure you soak the lining paper well enough, so it is supple before hanging, ensure plenty of good quality paste is used. Once the lining paper is hung and dry you can go over it with paste to help seal the lining paper and give the wallpaper a little bit of extra stick when you hang it.

How to mix wallpaper paste

How many times have you mixed up wallpaper paste to put up that new wallpaper you just bought and end up mixing something that resembles lumpy porridge, jelly or water. The reason for this is you must have mixed it wrong.

So how do you mix wallpaper paste? Firstly you will need to gather the tools you require. You will need :

• A clean bucket
• Something to stir the paste such as a stick
• A sachet of wallpaper paste

Mixing the wallpaper paste

Take your clean bucket and fill it with water, the amount of water will depend on the type of wallpaper you are going to be hanging and how many rolls you are going to hang. It’s always easier to mix an entire sachet rather than trying to mix half as it’s not easy to get the ratio right, unless like me, you have mixed up gallons of the stuff!

Here is a guide to how much water to use and how many rolls you can expect to do with one standard sachet of paste.

Take the bucket of water and give it a good stir (not with the wife’s wooded spoon from the kitchen), next cut the top off the sachet of paste an tip it all in, now stir again one way then the other, do a figure of eight, do this for around 20-30 seconds.

Once the paste chips are all dissolved leave to stand for a further 90 seconds then give it a final stir before using.

Once mixed, paste will last for a few days in the bucket so you can come back to it cover it to stop anything dropping into it and come back to finish the job another day.

If you need to know how many rolls of wallpaper to buy, why not use our wallpaper calculator.

Decorating an interior room, and in which order

The order of decorating an interior room depends on what you are doing in the room.

For wallpapering:

When you are wallpapering a room, either the entire room or a feature wall the process is the same. If you are doing a feature wall also read the next section for emulsion.

Prepare the wall, first remove any old wallpaper and borders and fill any holes and cracks in the wall.
Paint the ceiling and coving/cornice.
Continue reading Order of painting an interior room