Preparing a painted wall for wallpaper. Preparing walls for wallpapering. The need for ground work

Before you start professionally gluing walls, you need to do some preliminary preparation. Many people know about the existence of the “preparatory stage,” but few fully understand the true meaning of this concept. What is the sequence of actions during pre-treatment of walls before painting or gluing? There are pitfalls in this process, how to avoid them?

Let's try to find out all the nuances of the stage of preparing walls for wallpapering, since this finishing material quite often used in everyday life.

Preparing walls for cleaning

It would seem that gluing wallpaper on walls itself is an activity that requires the right approach, implies patience and accuracy. But if you missed this important stage As a preliminary preparation of the walls, the end result will disappoint you. Special professional knowledge on preparatory stage you will not be required to, you just need to stock up on great desire, patience, and some building materials and tools.

It is necessary to make the wall surface smooth and dry. Otherwise, the process of wallpapering the wall will be pointless; after a couple of days, the wallpaper will begin to fall off the wall. To perform similar actions, purchase from a hardware store. The walls in apartments sold through the secondary real estate market are covered with wallpaper or painted, and therefore require individual preliminary preparation for cosmetic repairs.

If you are planning renovations in a new building, you will first have to carry out, because builders do not bother themselves much when building new houses, they do not check the quality of partitions, the evenness of surfaces, their main task is to obtain maximum material benefit in a minimum period of time. All those inaccuracies that were made by them, you will be forced to correct. Concrete dusty floor, uneven walls, lack of sockets - typical signs new apartment. It is impossible to move into such an apartment right away; you will have to spend a lot of effort, Money, your time to “bring the square to mind,” that is, to make it suitable for living.

The procedure for preparing walls in new buildings for cosmetic repairs is conventionally divided into several main stages:

First stage involves applying a spray to the walls, which should have a thickness of about 3-9 millimeters. This layer is an analogue of thick sour cream; it can fill all the roughness and unevenness; it easily lies on the surface of the wall. Depending on the consistency of the spray, the plaster may stick to the wall normally, or after a while it may fall off the wall.
Second phase consists of priming the walls. On average, the thickness of the primer layer is 5-6 millimeters; in case of emergency, several layers of primer are applied to the wall in stages.
Third stage consists of covering, that is, placing a final layer of plaster on the surface of the wall, the thickness of which is assumed to be 2-4 millimeters. The essence of such actions is the formation of a thin, light film on the surface of the soil, which is carefully rubbed over time.
Fourth stage involves the procedure of leveling walls using sandpaper.

How to remove old wallpaper from walls

If there was old wallpaper on the wall, then you need to get rid of it. Some homeowners neglect this stage, believing that they are simply wasting their time, energy, etc. What is the risk of such actions?

If several layers of wallpaper are glued to the wall at once, there is a high probability that they will begin to peel off, in which case you will have to remove all the wallpaper from the walls and buy new ones, that is, you, wanting to save money and effort, will end up spending both. In order to prevent such unpleasant consequences, pay attention to phased implementation preparing the wall for covering it with new wallpaper.

So, if there is a layer of old wallpaper on the wall, be patient and get rid of all the remnants of the wallpaper. Are there ways to speed up the process of removing old wallpaper from walls?

Professionals advise using:

With a small spatula;
Spray or roller;
Dishwashing detergent;
Vinegar;
Fabric softener;
Water.

In those places where elements of the heating system are located, as well as near window sills, the wallpaper adheres firmly to the wall and cannot be removed without auxiliary means.

First, the surface of the old wallpaper is intensively wetted with water; to do this, take a sprayer or a construction roller. If you add a vinegar solution to warm water, detergents, which are capable of dissolving the glue on which the wallpaper was glued, then you will significantly speed up the procedure for preparing the walls for subsequent pasting with new wallpaper. After the walls get wet, you can take a spatula and gradually... If desired, you can buy it at a hardware store special means designed to get rid of old wallpaper.

Preparing a painted wall for wallpapering

If the wall has been painted, it also needs to be prepared for the process of wallpapering, because wallpaper will not stay on a smooth painted wall; it will begin to fall off the wall after a few months. In order to avoid such troubles, take care of your preparations in advance. The essence of the preparatory process is high-quality stripping of layers from the wall old paint.

Removing paint with a scraper

Some property owners, trying to save time on preparing walls for gluing, use regular sandpaper, using it to remove only part of the old paint layer. Someone simply makes a few notches on the wall or partially coats the surface of the wall with a layer of primer.

The sandpaper is fixed in special device or wrap it around wooden block so as not to hurt your hands

Such half-hearted preparatory actions do not guarantee positive result after all pasting is completed, especially if . You will have to be patient and pay attention to the process of removing all the old paint from the wall:

First remove the old paint, then apply a high-quality primer to the walls;
Wait for the wall to dry;
Using sandpaper, remove all unevenness and roughness from the wall.

We use a hair dryer

Using a hair dryer is an effective but unsafe way to remove old paint from a wall. It is necessary to turn on a hair dryer, direct it to the painted surfaces of the wall, and after the paint becomes soft, remove it from the wall using a spatula.

Important. It is necessary to guarantee the flow into the premises fresh air, because in the process of heating the paint there is an intense release of harmful substances into the atmosphere of the room chemical substances, there is a high probability of nausea, vomiting, and mild poisoning.

Removing paint with a sander

The use of a grinder or grinder equipped wire brush , helps to quickly remove paint from the surface of the wall, but this method is very dusty, so you need to take care of ways to protect your respiratory organs, for example, wear safety glasses and respirator. When working with a grinder or grinder, it is advisable open windows indoors, protect the floor plastic film, close the doors to other areas of the apartment so that dust does not spread throughout the apartment.

Experts call the most effective and safest way to get rid of old paint by using special paint remover. When working with such a wash, you should also take care of the full protection of your organs of vision and breathing, using the following means.

It’s even scary to remember all the intricacies of wallpapering that our parents had to deal with - as a rule, at that time the walls were decorated without prior preparation. The maximum that was done to improve the quality of wallpapering was to preliminary “level” the walls with newspapers; in this way, the roughness of the plastered surfaces was reduced and premature peeling of the wallpaper was prevented. Today, preparing walls for wallpapering is almost of paramount importance - and no wonder, because a lot depends on this process, and first of all, how long such wall covering will last. In this article, together with the website stroisovety.org, we will study in detail the technology of preparing walls for wallpapering and learn how to do it yourself.

how to prepare walls for wallpaper photo

How to prepare walls for wallpaper photo

Preparing walls for wallpapering: four reasons why it needs to be done

There are quite a lot of reasons not to ignore the process of preparing walls for wallpaper - listing them all is simply unrealistic. The main ones are the following.

Firstly, this is the most important thing - the quality of gluing the canvases. It has already been said above that a porous surface is simply not able to hold wallpaper on itself for a long time. The reason for this is simple - where there is time, the base of the wallpaper does not stick to the wall. As a result, only 50 percent of the canvases are glued - this is easy to verify when faced with the dismantling of wallpaper glued to an unprepared wall. They come off as if by magic magic wand. By the way, for the same reason, already within the first month the seams between the individual strips of wallpaper begin to open. It should be remembered that previously almost all wallpaper was glued overlapping - it turned out that one strip was holding the other, but now they are glued joint to joint.

preparing walls before wallpapering

Preparing walls before wallpapering

Secondly, these are uneven walls. If any of you think that they will hide under the wallpaper, I hasten to assure you of the opposite - even the densest and thickest wallpaper is not able to hide the bumps and pits. It's all about the lighting - even if such flaws are not visible when the chandelier is on, they will definitely appear when daylight. Or vice versa, here the card will fall.

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priming walls before wallpapering

Priming walls before wallpapering

Fourthly, adhesion (the ability of materials to combine with foreign substances), to put it simply, this property of materials is fully responsible for the length of time wallpaper remains on the walls.

These reasons are quite enough for the preparation of walls for wallpaper not to be ignored. Many, of course, can argue with these arguments and counter them with their own arguments, saying that the wallpaper is re-pasted every 3-5 years anyway. I’ll answer simply - that’s why they are re-glued because the walls have not been prepared for wallpapering. In addition, the wallpaper itself is not of high quality and quickly deteriorates. Expensive wallpaper correct gluing They can serve for at least ten years or until they get tired of them.

preparing walls for wallpapering photo

Preparing walls for wallpapering photo

How to prepare walls for wallpaper: sequence of work

Let's not beat around the bush, but consider how to prepare the walls before wallpapering, as they say, point by point.

Primer of walls. This operation is necessary for three reasons.

First, primer. deep penetration is embedded in the wall and holds its surface layer together, thereby preventing the peeling of small particles of plaster or concrete.

Secondly, the priming composition deprives the wall of its ability to intensively absorb moisture, thereby increasing the drying time of subsequently applied putties, which affects the quality of the coating. It should be understood that the rapid drying of all mortars does not lead to anything good - at a minimum, the surface will crack.

Thirdly, the primer simply removes dust - and, as you know, nothing sticks to it. The primer is applied with a large brush or brush - it must be rubbed into the surface until a white foam is obtained. Before moving on to the next stage, which involves preparing the walls for wallpapering, you need to wait completely dry walls

why prime the walls?

Why prime the walls?

Sealing cracks and potholes. You should not hope that subsequent puttying of the walls will solve the problem with cracks and potholes - it will hide them superficially, and these defects will certainly return in the very near future. The crack needs to be enlarged to about a centimeter wide, then opened with a primer and sealed with cement mortar, or better yet, tile adhesive.

It should be understood that cracks in the plaster do not just appear - this is a sure sign that in a given place the plaster has lagged behind the base of the wall. You may need to do some good hammering to remove any loose plaster. This is where problems can arise - the old plaster can fall off in large pieces, and then preparing the walls for wallpapering will result in major renovation, which involves leveling the walls again with plaster.

But let’s return to our wallpaper, or rather to preparing the base for gluing it - we wait for the repaired areas to dry completely, prime them again with high quality and move on to the next stage of work.

sealing cracks before wallpapering photo

Repairing cracks before wallpapering photo

Wall putty. You can’t do without it - you’ll have to apply at least a thin layer of putty to the walls. And the point here is not at all about leveling the surface, although this factor is also important. Puttying is necessary mainly in order to reduce the roughness of the surface and increase its gluing area.

Ideally, of course, it is necessary to level the walls, but in most cases this is practically unattainable for non-professionals, so the task is set as follows - with the help of putty you just need to smooth out all the unevenness. It should be understood that finishing putty Apply only thin layers, since large ones will crack as they dry.

Irregularities are eliminated in several passes - to make the wall even, professional painters and plasterers sometimes have to putty the wall three, four, or even five times. After the putty has completely dried from the surface of the walls mechanically all blemishes in the form of tubercles and sagging are removed - used for this purpose abrasive mesh. In principle, you can remove small protruding deposits of putty with a spatula.

preparing walls for wallpaper with your own hands photo

Preparing walls for wallpaper with your own hands photo

Well the last stage work, which involves preparing concrete walls for wallpaper, again involves priming them. I would like to note that in order to achieve high quality of any work related to gluing, puttying, plastering and other similar work, a primer is almost always performed. If we exaggerate, it looks like this - took a step, primed, took a second step, primed again, etc.

Each layer of cake applied to the wall must be primed. The same applies to painted surfaces, which are quite often found in old apartments - only in this case you need to use a primer called “concrete contact” or something similar.

preparing concrete walls for wallpaper, primer

Preparing concrete walls for wallpaper: primer

That seems to be all - after priming the putty walls, which reduces their ability to quickly absorb glue and removes remaining dust, you can begin directly gluing the wallpaper, but first, of course, you need to wait until the primer has completely dried. Preparing walls for wallpapering ensures that the new covering will not only have an attractive appearance, but will also last you a long time.

Wallpapering is the most affordable and popular type of cosmetic finishing that does not require special vocational training in the construction profession. Probably every apartment owner has ever done this on their own. However, as in any other work, the quality of the finishing result depends on correct execution everyone technological stages repair. One of the key stages that influences the result of the work is the preliminary preparation of the walls.

Although you want to quickly start gluing purchased wallpaper, you cannot neglect the preparation of the walls, on which the quality and durability of the work result largely depends. After all, expensive multi-layer washable wallpaper with high-quality gluing can last at least 10 years. The process of preparing walls for gluing includes dismantling the old finishing coating, cleaning and sealing cracks and other defects, leveling the surface, puttying, sanding and priming the walls. The better all this work is done, the stronger and better the final finishing result will look.

Dismantling the old coating

Even if the old coating looks durable and smooth, you should not give in to the temptation to make your work easier and stick new wallpaper on top of it. It should be completely removed from the walls, since over time, spots of peeling and swelling have formed under it, which will only increase over time and negatively affect the appearance and service life new finishes. Existing defects old decoration may be invisible at first glance, but all of them will definitely be revealed when it is dismantled.

How to quickly remove old wallpaper

Regular paper wallpaper easily come off the wall if you pre-moisten them with a soap solution with a small addition wallpaper glue. Remains of adhered paper base can be removed with a spatula.
So that moisture can wet the washable wallpaper, you must first make cuts on it using a stationery knife or make holes using a special needle roller. After the wallpaper gets wet, which can be seen by darkening appearance, they can be easily removed using a spatula. Places where the connection is particularly strong can be ironed with a hot iron through a generously moistened rag.
Multilayer vinyl wallpapers are removed in two stages. First, horizontal cuts are made on the wallpaper and the outer layer is removed, and then the bottom layer is removed paper base in the above manner.

Video: MASTER CLASS: How to properly prepare walls for wallpapering

How to remove paintwork

If the walls are covered with oil or enamel paint, then depending on the strength of the coating, you can use the following removal methods:

Tap the area to be cleaned with a hammer, until the paint peels off the plaster, and use a spatula to scrape off the entire wall from paint coating.
If the paint does not come off the wall, then you can use a hair dryer to heat the paint layer. Paint softened by hot air should be removed with a spatula.
Sanding the surface with coarse sandpaper using a special attachment on a drill, grinder or grinder.
Washing off paint using a chemical solvent.

Removing paintwork requires persistence, using several of the listed methods to achieve the final goal. Since the procedure is associated with the release of large amounts of dust and harmful chemicals, it is necessary to use respirators or other respiratory protection during the work. If the walls are covered lime whitewash or water-based paint, then they can be removed by washing off with normal hot water and wiping the surface with a hard sponge.

Elimination of wall defects

After removing the old coating, you need to check the condition of the plaster. Existing cracks must be widened and cut so that no peeling areas remain. It is useful to tap the plaster over the entire area to identify hidden defects. In those places where it has moved away from concrete or brick, the echo will be louder. In places like this old plaster you need to remove it to the base and put a new layer. There are often cases when the old plaster has to be completely removed and the wall re-plastered.

Full plastering is also carried out in cases where the apartment was purchased in a new building for self-finishing. To obtain a perfectly flat wall surface, you should use its alignment using long beacons metal profiles, installed vertically along the entire height of the wall with a gap less than the length of the rule by 10 cm. The installation of beacons should begin from the corners, since it is important not only to achieve a flat surface, but also to maintain perpendicularity between the surfaces of adjacent walls.

Video: Preparing walls with uneven surfaces

How to quickly install beacons

Stepping back 10cm from the corner, apply vertical markings on the wall using a plumb line to the locations of the profile beacons.
In the corners, tighten 4 main screws using a level and plumb line, setting the plane of alignment of the wall. Their caps should lie in the same plane, which should be located as close as possible to the surface of the wall, but not touch it anywhere. Pull horizontal and vertical threads between the screws at the level of their heads. Significant savings in time and effort will come from using household laser level, whose horizontal and vertical rays make it possible to quickly determine minimum height installation of beacons taking into account all protrusions and depressions of the wall surface.
If the room has a rectangular geometry, then a right angle should be established between the horizontal threads of two adjacent walls.
Along each marking line, tighten 45mm screws in increments of 30-35cm, leveling the height of their heads at the same level along a plumb line or laser beam. Align the level of the intermediate upper screws with the tensioned thread.
Install plastic fasteners for beacons on all the screws, and then one by one attach the beacon profiles vertically to them, which are held on the latches of the fasteners.

Applying plaster

If the thickness of the layer of plaster being laid is more than 10-15mm, then the installation must be carried out in two stages. First, the solution is applied and the deepest places are leveled so that their height does not reach the plane of the beacons by 5-10mm. The second layer of plaster is applied to the first after it has dried. In this case, the solution is applied to the wall with a slight excess so that it can be leveled using a rule in the space between the beacons.

Alignment is carried out alternately from bottom to top and top to bottom, in which the rule is tightly pressed with its ends to the beacons and moves along them in a zigzag manner with light swings to the right and left. After each pass, excess solution is cleaned off the rule. The procedure is repeated until excess solution is displaced. Leveling the corners is done using a corner trowel.

At the end of the work, you need to allow the plaster to harden a little, and then you can remove the profiles. You cannot leave them, as over time they will rust and stain the surface of the wallpaper. Beacons are removed in the following way:

the sharp end of a spatula or trowel is used to hook the upper end of the profile and push it out;
then it is grabbed with pliers and with a downward twisting movement it is gradually pulled out of the fastenings.
The grooves formed in place of the profiles are filled and leveled with a solution.

Final works

After the plaster has dried, final leveling is done with putty, which allows you to obtain a smooth wall surface. Usually two layers are used - starting and finishing layer to obtain a perfectly smooth surface for thin types of wallpaper. Under thick vinyl wallpaper, you can get by with one starting layer of putty, which, after drying, is rubbed and sanded with a special mesh or fine sandpaper. After sanding, remove dust construction vacuum cleaner or a regular brush, and then prime the finished surface. The primer improves the adhesion of wallpaper glue to the wall, increases its antibacterial properties, resistance to moisture, and strengthens the structure of the plaster.

After preparing the walls, wallpapering will turn into an easy and fun activity, and most importantly, it provides high quality result and long term new wallpaper services.

Wallpaper is a modern finishing material that allows you to get a beautiful and attractive wall surface. Today, manufacturers produce many modifications of such products, differing in design and strength of the base. The painting is applied using special adhesives allowing to obtain strong adhesion between the material and the surface. But this condition is also affected by the quality of the walls to which the products are fixed. Therefore, it is important to learn how to prepare walls for wallpapering.

What are the problems?

Wallpapering is one of the most simple ways change the design of a room or home as a whole. A variety of materials allows you to create universal interiors, adapted to certain styles. But to get a similar effect, you should pay attention to the condition of the walls before applying the paintings. This determines how long and well the wallpaper will remain on the surface.

Treating walls before applying wallpaper is necessary to solve several main problems:

Uneven surfaces. Glue paper sheets theoretically it is possible on curved walls, but this will not allow you to get the desired effect. The joints between the sheets will be uneven, forming overlaps or significant gaps. Therefore, in order to apply wallpaper efficiently, you should first repair the base.
Unstable foundation. The walls in many apartments are already covered several times with plaster, which can peel off. This can lead to the wallpaper not adhering tightly to the surface and quickly falling off. Small cavities may appear inside such bases, leading to the formation of drafts and other unpleasant phenomena.

Fungus. Mold often grows in damp environments. If it appears on the wall, it means that the surface quickly absorbs water and does not dry out. In such cases, it is necessary to treat the walls with special substances, as well as additional plastering of the base. In some cases, to get rid of this phenomenon, you will need to remove upper layer wall decoration in which spore pathogens are located.
Dirty base. Wallpaper adhesive is intended for processing only certain types of materials. If there are greasy, oil stains or paint on the wall surface, it will simply not be possible to fix the canvas. After a certain period, the substance will simply peel off and fall off.

It is necessary to do surface preparation, even if there are none of these problems. But at the same time, the wall is treated with special compounds that only improve the quality of adhesion between the material and the base.

Required Tools

Finishing walls before applying wallpaper is a complex procedure that requires patience and accuracy. In this case, a person has to use many additional building substances that he applies to the surface.

To simplify and speed up this procedure, you should stock up on several basic tools:

Several types of spatulas. They allow for better surface treatment when leveling or dismantling the old coating. You will need both metal and rubber tools of various sizes.
Construction mixer. The mechanisms allow you to quickly and efficiently mix solutions that will be used to treat the walls.
Individual protection means. This should include everything from rubber gloves, glasses to protective respirators.

Roller. Use it to apply primer or other liquid substances.
Skins various sizes.
Level or plumb. If the walls are being leveled, then care should be taken to have special beacons to facilitate this procedure.

If you plan to remove old coverings or clean walls, then for such purposes you will need:

Construction hairdryer. It is used to heat the paint to make it easier to remove from the surface.
Grinder with several types of attachments. It is used for mechanical removal paints or auxiliary surface leveling. During operation of this device, a lot of dust is generated, so it is important to protect not only indoor furniture, but also the human respiratory system.

Mixtures

Wall preparation is a complex, complex procedure that includes the use of many auxiliary products. To solve such problems, you should often stock up on several types of mixtures:

Plaster. Similar products are used for leveling walls. Today there are many types of such substances that differ in the structure and quality of the components. The most popular are gypsum-based mixtures, to which a fine fraction of sand is added. They are intended for final leveling of walls, but are not used if thick layers need to be formed. Cement-sand materials are used as primary plasters. They can often be found during the initial finishing of walls in new buildings, where they are not yet covered with anything.
Primer. Use it immediately before wallpapering. These substances are liquid mixtures that should not be prepared as in the previous case. These solutions contain many different components that increase adhesion between surfaces and, if necessary, act on harmful microorganisms. Therefore, they are very often used in the fight against mold, which is impossible to remove physically.

Primers can be divided into several main types:

Acrylic. The mixtures are universal, since they can be used to process almost all types of wall materials. Among the advantages of the product are minimal odor and quick drying.
Alkyd. This type of mixture is perfect only for wooden walls, so their use today is limited.
Mineral. The main components of this solution are lime, gypsum and cement. Designed for covering surfaces made of concrete and brick. Some types take a long time to dry.
Deep penetration primers. The main direction of this product is to increase the strength parameters of walls. Mixtures can penetrate to a depth of up to 2 cm, which also makes it possible to influence the development of mold and fungi from the inside.

Many primers are made with the addition of a coloring pigment, which is important for some types of wallpaper.

Stages and order of work: what to consider?

The technology for preparing walls before wallpapering depends only on their initial condition and the material that will be attached to them. This procedure can be divided into several successive steps:

General preparation. This may include preliminary cleaning of the walls from dirt or old protective materials. This process can vary dramatically depending on what was previously applied to the wall. If it's just regular old wallpaper, then you should just remove it. Preparation of painted surfaces is considered more difficult. Today, many argue that such walls are perfect for gluing. You just need to make a few cuts on the paint in several places, which will increase the adhesion between the glue and the wall. But it is best to completely remove the paint from the surface. This can be done either mechanically using a grinder and a grinding wheel, or with special chemical liquid solutions.
Pre-primer. Impregnating the wall will degrease it and slightly strengthen the adhesion between the remaining components. For such purposes they use different kinds mixtures that can be purchased at construction stores.

Puttying. This process is complex and also depends on the condition of the surface. If the walls or ceiling were leveled earlier, then preparing them for gluing involves removing small irregularities and sealing cracks with putty. Newly plastered surfaces, which have already been processed without the use of putty, are also susceptible to minimal impact. A more common case is when the geometry of the walls in the room is not respected. Therefore, it is important to properly prepare such planes for the application of materials. The procedure begins with aligning the corners, which must meet strictly at an angle of 90 degrees. This will allow you to get smooth joints without cracks and differences. After this, they begin to level the walls themselves. To do this, a thin layer of plaster is applied to them in places where there are significant differences.

It is important to create a smooth transition in order to obtain a completely flat surface. If the differences are significant, then only a new screed on the entire plane will help to level out such a defect.

Padding. Finishing with primer mixtures is always carried out before gluing almost all types of wallpaper.

Surface material

Wallpaper today can be applied not only inside apartment buildings, where the walls are made of concrete or plastered. Similar materials are perfect for other substrates.

Therefore, it is important to prepare them correctly depending on the type of surface:

Concrete walls. Wallpaper is not glued to this material, as it absorbs moisture well, which will affect the operation of the sheets. Therefore, experts recommend that concrete be finished. This procedure begins by cleaning the surface with fine sandpaper. It is important to remove all dust after this and coat the wall with primer. To prepare the concrete, the wall should be completely covered with putty. This will not only level the surface, but also minimize moisture absorption. A similar algorithm can be used for brick walls that require additional plastering.
Drywall. Walls made of this material are an ideal basis for applying wallpaper. When preparing them, you should pay attention to the joints between the sheets, where cracks form. Many experts recommend covering drywall with a thin screed, which will hide all defects and make them invisible after gluing. After this procedure, the material must be primed to increase adhesion.

Plywood, chipboard and other wood boards. These substances are also very common as wall surfaces. Theoretically, you can fix wallpaper on them without preparation. But this approach is not always optimal, since wood quickly swells and fails. To improve adhesion, experts recommend completely filling the slabs or additionally covering them special paper, which will act as an intermediate layer.
Clay. Clay walls are not so common, since this material is used as a building material only by lovers of environmentally friendly technologies. If the clay walls are fairly smooth, then they do not need additional preparation. But this does not exclude priming them, since this step is necessary for all types of bases.

What kind of wallpaper do we put up?

The type of wallpaper also affects the algorithm for preparing the surface for attaching it.

It is important to take into account a few simple nuances:

Paper ones are thin, so even small irregularities will show through. Therefore, the walls underneath them must be perfectly smooth.
Treatment of the base should be carried out only with the use of reinforcing mesh. This applies to those areas of the house where there is a risk of cracks that will lead to rupture of the material.
The surface under vinyl wallpaper or non-woven materials may have small irregularities that they will hide. The peculiarity of these types is that they do not allow air into the wall structure (non-woven only after painting). This, in turn, can lead to the development of fungus. To exclude this, the bases must be impregnated with special antiseptics.
Liquid wallpaper represents a certain layer decorative plaster, which allows you to hide significant irregularities. But it is still recommended to level the walls for them, since when replacing them with other types, this will allow them to be applied faster and with better quality.

Electrics

Electrical network often located directly on the surface of the walls or inside them. If your cable is simply nailed on top, then it is advisable to place it in special grooves, which are small channels.

The process of preparing walls for wallpaper also includes several operations with electrical appliances:

Dismantling external elements. Before applying primer or putty, remove the switch and sockets. At the same time, their insides should be carefully protected from dirt and foreign materials.
Replacing the cable. Almost all wiring today is hidden under wallpaper, which does not allow its repair to be carried out efficiently and in a timely manner. Therefore, if your network is quite old and cannot withstand the load, replacing the wallpaper is an opportunity to completely replace all the wiring with new one. This operation is optional and depends only on the state of the electrical network.

Please note that all the operations described above should only be performed when the electricity is turned off. The safety of the builder who will prepare the walls depends on this.

Wall covering color

The peculiarity of any wallpaper is that it consists of several layers. This, in turn, can affect not only the strength, but also the transmission of the color of the base. Today, after hanging many types of wallpaper, a dark base or various types of stains appear through them. This feature concerns only thin sheets, and liquid materials. To exclude this, you should glue them to walls of light shades.

Before wallpapering, it is recommended to paint the base light colors using lime or special primers. A similar approach is required for concrete and clay surfaces, which have significant contrast.

Please note that if you use thick wallpaper, stains will not show through. They can only be noticeable if the wallpaper has a transparent structure, which allows you to see the darkening under the main layer of wall covering.

Despite the many options, wall decoration with wallpaper is still one of the most common types of finishing coating. This is facilitated by a wide range of materials, including wide choose drawings, and you can learn how to glue them in a short period of time. But in order for the planned work to go smoothly, and the result to please you, it is necessary proper preparation walls under wallpaper. What is involved in this process and what is the guidance regarding this work? How many times and is it necessary to prime the coating? What features do they try to take into account when preparing for wallpapering? These questions are worth considering.

Why is it necessary to prepare the surface before gluing?

Often, in order to save time, wallpaper is glued without first preparing the wall. This is fraught with some inconveniences. So, the unevenness of the wall can be clearly visible even to someone who comes to visit for the first time. And if new material paste over old wallpaper; after a certain period of time, streaks may appear on the coating, or the pasted room will be spoiled by the pattern that appears, so preparing the wall for wallpapering is carried out to achieve the following goals:

The prepared surface becomes porous before gluing. This allows you to ensure reliable attachment of the material. In addition, this eliminates the possibility of unpleasant surprises in the form of unstuck seams.
During preparation, cracks are covered, recesses are hidden under a layer of putty, and protrusions are removed, which is often required in panel house. This process not only improves the aesthetic effect of the renovation, but also fulfills practical properties. Thus, sealing defects increases sound insulation and allows the room to better retain heat.
Such restoration is especially important for those structures that are in contact with the street. After the preparatory work, the flow of cold air from outside into the apartment will be reduced, which will protect the room from fungus and mold.
Uneven surfaces can cause rubbing or other damage to the wallpaper.

Although preparing walls for wallpapering can increase the repair time, it will make it better, and the service life of the coating will increase from 5 years to 10 or more, but to achieve the result you need to follow the correct sequence of work.

How to properly remove old wallpaper

In old houses step-by-step instruction surface finishing invariably begins with the removal of old wallpaper. Otherwise, the master will not be able to see possible defects in the wall that have formed since the previous repair. And this will protect the future coating from unpleasant stains and streaks.

Before you begin preparing the walls for wallpapering, you must take precautions: put on overalls and turn off the electricity.

They begin this work from those areas where the wallpaper has already begun to lag a little. Such places include seams. First you need to remove everything that can be easily removed.

However, the material in the middle of the sheets may not be removed so easily. To remove wallpaper in difficult areas, you can use a spray gun or a roller soaked in warm water. After the coating has become wet, it is carefully removed with a spatula.

To speed up the process, you can add a weak solution of vinegar or adhesive solvent to the water. Sometimes special ones are used for these purposes. chemical compositions. But if preparing walls for wallpapering with your own hands involves using finances to a minimum, such means are not used.

If the wall was covered with paint

The situation when a wall needs to be cleaned of old wallpaper occurs quite often. But how to prepare the walls for wallpapering if paint was used before? Several approaches are used for this.

Firstly, such a coating can be preheated using a hair dryer, and then separated from the surface with a spatula. But it is worth remembering that with this cleaning method it is necessary to ensure fresh air circulation. When exposed high temperatures paint can release toxic substances, a high concentration of which in the body can lead to serious poisoning.

Secondly, you can separate the paint layer using a grinder or a grinder. The disadvantage of this option will be a large amount of dust and dirt in the air during cleaning, so it is worth organizing good ventilation of the room where the renovation is being carried out and closing the doors to other rooms to avoid the entry of construction debris.

The most effective and safest option for cleaning painted walls is to use paint strippers. But subject to compliance with the precautions specified by the manufacturer.

Correction of irregularities

After removing the top decorative layer, the next step in preparing the walls for wallpapering will be to inspect them for cracks and other irregularities. If the building was built a long time ago, it may show signs of damage, especially if it is located in an area with extreme weather conditions. Even if this house has appeared recently, this does not guarantee the ideal smoothness of the walls in the premises, therefore, from this stage, the preparation of walls in a new building or a room where repairs have not yet been carried out begins.

Carefully align the protrusions using sandpaper or another device. Small depressions can be well hidden by putty.

Depending on the condition, the preparation of plastered walls may vary. If the surface is smooth and without serious defects, the old plaster can be left unchanged. But if cracks are visible on the layer of plaster in the wall, this is a sign that the coating has begun to peel off from the wall. If, during the process of preparing the walls for wallpaper, a layer of plaster begins to crumble in large pieces, you should remove it completely, and then be sure to cover the surface with a new layer.

If the walls have small cracks or holes before wallpapering, it is better to cover them with cement mortar or tiles. This will be safer than sealing them with putty. The defect must first be expanded and lubricated with a primer.

Puttying and priming walls

After the surface has been cleared of a layer of paint or other decorative covering, you need to prime it well. This is also necessary when preparing walls for wallpapering in a new building. A procedure is used to prevent small particles from subsequently detaching from the wall and forming dust. This way you can stop the absorption of moisture by the wall. This is especially important if concrete walls are being prepared for wallpaper. Since concrete absorbs liquid, wallpaper will not adhere well to it without pre-treatment. When working with primer, the following rules should be observed:

You need to prime the walls with a roller before gluing;
hard-to-reach places are treated with a brush;
if concrete walls are being prepared for gluing, and the surface absorbs a lot of moisture, it is worth applying several layers;
for execution next stage you need to wait until the primer dries.

Further, the technology for preparing walls requires covering with another layer. To do this, a leveling mixture is used, like putty. Even if the surface does not have serious flaws, it is necessary to cover it with this solution. This composition gives the surface of an old house a white or light gray tint, so even if light-colored wallpaper is chosen, spots, streaks or other signs of poor preparation will not appear on it. Inflicted thin layer putty increases the adhesion area of the material, which is necessary for wallpapering, so puttying walls in new buildings is also considered a necessary element preliminary work before wallpapering.

After the solution has dried, sanding is applied. Large deposits are removed with a spatula, and an abrasive mesh is used to remove small tubercles and protrusions.

During the alignment process, you can take ready-made compositions or use a homemade solution.

The preparation of the surface for pasting is completed by applying another layer of primer before gluing the wallpaper. It is required to increase the adhesion of the material. As a composition, you can use one of the types of wallpaper glue.

It is wrong to think that preparing a surface for wallpapering is not mandatory element under repair. The durability of the repair depends on how correctly this work is carried out.

Before wallpapering, the walls are prepared in stages. Firstly, this is the removal of the old coating, regardless of whether the walls are painted or covered with wallpaper. Secondly, it is worth choosing a way to level the walls if they have cracks, protrusions or holes.

There are some peculiarities in how to prepare concrete walls for wallpapering. It is worth remembering that such a surface absorbs more moisture than others, so in this case you will need to apply several layers of primer.

Following short video will help you see the procedure for preparing walls for wallpaper clearly:

If necessary, the surface will have to be plastered again, then apply a layer of putty. In conclusion on finished walls you need to apply a finishing coat of primer. Now the surface to be pasted is completely prepared for wallpaper. The same method is needed when preparing walls with wallpaper for painting.