How to Hang Wallpaper Vertically

Wallpaper is a beautiful and stylish wall covering option. Wallpaper can be applied to smooth wood or drywall. It is best not to layer wallpaper. If there is already wallpaper on the walls you want to cover, you should remove it. Wallpaper comes in rolls and is hung vertically on the walls using wallpaper adhesive, or paste. Some wallpaper is already pasted and needs only to be wet with hot water.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Straight edge
• Marking pencil
• Laser level
• Hammer
• Cordless drill
• Mud pan
• Drywall mud
• Electric handheld sander or sanding block
• Fine grit sand paper
• Rolls of wallpaper, as many as needed
• Utility knife
• Hot water
• Wallpaper paste
• Wallpaper brush
• Soft cloth

Instructions

1. Use a tape measure to measure the height and the width of each wall that you wish to wallpaper. Do this to know how many feet of wallpaper you will need. Rolls of wall paper are so many inches wide by so many feet and inches long.

2. Use a tape measure, straight edge and marking pencil to measure and mark the wall. Measure as many inches out from a corner along a wall as the wall paper is wide. If your wallpaper is 25 inches wide, then measure and mark a vertical line every 25 inches from that corner. Do this along each wall that will be covered. Use a laser level to make sure the lines you make are straight. Make clear, dark lines that will be visible as you hang the wallpaper.

3. Finish measuring the walls horizontally, then add up how many pieces of wallpaper you will need by counting the lines on the wall. The first line is the end edge of the first piece. Remember how tall the wall is, the height. Multiply the height of the wall by the number of pieces needed widthwise. Get as many rolls as you need to meet the total length.

4. Use a hammer to tap in or remove any nails that may have hung wall art or what have you that are sticking out of any of the walls. Remove screws using a cordless drill, but be careful not to remove the screws that hold your wall board or drywall to the studs.

5. Fill a mud pan with drywall mud. Use a mud knife to smooth the mud over any cracks, holes, indents, etc. Allow the mud to dry six hours for a thin coat, 12 for a thicker coat.

6. Sand the mudded areas using an electric handheld sander or a sanding block. Use a sanding block for small jobs and an electric handheld sander for entire walls. Do this using fine grit sand paper to remove any burrs, ridges or bubbles from the surface of the wall.

7. Use a tape measure to measure the first piece of wallpaper. Do this by unwrapping the roll and unrolling the wallpaper several feet. Lay the wallpaper face down on a long table and measure it from the end in towards the roll. Draw a line at the measured length of the height of your wall. Use a straight edge and marking pencil to make a cut line that will be straight. Cut the first piece of wallpaper.

8. Wet wallpaper that already has been pasted, or apply wallpaper paste to the back side of the wallpaper using a wallpaper brush.

9. Hang the wallpaper according to the straight lines you marked on the wall. Use a soft cloth to rub the entire surface of the wallpaper piece in a circular motion once it's hung. Do this to ensure that the paste will adhere to the wall surface completely. Repeat steps 8 and 9 until all of the wallpaper is hung.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure your lines are straight.

• Use care and caution when using a utility knife.

References

• Expert TIPS