Rake loose material from deep cracks and holes

Wallpapering is a skill that develops with practice. If you are
a beginner, leave papering stairwells and ceilings until you
are reasonably competent.

Take care when working on ladders, and do not overreach.

Step 1: A standard roll of wallpaper is approximately 10.5m (33ft) long and 530mm (1ft 9in) wide. If you measure the height of the walls from skirting to ceiling, you can work out how many strips of paper you can cut from a standard roll - four strips is about average.

Step 2: Measure around the room (ignoring doors and windows) to work out how many roll widths you need to cover the walls. Divide this figure by the number of strips you can cut from one roll to calculate how many rolls you need to buy. Make a small allowance for wastage.

steam-generating wa stripper makes the job even easier. When removing painted wallpapers or washable wallcoverings, scratch the surface with a llpaper Use warm soapy water (or water with paper stripper) to soften old absorbent
wallcoverings, then use a wide stripping knife to s crape the paper off the wall. A

wallpaper scorer to enable the moisture to penetrate.

4 - Cutting and pasting wallpaper

Step 1:
Mix wallpaper paste in a bucket. Instructions on the
packaging will give you a guide to the strength and amount of paste you need for the type of paper you are hanging.

Step 4:
Align the top strip with the front edge of the table and, using a wide pasting brush, apply the paste evenly, first down the centre of the strip, then brush it out towards the front edge. Slide the strip across to align with the back edge of the table and brush on more paste towards that edge. Make sure both edges are well covered.

Try not to get paste on the front side because it can leave marks.

5 - Hanging wallpaper - Basics

Step 1:
If possible, start by papering a wall that contains neither door nor window. Begin at one corner, working away from the window. When hanging paper with a large regular pattern, start at a central feature such as a chimneybreast.

Unfold the bottom half and brush it into place in a similar way.

corner between the wall and ceiling. Peel back the paper and cut along the crease to remove the waste, then smooth the paper back into place. Use the same method Step 4:
Using the back of your
wallpaper scissors or sharp knife, score a line along the

Disguise a less-than-perfect line at the ceiling by pasting a narrow, patterned border along the top of the wall

6 - Hanging wallpaper - Around switches

around the edge of the mounting box.

7 - Hanging wallpaper - Papering around

M ake a diagonal cut in the waste towards the corner of the

doorframe.

the top of the frame.

C ontinue with short strips over the door, hanging the next

I f your window s are more or less flush with the internal face

of the wall, paper up to the window frames as if you were

S tep 1:

Hang the full strip of wallpaper adjacent to the window and

window frame.

S tep 2:

Where one piece of thick paper overlaps another, cut
through both layers with a sharp knife to make a matching butt joint. Remove the waste and press down the joint with a seam roller.

9 - Hanging wallpaper - Papering corners

Ideally, you should drain a radiator and take it off the wall so that you can paper behind it. If that is not possible, first turn off the heat and wait for the radiator to cool. Paste the strip of paper to the wall above the radiator. Then slit it from the bottom edge so that you can smooth it down on either side of the radiator's fixing brackets. Press the paper into place behind the radiator, using a narrow radiator paint roller.