The modern market offers today's consumer a wide variety of finishing materials. But wallpaper, as before, is at the top of popularity. That is why almost every person faces a number of questions, and one of them is how to prepare the walls for wallpapering? After all, the success of the repair will depend on the proper preparation. Fortunately, such a process is not difficult, but rather laborious.

Surface cleaning

Any wallpapering on the wall begins with surface preparation. The appearance of the room will largely depend on the work done.

Walls covered with old wallpaper should be thoroughly cleaned. Even if it seems that the trellis is holding onto it firmly enough, you still need to remove them. If this is not done, then the error will make itself felt very soon, only it will be impossible to fix it.

To make the old coating easier to remove, it is necessary to wet it with hot water. This procedure should be repeated several times. After soaking, the strips are easily removed with a metal spatula. Some wallpapers get wet rather badly. In this case, they are cut so that water can penetrate inside.

Now it remains to wash off the glue. This will require a wide brush and ordinary warm water. Carefully process the surface, and then clean it with a wide spatula.

Mold control

Sometimes in rooms, especially in damp rooms (kitchen, bathroom), mold may appear. It must be removed. Do not ignore the fungus, otherwise it will appear on new trellises. How to prepare the walls for wallpapering in this case?

Places with mold are treated with lime. To make this solution, take 1 liter of water and 200 grams of bleach. A fungicide can be used instead of a solution. By the way, when wallpapering such places, this substance is necessarily added to the glue.

Plaster coat

Before you prepare the walls for wallpapering, evaluate the existing plaster layer of the walls. It should not crumble or have cracks. Even if the entire coating is holistic, be sure to hammer the entire area with a hammer. “Voiced” places indicate that the stucco is behind the wall. If a large area is damaged, it is better to completely remove the old layer.

Primary primer

Concrete surface preparation

Wallpapering begins on concrete walls with preparatory work for cleaning from grease stains, dust protruding onto the surface of the salts. After all these manipulations, a leveling oil-glue putty composition is applied to various cracks, sinks, and multiple irregularities. After drying, one more coat should be applied without fail.

After the wall is completely dry, the surface is polished with a pumice stone. For these purposes, use sandpaper. Now the concrete surface is completely ready for wallpapering.

When the tapestries are glued, all the irregularities and defects that are often not visible on the putty surface are perfectly visible. How to fix it and how to prepare the walls for wallpapering? There is a very simple but effective method.

Light a powerful lamp and place it along the wall so that the light glides on the surface. You can use a halogen spotlight. Lay it on the floor. The rays of light directed from the side will determine all the irregularities. It is such lighting that will clearly show in which places it is necessary to carry out additional cleaning.

Moving the searchlight along the wall, you will clearly see all the defects, which means that you can smooth them out.

Significantly facilitates the cleaning of the walls of the following device. Get a special emery paper mount (silicon mesh) that fits easily onto a stick with a 360-degree rotation angle. Such a tool will allow you to quickly clean the walls even under the ceiling, and efforts will be required much less than with a manual grater. In addition, there will be no need for construction scaffolding.

Instead of a conclusion

Very many people pay great attention to the process of choosing the wallpaper, while not attaching importance to the competent preparation of the surface before pasting it. And completely in vain. Preparing the walls for pasting is an extremely important procedure, on which the success of the undertaking is wholly and completely dependent. And if it is carried out illiterately or completely miss this stage, the new decorative coating, even if you paid a lot of money for it, will have a very ugly appearance. Or he won’t hang on the wall at all, which, in principle, is even worse. Be that as it may, the preparation procedure must be carried out very carefully. What, in fact, we want to tell those who do not know what needs to be done before wallpapering, how to process the walls, and why do this.

What should be the surface for the wallpaper

So, what preparatory work needs to be done so that the updated decor of the room not only pleases with its appearance, but also keeps high-quality on the wall for a long time? To correctly understand the essence of the issue and correctly determine the volume and type of finishing work, you need to build on the opposite. That is, to know what should ideally be the surface for the wallpaper.

And it should be primarily dry. A wet surface will poorly absorb water contained in the glue, and therefore the composition will not seize on the wall properly and will not provide the desired quality of adhesion of the surface to the decorative coating.

The base must be strong. That is, the presence of flaky surfaces on the wall, plaster areas literally breathing at hand, hanging from shreds of old wallpaper and other unnecessary elements is a direct contraindication to pasting. First, the basic coating should be brought to mind, as they say, and only then proceed with the gluing procedure.

The surface must be clean. If black stains from mold and fungus are present on it, the question of whether it is necessary to process the walls before wallpapering is generally pointless to ask. Here we are not even talking about how the new coating will look on such a wall, but about how you will feel in the near future, because the dampness in the room negatively affects not only the state of the wallpaper, but also your health .

The wall should be smooth and uniform in color. Only then, on a new decorative coating, all possible and impossible defects will not appear that will cause not joy from the work done, but bewilderment and frustration.

What is wall preparation ideally?

Far from always, home masters conduct thorough preparation. Moreover, quite often it is not because they don’t know how to process the walls before wallpapering, but for the reason that this procedure itself is quite lengthy and expensive. After all, ideally, the walls should be removed from the old coating, then an antiseptic treatment of the base should be carried out, after which it should be carefully leveled with plaster, and then puttyed, cleaned and primed. There is a lot of work, and a lot of expensive materials will be required. So the craftsmen go to all kinds of tricks, trying to skip one or another stage of preparation. Sometimes this can be done when there are appropriate prerequisites (we’ll give some tricky advice on this at the end of the article), but more often than not, it’s not reasonable to do so. In principle, of course, everyone decides for himself what he needs. One is also happy that a month after the repair, the wallpaper hangs in the corners of the room and angrily splits apart, seams, and the other begins an almost nervous fit when he sees a small tubercle sticking out from under the wallpaper in a far from visible place in the room.

We, in turn, will still allow ourselves to give some recommendations and will try to describe in more detail and step by step how to properly process the walls before wallpapering.

Stage One: General Preparation

How to process concrete walls before wallpapering

It seems to be sorted out with the fungus. And what if, under the old wallpaper, not a layer of plaster suddenly appeared, but literally bare concrete? What to do in this case? In no case can you glue modern wallpaper on such a basis. In general, this can be understood at a glance. Such a wall has a very unsightly appearance, it is all rough, in defects and literally causes tears with its curvature. How to process the walls before wallpapering in this case? We answer - nothing! You just need to spit on the notorious savings and wasted time and start plastering the surface. Which, in fact, is the second stage in the process of competent preparation of the base for wallpaper.

Plastering

As for the plastering process itself, there are two possible scenarios. In the case of the concrete walls mentioned above (as well as brick or made of silicate blocks), there is no alternative. You will have to plaster the entire surface, from corner to corner. Moreover, in the case of a large curvature, certainly with the installation of beacons. By the way, you will be forced to carry out exactly the same procedure if there is a plastered, but also very uneven surface. But if the wall does not cause particular complaints, but only has small defects and the sections of curvature on it are relatively small, then it is quite possible to limit itself to resuscitation measures. That is, patch up all existing defects and cracks with plaster, as well as trim some areas. Then you need to wait for the solution to dry, and then primed the entire surface of the walls with an acrylic primer. After it dries, you can proceed to the last stage.

Puttying

The purpose of this procedure is to make the base white and smooth. Then you can glue any, even the most capricious wallpaper, without fear for the outcome of the case. As for the process itself, it will not cause special problems for those who know how to hold a spatula in their hands. Get a putty mixture, and not necessarily very expensive, knead, apply a thin first layer on the walls, wait for drying. Then clean with sandpaper, primer, then putty again, clean and primer again. Moreover, it is not at all necessary that the surface is perfectly smooth, without a single scratch. Minor minor defects will hide under the wallpaper. The main thing is to make it smooth and durable. But to achieve the latter, a primer is applied. About her - a little more.

What primer to treat the walls before wallpapering

To some, the question will seem worthless. Primer - and primer. Bought - anointed - done. But things are a little more complicated. The fact is that at the moment there are quite a lot of all kinds of compositions. And not all of them are suitable for wallpaper, as they have a special purpose. The primer is designed to give the surface such a quality as adhesion. That is, it should maximize the fit of the wallpaper, their adhesion to the wall. And for these purposes it is best suited. It is generally considered universal, compatible with all types of surfaces, and dries quickly enough. So when buying soil is not worth it. Buy acrylic - you will definitely not be mistaken. The choice on the market is quite large, but the most popular brands are “Ceresit”, “Snowball” and “Master”.

And remember: after priming, the wall should dry well. And it’s best not to rush and give her a day. And then you can proceed directly to the process of pasting.

It is the observance of all the above rules and the implementation of the procedures described will be the answer to the question of how to properly process the walls before wallpapering. This is the only way to get a really smooth and solid foundation. And the wallpaper glued to it will adhere perfectly to the wall, delighting you for many years with its excellent appearance.

Secrets of Masters

Finally, a few tricks and useful tips. If you were not able to achieve perfectly even walls, it does not matter. The main thing is that you end up with a solid and well-crafted base. Just do not buy in this case a plain or striped wallpaper - get something colorful, albeit with an unobtrusive, but pattern.

If you have no opportunity to re-plaster and putty the walls, that is, you are forced to glue on what is, then in any case, first thoroughly treat the surface with a primer. And preferably twice, with a break of several hours. And try to mask all existing defects on the walls with wallpaper. And get the most “chubby”, corrugated decorative coating for pasting such problematic surfaces, and best of all with an abstract pattern.

Conclusion

We tried to fully answer the question of how and why to process the walls before wallpapering. We hope that we not only managed to convince you of the need for this process, but we also managed to teach you how to do it correctly.

Processing the walls before wallpapering is one of the stages of repair work that requires special attention. The fact is that the quality of wallpapering, their external attractiveness, and their lifespan are directly dependent on the correct preparation of the surface.

Surface requirements

The walls on which the wallpaper will be glued must meet a number of requirements:

1. Low humidity. When wallpapering, the wall takes moisture from the glue solution, and if it is wet, the adhesive capabilities of the surface are drastically reduced. To determine the surface humidity, it is necessary to glue a piece of cellophane film to the wall for 8-10 hours. If after this time dew forms on the film, it is necessary to once again dry the surface and ventilate the room.
2. Clean and uniform tone. If the surface is not plain or dirty, it will surely catch your eye after wallpapering. Therefore, all dirt must be removed in advance, and impregnated on the walls. Determining whether spots will be visible through the wallpaper is not difficult if you look at the light through a roll of wallpaper. If the canvas is transparent or has streaks on it, spots will be noticeable. However, defects may not be visible, provided that the wallpaper is quite thick.

1. Strength. The wall should not have any damage, its material should not peel off or crumble, otherwise the wallpaper will soon peel off. To test the wall for strength, just slightly pick it with a metal object. If pieces of material do not crack as a result, the surface condition is normal.
2. The absence of lime type drips. Lime streaks indicate insufficient moisture absorption. The result of this in the future will be the appearance of bubbles on the wallpaper. Litmus paper is used to test the surface. If the alkali level is excessive, a reaction will occur.
3. Lack of mold and mildew. If the wall section is affected by microorganisms, this does not add to the room's beauty and leads to the destruction of finishing materials. In addition, mold adversely affects the health of residents. If mold is present, remove it. In order to avoid new mold, the surfaces must be treated with an antifungal drug.

• removal of old wallpapers;
• plastering;
• putty.

Dismantling old wallpapers

First of all, you need to remove the old wallpaper layer. Wallpapering over old ones is not allowed. Although the dismantling process is rather laborious, you cannot do without it. If you neglect this, the old layer will not withstand the mass of new rolls and the wallpaper will begin to fall off the wall. In addition, if the wallpaper is not thick enough, the pattern of the lower layer will be visible through them, and the entire surface will be covered with bubbles and other defects.

Even before you peel off the old wallpaper, you need to prepare the room. All furniture should be removed from the room to gain unhindered access to the desired sections of the walls. It is advisable to completely remove the skirting board. Although there are situations when dismantling the baseboard is unreasonable, since this element is made of wood, and therefore there is a great chance of damage to it. Sockets should be disconnected from the power supply, the lighting fixtures should be removed, and heating radiators, floors and window sills should be covered with a layer of thick plastic film.

The procedure for removing the old coating:

• wet the surface with a paint roller dipped in a bucket of hot water;
• peel off the wallpaper using a patch spatula (if the material is torn off with difficulty, moisten the surface again);
• after removing the wallpaper, dismantle the layer of plaster (if it does not hold well), and also remove the cable, remove all kinds of nails, screws, etc .;
• we check the walls for defects (obvious roughness, indentations, bulges, cracks, etc.);
• using the building level, we check the verticality of the walls and determine the front of actions for plastering surfaces.

If the walls were previously painted, you need to remove the old paint layer and level the surface. In some cases .

Plastering

The objective of this stage is to apply a leveling mass to the walls. It is necessary to achieve the most even surfaces on which the wallpaper will be glued.

Modern gypsum mixtures are characterized by good adhesive qualities. Such solutions are recommended to be applied with 5-7 mm layers in one approach, which is very convenient. The prices for gypsum mortars are higher than for cement-based plasters, but the simplicity of work and higher quality justify the increased costs.

Instructions for plastering surfaces:

1. We prepare a solution of plaster. The mixture is diluted in a container of water (for example, in a bucket) using a construction mixer. The exact proportions can be found on the packaging with the mixture for the plaster.
2. To apply the plaster you will need a pair of spatulas: wide and overlay. You need to work with two hands: with a trowel, put the plaster on a wide tool. After that, the solution is applied to the surface in smooth movements. Movements begin from above and go down.
3. The depressions are closed by the usual movement from the bottom up.
4. If there are significant bulges on the wall, we beat them off with a hammer or remove them with a perforator. Then we smooth out the remaining defects with plaster, gradually leveling the surface.

1. It is much more difficult to fix the line of the wall that is blocked up and will require more time. You will need special beacons, a plumb line and a rule. Before plastering such a wall, it must be primed. We set the initial lighthouse in the most even place of the ledge. The next beacon is installed on the opposite side. To set the plane along the wall (top and bottom), skip the threads. After pulling the threads, we put a few more beacons at a distance of about a meter from each other. To put the beacons in one plane, we use the rule and the construction level.
2. After the gypsum has dried, apply the plaster. First, we spray with a liquid solution - this is the base on which, when it dries, the main layer will be applied. The meaning of the spray is to improve the adhesive properties of the surface. After spraying, slipping of the main layer of plaster will become less likely.

Finishing before wallpapering

After the walls have become smooth, you need to make them smoother and cleaner. On such a surface the wallpaper will stick better. At this stage, putty should be applied to the walls. The surface will become plain, white. As a result, after gluing through the wallpaper, concrete or any stains will not shine through.

Note! Putty walls can be painted. This is important because in some cases the surface needs to be painted to match the wallpaper.

Putty Instructions:

When the surface is sanded, it remains to apply another layer of primer to it and dry the wall. As soon as the surface becomes dry, it is ready for wallpapering.

You can decorate walls in various ways: glue wallpapers, paint, cover with ornaments, art painting, decorative plaster.

The most common decor method and the least troublesome is wallpapering. Preparation of walls for wallpapering includes several stageswhich should not be neglected.

What is it for?

So that the wallpaper does not peel off, do not deform during work, and the cloth was laid exactly on the wall, before gluing the wallpaper you need to align the walls.

Wall treatment provides protection  from mold, fungal spores and bugs.

Many walls have a finely porous structure that allows air to accumulate in pores, which contributes to pasting wallpaper seams. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to ensure maximum adhesion of wallpaper and wall.

Wallpaper glued to unprepared walls will not last long  and aesthetically unappealing.

What should be the surface?

If the preparatory work is done correctly before wallpapering, then you can observe necessary wall requirements for wallpaper:

Features of the processing of walls depending on their material

Before you reach the desired wall surface for wallpapering, you need to carry out a number of works that will help perfect surface condition. Features of preparing walls for wallpaper largely depend on what material the wall is made of.

Nuances when processing walls from different materials:

1. Drywall  has a flat surface, but it is porous and not strong enough. Particular attention during processing should be given to leveling the surface, taking into account joints and self-tapping screws.
2. Concrete walls  most durable. Since their structure has minimal porosity, sometimes it is enough to apply only a primer for preparation.
3. Brick walls  not strong enough and even, therefore, for their processing it is necessary to go through several stages (leveling, puttying, priming).
4. Particleboard walls  have screws and joints. It is necessary to cover them with oil paint. Next, the surface is treated in the usual way.
5. Treatment OSB walls  under the wallpaper is practically no different from the preparation of brick walls. Only the first step is to grout the joints with the mixture and cover the walls with a speck.

Almost any coating can be prepared for gluing in such a way that the wall material is already exactly   the quality of wallpapering will not depend.

Read also about how to glue a foam foam skirting on your own wallpaper.

How to do it yourself with your own hands?

At first glance, preparing the walls for wallpapering seems like a snap. However, there are nuancesthat the layman may not always know about.

Removing old coating

If the walls are covered with old wallpaper or paint, then before gluing the walls, need to remove the old decor.

Old wallpapers can be pasted in several layers, so before they are removed, you must first spray the wall with water. Then use a spatula to remove the old layer.

Old paint is much harder to remove from the walls. Exist three ways to remove  old paint coatings:

• Mechanical.  Paint gets off with tools (ax, electric drill, grinder, putty knife, chisel).
• Chemical.  The procedure is that you need to repeatedly apply a chemical composition to the wall and wait until the paint starts to bubble and peel off the wall.
• Thermal.This method involves washing off the paint with a building hair dryer.

Plaster

Wall plastering is carried out in order to level the surface and eliminate her gross defects. Modern gypsum plaster can be applied to the wall with a layer of up to 7 mm, which is very convenient when leveling.

Prepare the mixture and putty knife for work. Put cavities and cracks with putty, protrusions and bulges to bring down as much as possible,  and smooth out the remaining roughness with the composition.

If the wall is uneven (has a slope), then it can be leveled using beacons, level and rule.

After completely dry  walls you can proceed to puttying the surface.

Putty

Puttying - one of the obligatory steps  which must be done when preparing the walls for wallpapering. A putty solution of such a consistency is produced that easily lays on the surface.

In a circular motion with a spatula, the mixture is applied to the wall in several stages, while the layer should not exceed 4 mm.  Hard-to-reach places (radiator, pipes) must be putty with a rubber spatula.

Putty Finish applied most carefully  so that as little as possible irregularities.

We get rid of mold, fungi, bugs

Wall treatment from fungi, mold and bugs before wallpapering should be done without fail  even if there are no such defects on the wall and did not exist.

there is several preventive and effective recipes  for processing walls against mold and similar formations:

• bleach - 200 g of bleach are dissolved in a liter of water and applied to the wall;
• fungicide, like lime, can also be diluted with water and use the resulting solution;
• chlorine solution (whiteness) effectively fights fungus and its spores;
• hydrogen peroxide solution copes with mold spores and fungus;
• a solution of copper sulfate and water (100 g per 10 liters) also effectively affects the foci of mold, fungus and protects the walls from bugs.

If the mold showed through the plaster, then it is necessary to clean this piece of plaster down to the base. To process a wall with any of the solutions. After surface treatment, it is recommended to apply a primer with an antiseptic.

Important!  When working with solutions, it is necessary to use protective equipment: gloves, respirators, goggles.

Primer

Due to priming walls adhesive consumption is reduced,  and also priming has a number of properties that positively affect the final stage of finishing.

Primer result:

• improves the quality of gluing the wallpaper to the wall;
• putty does not crack;
• moisture impermeability to the wall is ensured;
• formation and development of the fungus is prevented;
• the adhesion of wallpaper and wall is enhanced, thereby increasing the service life of the wallpaper.

In order for the priming process to be performed correctly you need to know some subtleties:

• the primer is applied only to completely dried putty;
• wallpaper should only be glued on a completely dried primer.

Since the porosity of the wall can be inhomogeneous, it is necessary to apply a primer on the wall in this case unevenly. A more porous surface is needed process with a large amount of mixture.

When all stages of wall processing are correctly completed, then the final result of the work will meet expectations: smooth walls, a perfectly laid canvas, no problems with mold and bugs.

In the next video, see what needs to be done before wallpapering the walls:

Despite the ever-growing variety of finishing materials, wallpaper is still the most sought after material. They first appeared on the construction market more than a hundred years ago, and from that moment practically nothing has changed - the technology for gluing them to the surface remains the same. However, there were some innovations - new types of wallpapers appeared, and the materials used for the production of wallpapers became more diverse. If our grandmothers had only wallpapers that were boring paper canvases with a standard pattern, then, thanks to modern abundance, we got a unique opportunity to create original and stylish interiors. In addition, new maximum effective types of glue appeared, gradually displacing the adhesive compositions that were used earlier. But it must be remembered that the changes did not affect the technology of wallpapering, which is a serious and extremely responsible matter. It would seem that it can be difficult in wallpapering? Nothing, but only if the walls are properly prepared, the neglect of which can lead to a deterioration in the quality and appearance of even the most expensive wallpapers. What is the preparation of the walls for wallpapering with your own hands? What are its main stages? As well as how the principles of preparing walls for gluing vary depending on the type of wall covering, you will find answers to these and other questions in our article.

  Why is it necessary to prepare the walls for wallpapering?

Our parents, underestimating the importance of preparing the walls for wallpapering, often encountered difficulties in the operation of the finishing material. Apart from “leveling” the surface with the help of a newspaper, which contributes to an increase in its roughness and prevents premature peeling off of wallpaper, wall decoration was carried out without preliminary preparation, which subsequently negatively affected the quality of the coating. To clarify, consider how the lack of preparation of the walls affects the life and quality of the decorated surface.

• Lower quality wallpaper bondingdue to the presence of pores on an unprepared surface. As a result of gluing the wallpaper on such a surface, voids are formed, and the wallpaper is glued only 50%. You can be convinced of this by carrying out dismantling events - wallpapers glued to the porous surface will be easily removed. In addition, the low quality of adhesion of the wallpaper to the surface becomes the cause of the discrepancy of the seams between some of the paintings during the first month after gluing;
• Wall unevenness  - a problem that even the most dense wallpapers are not able to hide. If you plan to visually hide minor irregularities by properly arranging artificial lighting, then you should not count on a 100% result, since in daylight even the most minimal flaws will be striking;
• Mold and mildew  - a problem that is especially relevant for walls that are in direct contact with the street. If you find even the smallest cracks on such a wall, they must be immediately eliminated, since the cold and moisture entering through them will create favorable microclimatic conditions for the appearance of mold and fungus.

  How to prepare the walls for DIY wallpapering: basic steps

Most traditional wallpaper, unlike non-woven, is not a high-quality masking material. They are so subtle that they are unable to hide even the smallest irregularities.

Important!  Regardless of the material the wall is made of, in places of even minor irregularities, the wallpaper eventually loses its appearance, is wiped and torn, whether it is a concrete surface or a wall made of drywall.

Briefly preparing the walls for wallpapering consists of the following steps:

• Cleaning the surface of old material;
• Primary primer- a set of measures to ensure the necessary dryness and cleanliness of the surface;
• Plaster  - a dry mixture that is diluted with water. The prepared solution is applied in case of detection of significant irregularities and cracks on the surface;
• Putty- one of the stages of surface preparation, the purpose of which is not so much to level, but to reduce surface roughness and better gluing of wallpaper. After the putty is completely dry, it is necessary to remove all the flows and tubercles formed during its application. To do this, you need a spatula or abrasive mesh;
• Primer- an event for which it is necessary to duplicate the stages of the primary primer. Given that the surface being finished is almost ready, the amount of mixture spent on the primer will be significantly less.

Let us consider in more detail each of the above steps.

  Dismantling old material

The first step in preparing the walls for wallpapering is to remove the old material. Regardless of whether the walls were painted or wallpapered, this stage is mandatory, as the refusal to conduct it will cause unevenness on the repaired surface.

How to remove old wallpaper?

Given that wallpaper is the most common material, we will first discuss how to dismantle it. There is a standard algorithm of actions, following which you can qualitatively carry out this event. Let's consider it in more detail:

• First of all, prepare a warm aqueous solution by adding a small amount of household detergent to it;
• Using a rag or soft sponge, abundantly moisten a small portion of the wall surface (about 2 sq. M);
• After 10 minutes, pry the moistened wallpaper with a spatula or other sharp object and carefully separate it from the wall.

Important!One of the advantages of this method is the absence of dust in the process of removing wallpaper.

• Despite the standardization of the wallpaper removal process, it requires a comprehensive, versatile approach, in the course of which it is necessary to take into account the type of wallpaper.
• If the method for removing wallpaper described above is suitable for the paper version, then for the dismantling of denser wallpapers it needs to be somewhat modernized.

• More dense vinyl and non-woven wallpaper consists of two layers: the top waterproof and the bottom paper. Given this, remember that ordinary wetting will not bring the proper result, and, therefore, it is necessary to make cuts on their surface and only after that moisten. In this case, after 15 minutes, you can easily remove the wallpaper. In addition, it is possible to facilitate the removal of dense two-layer wallpaper with a needle roller, using which you can destroy the upper waterproof layer of wallpaper. In the process of working with this tool, try to use it as carefully as possible, which will prevent possible damage to the wall surface.
• Removing vinyl wallpaper is also carried out in several stages.
• Washable wallpapers are also removed in layers, while the bottom - paper layer requires special skills, as it is resistant to moisture. It can be removed by making notches and thoroughly moistened with water, or you can simplify the task and use a steam iron or steam generator.

Important!  To facilitate the removal of dense vinyl wallpaper, you can use:

• Steam generators with the help of which it is possible to make active moistening of wallpaper with steam;
• Special environmentally friendly solutions with which you can also dissolve the paper layer.

We must not forget about another variety of wallpaper, in the process of removing which difficulties may arise. It's about liquid wallpaper. If your walls are finished with liquid wallpaper, before you take them off, make sure this is necessary. Perhaps a great addition to your brand new repair will be the walls painted with water-based paint, and then the need for removing liquid wallpaper will disappear. If you still plan to refresh the room by sticking, for example, photo wallpaper, then you need to remove the old wallpaper. There are two ways to do this:

• manual, using a scraper and warm water with a primer diluted in it;
• using an industrial hair dryer.

If old wallpapers are pasted onto a drywall surface, difficulties can also arise in the process of their removal and preparation of drywall walls for wallpapering, since a distinctive feature of drywall is its strong adhesion to wallpapers of all types. To remove wallpaper from a drywall surface, you need the cheapest wallpaper glue, which must be diluted to the consistency of kefir and smeared with wallpaper. After applying the composition, wait for the swelling of the wallpaper and remove it with a spatula.

How to remove old paint?

Preparation of painted walls for wallpapering begins with the removal of old paint, as even a small piece of paint left on the wall will adversely affect the quality of the future finish. This can be done in several ways:

• SanderUsing which, in the literal sense of the word, you will cut off the paint by crushing it into dust. Experts recommend giving preference to this method when it comes to large areas. The disadvantage of using a grinding machine is the large amount of dust that is generated during operation;
• Building hair dryer - Another device that can be used to remove old paint. Using a building hair dryer, you can dry the paint with a hair dryer, and then simply remove it with a spatula. These manipulations can only be carried out in a well-ventilated area, since the paint begins to release harmful substances during heating, which is strictly forbidden to inhale for a long time;
• Paint remover  - chemical mixtures that destroy paintwork. Given the toxicity of such compounds, in the process of working with them, carefully observe safety precautions, as well as follow the accompanying instructions.

  Surface priming

Preparing the walls for wallpapering, regardless of their type, almost always includes priming the surface. This event helps to improve the adhesion of the coating to the surface and remove dust. In addition, the primed wall absorbs moisture to a lesser extent, which further contributes to the quick drying of the putty. Using a wide brush, the primer is applied to the surface until a white foam forms. Some experts recommend applying the primer twice: the first time - after dismantling the old material before applying the putty directly, the second - applying the improvised primer, that is, the diluted wallpaper glue, before gluing the wallpaper.

In the process of working with a primer, it is important to remember the features of working with this material:

• The primer mixture must be applied evenly over the entire surface using a roller, and in hard-to-reach places use a brush;
• If, when applying a primer, you notice that the composition is instantly absorbed into the wall, apply a few more layers;
• After waiting for the primer to dry, proceed to rough the surface.

  When is it necessary to plaster the walls?

Plastering is an integral part of preparing uneven walls for wallpapering. Often you have to face this in an old apartment or in a new building. If you have to finish a brick surface, in the process of its preparation it is recommended to use cement-sand plaster, while concrete walls are prepared using gypsum mixture. At a price it is several times higher than the cement-sand mixture, but the latter is laid in a thicker layer and is often complemented by a reinforcing mesh.

Important!If you found minor irregularities on the surface being trimmed and, at the same time, preferred dense vinyl or structural non-woven wallpaper, in the process of preparing the walls for gluing vinyl wallpapers, you can refuse to use plaster, since dense wallpapers can easily hide minor irregularities and minimal wall defects. In the process of preparing the walls for gluing non-woven wallpaper, you can also do without plaster.

• Most often, in the process of wall plastering, ready-made mixtures are used, which must be dissolved in water in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. To ensure effective mixing and preparation of a high-quality mixture, you can use a drill equipped with a mixer nozzle.
• After preparing the solution, it must be applied with a thin layer to the surface until all existing irregularities and cracks are completely eliminated. The applied layer should be as thin as possible, which will prevent it from cracking after drying.
• After the entire surface is plastered, wait until the applied mixture has completely dried (the waiting period is determined by the thickness of the applied layer).

Important!  Before you start plastering the surface, put a basin with water next to it and moisten the spatula during operation, which will prevent particles of dried plaster from sticking to it.

After the solution has dried, you can proceed to the next stage of preparation - puttying.

  Putty surface: application rules

• Puttying the walls is an obligatory stage of their preparation before wallpapering. Putty plastered walls will reduce surface roughness, which will ensure high-quality gluing of wallpaper;
• Before starting work, cover the floor with unnecessary paper or cellophane, and then carefully sand the walls;
• Having confidently applied the putty layer on the wall in the direction from the bottom up, level the surface with a wide spatula. Experts say that in the process of applying putty it is important to press on the left side of the spatula, which will ensure the most even laying of layers and the absence of waves;
• After putting putty on the wall, wait for it to dry (the period of time allotted for this is limited by the manufacturer);
• After the putty has dried, grind the treated surface so that it becomes smooth and even;
• Shake off the dust generated during the work, vacuum the floors and walls.
• At the end of all work, re-primer the surface by duplicating the actions of the primary primer. Given the readiness of the surface, the primer mixture will be spent less.

  Preparing walls for wallpapering in a new building

Settling in a new building, residents hope to see perfectly even walls, but often the reality is deplorable, and in fact you have to deal with uneven and dusty concrete walls.

The preparation of such walls is as follows:

• Throw a layer of spray on the wall (the first layer of plaster of creamy consistency). The thickness of the layer varies from 0.1 to 1 cm and depends on the degree of unevenness and roughness of the walls;
• After the spray dries slightly, apply a second layer of plaster with a thickness of 0.5 cm, which must be carefully leveled;
• The final stage is the application of a third layer of plaster with a thickness of 0.2 -0.4 cm, called a coating. After drying, grout with a special grater.

  Preparing walls for sticking liquid wallpaper

If you prefer liquid wallpaper, surface preparation before gluing it has its own characteristics.

• To ensure a flawless appearance of the surface finished with liquid wallpaper, follow the presented algorithm:
• Remove any dirt from the wall being treated;
• If the walls in your house are characterized by increased porosity and a large number of small irregularities, putty them with a plaster mixture;
• Apply primer to the surface. If you plan to stick liquid wallpaper in an old house, apply a primer in two layers to avoid the appearance of unexpected stains;
• Paint the wall. Experts recommend giving preference to white paint, since darker shades will shine through liquid wallpaper.

The preparation of walls from yusbi for wallpapering has its own characteristics.

• The main stage of the preparation of walls from OSB boards involves sealing the joints between the plates with a sickle, after which they are puttyed in the same way as described above.
• After this, it is necessary to make the primer of the walls - an obligatory step in the preparation of the walls, thanks to which not only an additional protective layer is created, but also the adhesive characteristics of the surface are significantly increased.
• The further stages of preparation as a whole do not differ from that when gluing wallpaper on other traditional and more common surfaces.