Wallpaper that sits flat, with seams butted tight.
Wallpaper hides nothing. It's a thin continuous sheet, so every hollow, ridge and loose patch underneath shows as a shadow line. Most of this job happens before the first drop goes up.
- Free site inspection
- Written, itemised quote
- 1-year workmanship warranty
- Same-day callback
At a glance
What preparation does a wall need before wallpaper goes up?
It has to be flat, dry, sound and sealed. Adhesive grips only the top layer of whatever is on the wall, so chalky distemper or loose putty comes away with the paper as it dries and shrinks. Bare putty is also absorbent: it pulls moisture out of the paste before the bond forms, which is why we seal first.
When this is the answer, and when it is not.
Sending you to the wrong service wastes your money and our time. This is how to tell.
This is likely right if
- You want pattern, texture or a printed mural on a wall rather than a painted finish
- The wall is dry and sound, and you accept it being levelled and sealed before any paper is hung
- Existing paper has lifted at the seams, faded or simply dated, and you want it replaced
- You are taking old paper off and bringing the wall back to a paintable surface
Something else comes first if
- The wall shows damp, or backs onto a bathroom or a monsoon-facing exterior wall, paper behaves as a vapour barrier and traps what's behind it, so the moisture source has to be traced and treated first
- A crack is still moving, paper doesn't bridge movement, it tears along the seam. The crack needs opening, filling and watching before anything goes over it
- The wall carries a sand-faced or grit texture, that has to be ground back and re-puttied flat, which is a levelling job before it is a papering job
What the service includes.
Substrate and moisture survey
We check the wall for damp, chalky old distemper and hollow putty, and tap for anything loose. This is where we tell you whether paper is the right answer for that wall at all.
Stripping and residue removal
Existing paper lifted, dry-stripped where the backing allows, soaked and scraped where it doesn't, then the wall washed down so no old paste is left to reactivate under the new.
Levelling
Dents, seam ridges and putty pulled away during stripping made good, then sanded flat. Under a plain or metallic paper, a hollow you can barely feel with your hand reads as a shadow line as soon as light rakes across it.
Sealing coat
A primer or size applied so the wall stops drinking the paste. That's what gives working time to slide a drop into position and butt the seam properly.
Setting out
Drop lengths worked out against the pattern repeat, mural panels numbered in sequence, and a plumb line struck, the first drop is hung to that line, never to a corner or a door frame.
Hanging and seam work
Butt joints rolled down, corners cut and overlapped rather than wrapped, switch and socket plates taken off and the paper trimmed back behind them.
Not included, or quoted separately
- Supply of the wallpaper rolls or mural print, unless you ask us to procure them
- Damp source treatment and waterproofing behind the wall, quoted separately
- Structural crack repair, or any wall needing a structural engineer's opinion
- Moving switch points or any electrical work beyond removing and refitting face plates
- Salvaging or rehanging existing paper, once a drop is lifted it doesn't go back
The sequence.
Measure and survey the wall
Height and width of every drop measured, obstructions noted, and the surface tested for damp and for coatings that won't hold paste. The roll count comes from this, not from the floor area of the room.
Confirm the paper and the repeat
We tell you the repeat type, straight match, offset or free, and the wastage it carries, so the quantity you order carries the right wastage allowance. A printed mural is dimensioned off your wall before it goes to print, because it can't be recut afterwards.
Strip and clean back
Old paper removed, adhesive washed off, and the wall left to dry out properly before anything else touches it.
Level and seal
Filling, sanding and a sealing coat. This is the stage that decides whether your seams stay shut.
Set out and hang
Plumb line struck, drops cut with the repeat allowance, pasted to the wall or to the paper depending on the backing, then hung, butted and rolled.
Trim, inspect and hand back
Edges trimmed at skirting and cornice, face plates refitted, and a walkthrough with you looking along the wall at a low angle, that's the only honest way to judge a seam.
What moves the price on this job.
We do not publish a rate, because it would change once someone measured your property. These are the variables that decide it.
- The number of drops, which comes from wall width and drop height rather than room area
- Pattern repeat type and repeat length, because an offset match wastes more of every roll
- How much levelling and re-puttying the wall needs once it is stripped and exposed
- Whether existing paper has to come off, and whether its backing dry-strips or has to be soaked
- Backing type, a paste-the-wall non-woven hangs faster than a paper-backed vinyl that must be pasted and booked
- Height and access, and how many doors, windows, wardrobes and switch plates have to be cut around
Wallpaper Installation and Removal — your questions.
Can wallpaper go straight onto a puttied wall?
Not without sealing it first. Putty is porous, it draws water out of the adhesive before the bond has formed, so the paste grabs early and you lose the ability to slide a drop into place. Seams then sit open or overlapped. A primer or size coat closes the surface, gives working time, and means the paper can be stripped later without taking the putty with it.
Will taking off old wallpaper damage the wall?
Often it will, and that's worth knowing before we start. Where paper was hung onto unsealed putty, stripping pulls the putty away in patches, and the wall then needs re-puttying, sanding and priming before it can be papered or painted again. We test a small area first and tell you what's likely, so the making good sits in your quotation rather than arriving halfway through.
Why do seams open up some weeks after hanging?
Usually drying, absorption or movement. Paper-backed papers expand when pasted and shrink as they dry, so if each drop is not left to soak for the same time they shrink unevenly and gap. Drying too fast does the same, keep the room ventilated, but don't point a fan or an air-conditioner at a freshly papered wall. A thirsty, unsealed wall is the third common cause.
Can wallpaper cover a damp patch or a crack?
No. Paper is close to a vapour barrier, so moisture that was evaporating off the wall collects behind it instead, lifting the paper and growing mould on the backing where you can't see it. A crack that's still moving tears the paper along the seam. Both need the cause dealt with first, the damp source traced and treated, the crack opened, filled and watched.
How many rolls should you order?
We give you a roll count after measuring, and it is driven by drop height and pattern repeat rather than by wall area. An offset match takes more out of every roll than a free match does. Order the whole quantity in one go and check the batch number printed on each roll, colour shifts between print runs, and a roll bought later can sit visibly different in the same wall.
Let us look at your walls first.
Tell us about the property and we will set up a free colour and wall inspection. You get a written, itemised quotation afterwards, with no obligation to go ahead.
- We call you back the same day to get a picture of the property and the surfaces.
- We agree a time and come out for the free inspection.
- You get the written scope and itemised quotation.
- Nothing starts until you approve it.