The wallpaper I put up on new studwork walls in my kitchen and bathroom, several years ago, has been coming unstuck at the edges, probably helped by steam from cooking and showering.
The wallpaper was vinyl. What do you think I might have done wrong, and how can I avoid the same thing happening next time? (I have now ripped all the peeling wallpaper off and am preparing to re-paper.)
Thank you,
Mike D
Put wallpaper up in a kitchen and bathroom.
By not putting wallpaper up in kitchens and bathrooms (or anywhere else, preferably).
That is excellent news.
And undo all your good work?
"Mike D" wrote
Problems with lack of ventilation in steam filled rooms start with pealing paper and lead to mildew, mould and other nasties. Solutions
Phil
I did look for an adhesive that claimed to be suited to bathrooms, but was surprised to find nothing at local DIY store. They did have something called "extra strong", so I bought that. Hopefully if I mix on the strong side, it'll work better than the last time.
Mike
Normally, I'd agree, but in this case, it was the easy way to finish a studwork wall!
I have seen walpaper that has stayed stuck down in a steamy bathroom with no extractor... so there must be a way to achieve it.
Mike
PS... one thing I (probably) did wrong was overlap the paper. I guess that was asking for trouble, since I can't see walpaper paste sticking properly to vinyl. I guess the correct way would be to but the edge of each strip to the next one, yes?
Mike
Yes. Overlapping may work on paper, but vinyl to vinyl requires a special adhesive. How did you manage to match the pattern using overlaps?
When I hung vinyl in my bathroom, I used really heavy-weight stuff, and pasted the wall, not the paper. Then I carefully matched the pattern, butted the edges, smoothed - and finally, used a small roller at the seams, but not TOO vigorously, or too much paste would have squeezed out.
Sheila
Must be, we have thick vinyl paper in our kitchen. It was up when we moved in back in '99. Still up, still looks good which is why we haven't changed it.
Peter
It was a sort of small-scale pattern, so you could overlap it and still get the pattern to match up.
Thank you for the tip. I might try something like that.
Mike
Pva glue. Pound Shop
Beware of those seam rollers: nice neat quick edges, but they do squeeze the adhesive out, making the paper more prone to this type of failure.
As everyone said, wallpaper in a damp or steamy room is a prime cause of this.
Its poss to brush a little adhesive in under the lifted bits and smooth it down for another several-year run. Getting adhesive on the face doesnt matter. In practice I've found this method is good but never quite perfect. Use an artists brush for best result.
NT
The more I think about your comments, the more I am swayed by them! Is there a really thick emulsion paint that will hide such things as not-completely-removed wallpaper and not-very-skillful skimmed joints in plasterboard?
I could use artex, but it seems evident that most people hate artex on walls.
A really thick emulsion that can be applied with a normal roller would be a good solution... Anyone know whee I can get some? Or.... does anyone know of a way to thicken up standard emulsion. (I have gallons of the stuff; more than I need). Maybe the addition of some kind of filler powder?
Cheers,
Mike
No. Such coatings do exist, but theyre only used in industrial buildings - with good reason. The results are dreadful. Just skim it.
NT
Things like Polyripple are available in the sheds and how they look depends on the way you apply them. A plain roller will give you the equivalent of a "thick" emulsion but IME they often highlight imperfections rather than hide them
Sounds like a good idea - thanks! You mean a 3mm-thick layer of new plaster all over? I just wish I knew how. I already have the plaster and the steel float etc. All I need now is the know-how! Anyone know of an online crash course in skim-plastering - like a video clip or something? I'm sure I could quickly learn.
Mike
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