How To Prepare Drywall Walls For Wallpapering And Do You Need A Putty

2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 07:54

• The order of the work
• Do I need to prime drywall before wallpapering?
• How to prepare walls for wallpapering
• The choice of wallpaper for the walls

Pasting wallpaper on the walls is practically the only way in the past to decorate the walls of your house or apartment. Currently, the possibilities for decorating walls and ceilings with various materials have expanded significantly. But gluing wallpaper on the walls does not lose its attractiveness and popularity due to the relative cheapness and ease of execution. In addition, the range, quality and variety in the materials from which the wallpaper is made has significantly expanded.

The order of the work

The method of preparing walls and ceilings for finishing has also changed. If earlier they knew only rough plastering of walls with a sand-cement mixture, now the leveling of walls with the help of gypsum plasterboards comes to the fore. Such walls represent a perfectly flat surface on which wallpapers of any types and colors can be applied without any problems. The preparation of drywall walls for wallpapering is possible without the involvement of professionals in this process.

The alignment of walls and ceilings with the help of gypsum boards is known in our country relatively recently, but has already managed to acquire a well-deserved popularity. The essence of this method is to create a frame from a metal profile, followed by attaching drywall sheets to it. This method allows you to create almost perfectly flat walls and ceilings, hide behind them all kinds of pipes, wires, ventilation systems and other objects. In addition, drywall has a number of positive factors, which makes the use of gypsum board in interior decoration simply irreplaceable.

But it is not enough to sheathe the walls and ceiling with plasterboard, you still need to properly prepare them for subsequent wallpapering. Then your wallpaper will hold tight, look beautiful and be easy to disassemble before the next repair. It is not difficult to cope with this task, because all the materials necessary for work are available in any construction supermarket. The only thing that is needed is not to neglect the sequence of work. How to prepare a drywall wall for wallpapering, we will talk below.

Do I need to prime drywall before wallpapering?

Basically, a primer for any surface is essential. It serves to strengthen the surface to be treated and to increase adhesion to other materials during subsequent finishing. For processing drywall before gluing the wallpaper, a penetrating primer is usually chosen, which can not only strengthen the fragile gypsum, but also increase its adhesion properties. In addition, many primers prevent the formation of rot and mold, they let air pass well, and after drying they are not afraid of moisture.

In recent years, acrylic-based primers have become widespread. Preference is usually given to European firms, such as whose products are known throughout the world.

Don't try to skimp on small things. If you want to get a quality renovation, choose high-quality finishing materials.

Question: how to prime drywall before wallpapering? It doesn't matter which company to use the primer, the main thing is to carefully treat the surface. The rest, as they say, is a matter of technology.

The primer is applied very easily, even a child can handle it. For work you will need:

• paint roller;
• narrow brush for processing joints;
• bath for composition.

First, the corners, caps of screws and joints of gypsum sheets are primed. After drying (the drying time is usually written on the package), a new layer is applied with a roller to the entire surface of the walls.

Primer consumption is usually low, but you should not forget about it. The remaining composition can be used again before gluing the wallpaper. Here the principle is very well suited: "A lot is not a little!"

How to prepare walls for wallpapering

So, the primer has dried up and it's time to patch up all the irregularities, scratches and gaps between the sheets. To do this, it is worth purchasing special formulations bearing the general name "putty". For gypsum plasterboard, gypsum-based mixtures are produced, which are divided into dry and ready-made, starting and finishing. For those who have not dealt with such work before, it is preferable to buy dry mixes. The finished putty usually sets quickly, and an inexperienced person will not have time to use it completely. And the dry mixture can be diluted in small portions.

Gluing wallpaper on drywall without putty is not desirable. In case of a new renovation, the old wallpaper will have to be removed. Often in such cases, together with the wallpaper, the paper layer of the gypsum board comes off. This threatens to replace the damaged drywall sheet and, as a result, increase the time and cost of the repair itself. Therefore, experienced customers do not spare time and money for a full-fledged decoration of all walls from gypsum plasterboard, than immediately pasting wallpaper on drywall without putty, and then torment themselves when removing the wallpaper on the walls.

For work, you need to purchase a convenient spatula of different widths. One of them is small, 5-7 cm, used for picking up the putty from the container, sealing minor damage to the cardboard and other auxiliary work. A special mixture is applied to drywall joints.

Usually putty of plasterboard walls under the wallpaper is done with a starting putty. The finish is applied when the walls are painted with various water-based paints and a very clean and smooth surface is needed. For processing the entire surface of the sheet, one thin layer will be enough. Ready-made finishing mixtures are more expensive, therefore dry compounds are often used.

The dry mixture is diluted with the required amount of water in a small, clean, plastic bucket. It is advisable to have a drill and a special mixer attachment for this purpose. The ratio of water and putty is usually written on the package or in the instructions for use.

First of all, they are sealed:

• recesses from the caps of the screws;
• cuts and dents on the surface of the mounted sheets;
• slots at the joints of the gypsum board.

The grooves from the screw heads are sealed with a narrow spatula in a crosswise motion. Joint gaps require more attention. First, they are clogged with a putty, then a reinforcing tape (serpyanka) is applied, slightly sinking it into the mixture. The excess is leveled with a wide trowel, the remains are removed from the trowel. As a result, the walls will look like in the photo below.

After the layer of putty dries up, you can seal the entire surface of the walls. The mixture layer should not be thicker than 1 - 2 mm. It is applied with a wide spatula in long circular strokes. Make sure that the surface contains as little roughness as possible.

Do not try to immediately make the wall perfectly flat and smooth. All bumps and roughness are removed after the layer has dried.

After the layer of putty is dry, you can apply a second, adjustment layer. In detail, how to properly putty drywall and the intricacies of work.

If in your opinion the finishing is done well, you can proceed with the final surface treatment. It consists in sanding the wall to remove small irregularities. In this case, a large amount of fine dust is formed, so the use of protective equipment in the form of glasses, respirators or cotton-gauze dressings is mandatory!

For such operations, there are graters on sale with holders, in which a fine emery cloth or an abrasive mesh is attached. Perhaps this is the most unpleasant moment when preparing drywall for wallpapering.

And the final touch is to process the drywall before gluing the wallpaper with a primer. To many, this step will seem superfluous. But in fact, the penetrating acrylic impregnation after drying will reduce the consumption of glue, ensure a strong connection of the wallpaper with the wall and will allow you to subsequently dismantle the wallpaper without any special consequences for the wall. In addition, check out how to prepare regular walls for wallpaper.

The choice of wallpaper for the walls

So, we have passed all the stages of processing drywall walls. Ahead is the final test - gluing wallpaper on drywall. The technology of this process is as old as the world. Only the materials from which this type of interior decoration is made have changed, and the range of colors and patterns has expanded. Washable wallpaper, wallpaper with a relief pattern, fabric and photo wallpaper.

According to the manufacturing method, wallpapers are divided into types:

• paper;
• non-woven;
• vinyl;
• acrylic;
• textile.

Each species has its own advantages and disadvantages in relation to others. But whatever wallpaper you choose, it will very easily and naturally fall on the carefully prepared surface of the plasterboard walls. And that means that all the work was not in vain. Then you can proceed directly to wallpapering.

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