Lining walls, advise needed!

[SunnyUpNorth]

We are renovating a house and I’m at the end of my tether with being scammed and let down by various trades men.

I’ve turned up today ready to paint a room that someone was supposed to line this week but they have done one wall. I’m sick of it!!!

so I’m going to give it a go myself. I’m planning to start on a wall that has no tricky bits except a light switch.

I’ve done one length and it’s bubbled up, isn’t sticking properly.

it’s the ‘paste the wall’ type of paper. I did a thick layer of paste on the wall but it’s not stuck great. I’m wondering if I would be best pasting the paper too?

ive cut around the light switch and the top and bottom of the piece I’ve done and that part was all fine. I pressed the piece of wallpaper onto the wall firmly with a large sponge and tried to smooth it out.

should I peel up the piece I’ve done and try to re-paste underneath?

might I also be best sizing the whole wall with paste first and then re-pasting each section as I go?

any tips gratefully received.

The first strip…

I’ve never seen any paste the wall lining paper. I’d buy the thickest grade lining paper and paste the paper for a better finish. It will need a firm brush down with the correct type of smoothing brush, centre outwards, and maybe a small roller on the joins. Small bubbles will normally dry out. Good luck!

I am not a decorative but I have watched plenty of people put paper up.
Did you smooth out the air bubbles after you hung it? You can get smoothing tools to do this.
Basically as soon as you have hung it you need to smooth it over I don't think a sponge would be heavy enough to smooth it out

Thanks both, I actually just peeled back the top half and re pasted the wall and smoothed it back down and then did the same from the bottom up. It looks much better now. The wall itself isn’t great. I’ve been trying to do layers of limewash (old line plaster walls) to even it out but that’s not going great and I really am behind schedule so lining them now to tey and move forward.

i don’t have a papering brush. But I’m using a really large sponge and have a new method. I basically paste the wall quite liberally. Then cut the paper, then roll it and paste the top section of the wall again, roll it down a bit and smooth it all out, paste the next bit, roll it down and smooth it again. It’s going ok.

I haven’t managed to get a perfectly straight gap between the sections but I will fill and sand that afterwards.

ive done 3 pieces now and there are some small bubbles but ive really tried to push them out so I’m hoping they will flatten as it dries 🤞🏼

Oh yikes just looked up the paper again and it is paste the paper, not sure how I got that wrong!

My Ddad taught me how to put up lining paper some 35yrs ago, my (now) BIL is a painter & decorator and disagrees with this method (says the paint can react with the paste) but it has always worked for me.

Paste the paper and allow it to soak in, apply a second coat if necessary.
Paste the wall.
Apply the paper easing out air and excess paste.
Keep wiping the wall to ensure the paper is completely flat, take care as being so wet it is possible to tear it but if you are careful it will be perfectly fine.
Allow to dry completely (usually a couple of days), and caulk.
Apply a couple of undercoats (always used white vinyl matt myself) and then apply a top coat.

Always worked for me and I always ended up with lovely, smooth, flat walls which even BIL (reluctantly) admits are "very good"!

ime freshly applied lining paper looks shocking. it will warp a bit due to the paper being wet from the paste.

@Cotswoldbee yiu don’t fancy popping up to the lakes do you?!

I have been smoothing it very carefully but then a little while later some bubbles appear. So I’m hoping they will then disappear as it dries.

With paste the paper stuff, you need to apply the paste and then leave it a bit so that the paper stretches out because it's damp. Then you apply it to the wall from from the top down, smoothing it down as you go. When you apply it to the wall,as it dries it shrinks a bit which gets rid of some of the lumps. If you don't let it soak before you apply it, it will crunkle up as it dries which is the bubbles you are seeing.

We've just lining papered our our bedroom - our first attempt. Not perfect by any means but acceptable. We choose Wallrock paste the wall paper. Really thick and a bit unwieldy but it has covered these 90 year old walls pretty well. It's the inside corners that have proved the real challenge, that and not a single straight level wall in the place.

We'll do the other bedrooms but we've also decided that we'll get in a professional for the lounge and dining room - like Harry says 'You got to know your limitations'.