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Wallpaper on new sheet rock

wakefield52
9 years ago

I did not know where to post a question about wallpaper so I thought I would try here. The roof is on the addition and the "old house" so now work will begin inside shortly. Question about wallpaper on new sheet rock. Years ago I think I remember someone saying that you should wait a year for the house to settle and that you should paint the sheet rock first. Any ideas and if so do I need to wait or could I wallpaper right away? Thanks in advance.

Comments (19)

  • ajames54
    9 years ago

    you need to paint sheetrock to seal it but if the job was done right to start with you don't need to worry about it "settling".

  • wakefield52
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for this. Not sure what I have to ask if it was done right but I will keep my fingers crossed. They came to measure sheet rock today. The framing is finished and the roof is on so next is siding, insulation and wiring. They tell me everything will be finished by year's end so I am keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well. 2 windows were in the wrong place and had to be moved. Always something.

  • paintguy22
    9 years ago

    Settling will happen if it's going to happen, whether the job was done correctly or not. The Earth is constantly rotating. I don't know that I would wait for the house to settle before you hang wallpaper though. I would do it right away.

  • PRO
    Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
    9 years ago

    Just BE SURE to properly prime the new rock with a WALL COVERING PRIMER first and not just any old paint primer. This is by far, the most important step

  • lam702
    9 years ago

    Yes, Christophern is right, prime with wall covering primer first. If you don't, when you eventually decide to remove the paper, its going to take off the paper of the sheetrock, leaving you with a lot of wall repairs to do. I learned this the hard way, unfortunately but our house is finally 100% wallpaper free and will stay that way.

  • PRO
    Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
    9 years ago

    quote " our house is finally 100% wallpaper free and will stay that way."

    that hurts

  • lam702
    9 years ago

    Sorry, christophern about the "100%" comment. After slowly, agonizingly removing my kitchen wallpaper in 1" pieces I vowed to never use it again. My husband, who had the job of repairing the walls afterward, was quite relieved to hear me say that.

  • PRO
    Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
    9 years ago

    If whomever installed it had simply taken a half hour to prime it first, you would not have had that nightmare. You are certainly not alone but, as I am a wall paper installer it just hurts me when people say that.

  • lam702
    9 years ago

    So sorry if you were offended. You are right though, surface prep makes all the difference, not just in wallpapering, but any project. In the long run it saves you time, so you can avoid a paper removal project like I did. I guess I should never say never though, who knows, maybe a few years down the road I might want to paper again............

  • annkh_nd
    9 years ago

    christophern, I have wallpaper borders in both my bathrooms, and no plans to get rid of either of them!

    My Mom hung wallpaper for a few years, and she did a few rooms in our house. The fact that I've gone to paint (plus borders) in those rooms does not make me a WP hater - it just means I was ready for a change. And my sons didn't care for the flowery wallpaper in their bathroom!

    A good wallpaper job is a thing of beauty - just like any other skill. Keep up the good work!

  • HouseRemod
    9 years ago

    When it comes to wallpaper the question really isn't how do I do this but why should i even think about doing this.

  • annkh_nd
    9 years ago

    HouseRemod, is that because everyone's house should look exactly like yours?

    Wouldn't that be boring?

    I just did a quick search in Architectural Digest, Southern Living, and House Beautiful, and all have articles about and photos of beautiful wallpaper.

    I'm not a designer or decorator, so I don't know what the "in" decorating magazine might be, but those were titles with which I'm familiar.

    But what do I know? I just remodeled my kitchen with oak cabinets.

  • PRO
    Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
    9 years ago

    When it comes to wallpaper the question really isn't how do I do this but why should i even think about doing this.

    better yet, why NOT???

  • paintguy22
    9 years ago

    The point is, wallpaper has a bad rep because of nightmare removal stories that you have heard for decades. This was because when we made the transition from plaster to drywall, we didn't make the transition from using sizing (to be used when papering over plaster) to using a wallcovering primer (to be used when papering over drywall). You would even go into paint stores and ask the people there what to use when you wanted to hang wallpaper on your drywall and they would say here, have some sizing. Now, thankfully it's hard to even find sizing in the paint stores, but the damage has been done. I still have customers saying to me, 'I know the wallpaper will come off easily because we used sizing.' Well sizing was the wrong thing to use. Anyway, nowadays if you use a wallcovering primer, it's easy to strip the wallpaper when you are ready to take it down and there are some really nice high end wall coverings you can buy that really can make a room look fantastic.

  • HouseRemod
    9 years ago

    Why not? Buying into trends like that will just make your house look instantly dated. Perhaps you can throw on some paint texture, track spotlights and shag carpet to go along with it.

  • User
    9 years ago

    I LOVE wallpaper.
    Especially the textured grass selections.
    Thanks for this thread everyone.
    I live in a new build and now I know what to prime the walls with for wall paper.
    I think I'm going to use it on an accent wall, and paint the other walls.
    It makes the room feel better, the texture, the color, the detail, now if I can just hang it right.....lol

  • PRO
    Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
    9 years ago

    Buying into trends like that will just make your house look instantly dated.

    That is just nonsense and not worth discussing.
    Thank you paintguy , you hit the nail on the head, as it were

  • lam702
    9 years ago

    I had wallpaper of the 1980's country look, plaid if you can believe it. At the time, of course, it was very in style. And yes, the horror of removing it has probably soured me on wallpaper. But I do see some really nice wallpapers today, so it can be beautiful with the right paper. And paintguy, you are right, I put sizing on the walls before I papered, when my walls were sheetrock, little did I realize that I needed wallpaper primer, not sizing.