Q–The wallpaper and/or wallpaper adhesive I installed in my new house must be defective. There are several places where the paper has delaminated from the paper backing and numerous places where the paper has pulled completely off the wall, exposing the drywall. The wallpaper also blistered and bubbled during installation. I painted the new drywall before I started. What do you think happened?
A–You very likely made some major mistakes during the wallpaper installation or you installed the wrong paper in a given location. Although manufacturing problems do happen, I doubt that your problems can be traced to flaws in either the paper or the adhesive you applied.
Wallpaper hanging is a true craft. Certain wall coverings require specific adhesives. Wall surface preparation prior to the actual hanging of wallpaper is critical.
Successful installations of the many different types of wall coverings require years of experience. Professional wallpaper hangers often have a deep knowledge of paper characteristics, wall preparation techniques and adhesives.
One of your problems, I believe, is directly related to improper wall surface preparation. In order for wall coverings to stay put for many years, the drywall paper must stick to the gypsum core, the paint to the drywall paper, the wall covering primer to the paint, the adhesive to the wall covering primer, the paper backing to the adhesive, and so on.
Wall coverings will succumb to the forces of gravity when the weakest adhesion fails. In your case, I’ll bet that you failed to remove all of the drywall joint compound dust created in the sanding process. Very few homeowners know to perform this crucial step. As the adhesive dried behind the paper it created a strong tension force. This literally ripped the paint from the wall. You may experience similar problems for up to one year in any rooms where you failed to remove the dust before applying wallpaper.
Your paper delamination problems probably stemmed from errors during installation. You may have let the paper relax for too long. When adhesive is applied to wallpaper, it causes the paper to swell. Papers need to expand or relax completely prior to being applied to the wall.
To complicate the matter, different wallpapers require different relaxation periods. The blisters you experienced may be related to this relaxing requirement. Those sections of paper that bubbled probably didn’t relax long enough. The paper continued to swell after it was applied to the wall.
Your paper may also have had an inexpensive pulpy paper backing. Such papers perform poorly in areas of high humidity, such as in bathrooms and on kitchen back splashes near cooking or sink areas. Expanded vinyl papers can also delaminate or pull away from walls in these areas. You must be certain to select wall coverings that tolerate such high humidity.
———-
Have questions about the remodeling process? Write to Tim Carter, c/o The Chicago Tribune, P.O. Box 36352, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236-0352. Questions will be answered only in the column.
For more information on wall preparations needed before wallpapering; for descriptions and uses of different wallpaper primers and sizing compounds; and for other tips on installing wallpaper, send $2 and your name and address to Tim Carter at the above address. Ask for Builder Bulletin No. 116.
You can obtain a free order form for a wide variety of individual job bid sheets and other available Builder Bulletins by sending a business-size, stamped, self-addressed envelope to the same address.
