Wallpapering - outside corners

[Cjrearl84]

Hi all,

Was hoping to get some advice.

We have hired a decorator to wallpaper and paint our lounge. For context the house is 1950s and having prepped the walls myself I know the corners were a little uneven.

That said our decorator has put the layer of lining paper on, and on 2 of the outside corners there is a lot of bubbles / bulging. I've attached images for ref. He has said it is due to the condition of the walls etc (one is unpapered so ive taken a photo of the wall also for ref).

My question is - do you think the level of bulging / bubbling is reasonable? On the corners the paper is 'not stuck' hence the lifting. Generally his work is pretty good I have to say, so I dont want to call him up on it for nothing, but the plan is to paint direct onto the lining paper and these corners are in the bay window. So this evening with the lights on it really highlights the issue because of the shadowing.

What do you think?

Thanks

Chris

[nickyhawkins]

Tbh that is to be expected given the state of the wall. If you had wanted it perfect then the corners could have been filled (extra work and cost) which probably should have been discussed. To rectify that now you will need to pull the paper off and start again which I'm certain everyone would be thrilled about.

It isn't necessarily a fault of the decorator, he probably did what you asked. Lining paper will hide a lot but it can't perform miracles. If you pointed this out before he started then he misled you by telling you otherwise. We don't know all the facts but I'm just going from what you've said and the pictures supplied

[nickyhawkins]

As for the bits that haven't stuck, paper can't stick to fresh air. If there is no plaster there for the paper to stick to then you will end up with a bubble that hasn't stuck once the paste dries.

[Desmondo15]

You could cut the bubbles out, seal and fill. May have different surface finish though depending on the paper.

[Cjrearl84]

Ok thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.

This is our first house etc so slightly naieve when it comes to this sort of thing. He had said the prep was quite good before he started, but I suppose its ignorance from our side as much as lack of warning from his.

On the bubbles there is definitely firm plaster just underneath. But i guess if it is slightly uneven vs. the rest of the surface its hard to stick the paper down and follow the contours of the plaster without it causing creasing etc?

I will speak to him and see if he can recommend anything to try and reduce them.

Thanks again for the answers!

[Colour Republic]

Your external corners to start with are far from perfect BUT that is no excuse for the 'decorator' to leave the lining paper in the state that it is.

The rest of the lining is pretty poor too and I would question if he is actually a decorator at all.

First things first... The external corners are far too irregular to wrap lining paper successfully and so you shouldn't even try to. Most decorators would have seen what was going to happen a mile off before starting. But there is a very simple trick with lining paper when dealing with irregular corners.

Instead of wrapping lining paper around the corner you treat each face of the wall as its own. You do this by papering one face at a time. Hang the lining paper on the wall then cut the lining paper past the external corner by just one inch. DO NOT try to wrap this extra inch around the corner, instead just leave it hanging flapping in the wind as such. Now leave it 30-40 mins and you will notice that as it dries it will naturally start to curl around the corner slightly as the paper shrinks and becomes tight. Now take some 80grit sand paper and lightly sand the lining paper on the external edge. It will cut through the lining paper and leave it feather edged perfectly stuck to the wall. Now repeat this on the second face of the wall, so again leave the paper sailing over the edge by an inch, wait for it to almost dry, then sand the external edge. You'll end up with a lined external corner with no bubbles or visible joins.


All that said your walls still need some prep work before lining. I can see lumps and bumps under the lining paper which shouldn't be there, there is also grit and dirt under the lining paper which is what is causing those very sharp lumps. Any decorator worth his salt wouldn't allow this to happen and would know how to get over it.

[Tom d'Angler]

I can see lumps and bumps under the lining paper which shouldn't be there,

And the trimmed edges are dreadful. They look ripped instead of cut cleanly.

[Deccy]

Shocking preparation.
Like CR said, there are lumps and bumps under that lining paper that should have been sanded and cleaned away well before he started papering. I cut down each corner with a very sharp knife as tight as I can whilst paper is wet, wait for the lining paper to dry then feather out.

[nickyhawkins]

nstead of wrapping lining paper around the corner you treat each face of the wall as its own. You do this by papering one face at a time. Hang the lining paper on the wall then cut the lining paper past the external corner by just one inch. DO NOT try to wrap this extra inch around the corner, instead just leave it hanging flapping in the wind as such. Now leave it 30-40 mins and you will notice that as it dries it will naturally start to curl around the corner slightly as the paper shrinks and becomes tight. Now take some 80grit sand paper and lightly sand the lining paper on the external edge. It will cut through the lining paper and leave it feather edged perfectly stuck to the wall. Now repeat this on the second face of the wall, so again leave the paper sailing over the edge by an inch, wait for it to almost dry, then sand the external edge. You'll end up with a lined external corner with no bubbles or visible joins.

That is awesome advice!

[transitboy]

Can't remember the last time I return a external corner when lining.
Would thought a pro deccy would know that trick
The lining sh*t by the way,sorry for being blunt

[feeney-2009]

Cracking advice above! When I used to work for the council we lined literally hundreds of 1950's houses, another method we used was to hang the paper as normal and as you wrap the paper around the corner hold a paint stripping heat gun (on the lowest heat setting!!) around 6 - 8 inches away and gently dry the paper as you wrap it. Didn't work all the time but was probably 80% success rate. Your walls definitely should have been sanded and sized prior to papering.