 |
Home >> Interior Decorating >> Paper-hanging >>>
| Classic signwriting in days gone by. |
| Cleaning paintwork in days gone by. |
| Preparation and painting in days gone by. |
| Renewal in days gone by. |
| Signwriting in days gone by. |
| Glazing in days gone by. |
PAPER-HANGING.
Wallpaper is generally supposed to have originated with the Chinese, but what were really paintings on paper were brought to England in considerable quantities during the seventeenth century.
To Battersea belongs the distinction of producing the first English wallpapers.
These were printed from wood blocks, and their quieter colouring was in contrast to the more vivid Chinese work, and in competition with it.
Before 1860 all wallpapers were hand-printed from wooden blocks on sheets 35 in. by 22 in., but with the abolition of paper duty in 1861 there followed the use of paper in rolls, as seen to-day.
Wallpapers are often machine-printed, but the very best
remain, as originally, hand-printed with wooden blocks.
Wallpaper has its uses, apart from decoration.
Often an all-over-pattern paper is the only possible solution for the treatment of an uneven, crumbling wall surface.
Paper-hanging, to be a success, depends on quite a number
of little things often disregarded.
Stripping Walls.
The practice of papering a room without first stripping the
walls cannot be too strongly condemned, being both slipshod and insanitary.
Only in rare cases should old paper be left on the walls.
It is an easy task to remove one thickness of paper, while to remove ten is slavery.
What is there. sanitary in covering up old wallpaper?
By its very nature it must, during its spell of usefulness, have absorbed germs inimical to health.
Therefore, remove paper ruthlessly. To facilitate matters, wet the lower part of the wall first, as high up as can be reached.
This will then be soaking while the ceiling is being washed off and the paper on the upper part being removed.
Well wash walls after stripping, using a little carbolic acid in the rinsing water, and rubbing with a piece of pumice-stone, so that every fragment of paper is removed.
Use warm or hot water whenever available.
It saves time.
Plaster walls vary considerably: some are smooth and glassy; some rough, crumbling,..scarcely bearing the brush.
Each requires treatment.
Smooth Plaster.
Wallpaper springs on too smooth a surface, and it has but an insecure hold on a crumbling wall.
Rub the too smooth wall with coarse glass-paper; coat the crumbling wall with white-lead oil paint, and, when dry, repair with plaster of Paris or Parian cement.
Sizing Walls.
On any wall bad places should be repaired and cracks stopped while the wall is damp from washing.
Before papering, whether ceiling or walls, a coat of medium-strength size is necessary; often, indeed, for poor plaster, a coat of petrifying liquid will prove more satisfactory.
Damp WaIls.
Damp walls are the bugbear of wallpaper.
Some basements are unsuited for wallpaper of any sort, owing to faulty construction.
Local dampness may be cured by application of one or more coats of proprietary liquid made for the purpose; small areas, by covering with pitch paper, or, better still, lead or tinfoil.
Crumbling Walls.
Crumbling walls should be covered with a very thin lining paper used as a ground for the wallpaper proper.
For bad walls a slight lap is better than butted-joint work.
For smooth glassy surfaces sprinkle a good handful of plaster of Paris into the size used on the walls, or add half a cupful of white sugar to the paste, stirring it in while the paste is hot.
Painted Walls.
Painted surfaces have sometimes to be papered.
Such surfaces are against the rule, and should be broken so as to provide a key, otherwise the paper will spring at the joints.
A strong soda solution may be laid on the wall with a brush and left until the paint wrinkles under it.
Size the wall before papering. Scarifying the wall with coarse glass-paper, and using stout paste with a little sugar or glycerine in it, seems safer than to use soda.
Removing Varnished Papers.
Varnished surfaces, old varnished papers which are troublesome to remove, may be treated in the same way.
If the paper must come off, first remove the varnish with a solvent, then, finally, the wallpaper. Old crumbling walls that are covered with a varnished paper are best treated without removal, though it may be difficult to convince architect and customer.
The sanitary objection to covering a papered wall does not, of course, apply where a varnish paper is concerned.
Wallpaper Going Wrong.
Wallpaper, even the expensive variety, is often hung on a wall without any attention to the plaster.B In a little while the paper becomes spotted, or fades, or goes streaky.
There are a number of enemies to wallpaper, and some of them are very little understood. Often the new repairs on a wall will eat the colour from the paper.
The act of damping the old wall seems somehow to give new life to dormant enemies. Keene's cement, if untreated, often throws off wallpaper in the same fashion as it will do paint.
Whenever in doubt, first line the walls with a mediumquality lining paper, or apply a coat of stopping-out mixture.
A coat of petrifying liquid to which a small proportion of pigment is added may be advised. Do not, however, apply size over a water-painted surface, old or new, or the joints of the paper will spring.
Lining Walls.
The lining of walls has much to be said in its favour, and is especially recommended under high-cost" papers.
It provides a grip, and quickly absorbs moisture, thus preventing discoloration.
Free lime will not discolour every wallpaper, though its presence is a danger, and it should always be neutralized.
If there is a doubt about the wallpaper being proof against lime, dissolve a piece of washing-soda the size of a nut (walnut) in a half-pint of water, and with a clean brush wet part of the wallpaper.
If under this test the colours change, the wallpaper is not safe, and the walls should be lined.
Testing Wallpaper.
Some papers fade quickly. To test, cover part of the paper and leave in a sunny window.
Sanitary papers should be easy to recognize.
If in doubt, touch the surface with the finger dipped in water. If it is a pulp paper, a mark will be left, but the water will be absorbed; if a sanitary, the moisture will remain unabsorbed.
Some papers are what may be called fast to water. With ingrains, for example, they should be as fast to water as to light. To make sure, tear off a small piece of the paper and leave in a saucerful of water a few hours.
If the water is coloured but slightly, the paper is not safe; if the water remains clear, there is nothing to fear.
There are quite a number of proprietary stop-out liquids on the market for treacherous plaster, but it is doubtful whether anything surpasses the use of lining paper, using thin or stout quality as circumstances suggest.
Two coats of white knotting may be all that is necessary for small doubtful places.
Stained Ceilings.
Ceilings, badly stained, liable to crack, are made presentable with a thin lining paper and a thin coat of distemper.
Hanging Paper.
Paper-hangers are often guided by the size of the room, or by the plant at command, as to which way they shall hang a ceiling paper.
Some of them, to their credit be it said, hang so cleanly that it does not matter where they start or finish, for joints do not show. As a rule, however, joints are so arranged that on anyone opening the door, the laps are away from the observer.
Joins run toward the window and not across it.
Walls are best papered so that the joins are away from the observer entering the room. The middle of the chimneypiece, or at least an angle near the chimney-piece, is a good place to start.
Trimming.
Where trimming is concerned, good paper-hangers have their own method. Some edge the rolls, some first cut the lengths and trim that way, others paste and trim the folded paper.
The cleanest work results where the trimming is done wet, though exact folding is a necessity.
Varnished Papers.
Ready-varnished papers may fill a want where time is an item, though from a practical standpoint it is better to hang an unvarnished paper and size and varnish in situ.
A better job will result with two coats of size and a hard paper varnish.
Nothing is to be gained by skipping one coat of size, for any missed or bare places will quickly turn brown once the varnish is applied.
It may be necessary on occasion to varnish borders or panels which were printed in colours that will not bear water.
For this purpose a white shellac knotting may be applied, or they may be sprayed or coated with a celluloid varnish.
Selecting Paper.
There is sometimes a deal of dissatisfaction after a room is papered.
The pattern may overweight the room, or the lines may be too prominent.
Further, if the paper has a drop pattern, it may so happen that every alternate length has a leading item close to the frieze rail cut in two.
It is practically impossible to judge the effect of wallpaper from a pattern-book, and two lengths of paper should be pinned up side by side to give a proper idea of the result.
Paste.
Making paste is not so important as it used to be, owing to the number of prepared paste powders-hot or cold-on the market. Paste for all ordinary paper may be made from 2 lbs. of sifted household flour beaten to a smooth batter with cold water and 1 gals. boiling hot water added.
The addition of i oz. powdered alum or a few drops of carbolic acid will keep it from going sour.
As soon as made, cover with a little cold water to prevent skinning over, and, when cool, thin down with cold water as required. Paste that is turning sour should be thrown away.
It is advisable, indeed, to make fresh paste daily, at all events in hot weather.
Paste is modified according to the work in hand.
The addition of molasses, castor sugar, treacle, glycerine, in small quantities, is indicated where the surface to be papered is hard or glassy.
Paste for Relief materials.
Heavy materials-lincrusta, anaglypta, Tynecastle tapestry -require a stronger paste, and a suitable paste would be made by adding 20 to 33 per cent. bulk of hot glue to the paste indicated, generally using the paste warm.
The addition of a small quantity of Venice turpentine sometimes takes the place of glue.
The quantity of glue depends, of course, on the thickness of the relief material. Anaglypta, for example, will not require more than the 20 per cent. glue.
It is advisable to follow the manufacturer's instructions 88 to strength of paste, method of using, and way of trimming paper; then, if trouble arises, the manufacturers will do their best to advise.
Hanging Relief Materials.
Some relief materials require soaking, others will be ruined by that treatment, since the material will stretch and not intersect. Of this class are lignomur and cordelova.
For lignomur: use paste as thick as it can be made, but do not add glue.
Do not soak the material.
Paste, fold lightly, leave for twenty minutes, then hang, using a cloth.
For cordelova: use ordinary paste freely, and hang right away.
For some qualities the addition of a little Venice turpentine is an advantage.
Tynecastle: paste, leave for a quarter of an hour, paste again, and hang.
Japanese leather: paste first with ordinary paste, leave for five minutes, now use a paste made with a 10 to 15 percentage of glue, and hang at once.
Glue is not so much used as formerly, paste of a dextrine or maize-flour nature being eminently satisfactory.
Burlaps and canvas hangings generally should be hung on the manufacturer's instructions.
Relief materials should be trimmed to directions with knife and straight-edge, all work being carefully set out-where panelling is indicated-and the material hung to the snapped or pencilled lines.
Ingrains.
Ingrains are about the most sensitive papers to be dealt with.
It is advisable always to line walls.
Ingrains are apt to fade if kept long in stock, and may show different at the edges.
Trim well in, using knife and straightedge.
Cut the lengths and, before pasting, reverse each alternate length. Paste and hang without soaking.
Tekko.
Silk-faced papers, as tekko, should be trimmed with a knife and straight-edge.The same may be said of leathers and leatherettes.
Lustrette Papers.
Lustrette papers require clean paste and careful hanging.
The seam roller is handy, but should not be used too much or too soon. Hang several lengths, even the side of a room, before using the seam roller.
If it is used over a strip of dry paper, so much the better.
It is possible to be so fussy over the joints, and to roll them so much, that each may be seen owing to slight gloss imparted by the roller.
Present-day papers of the highest class have very little design.
Generally they consist of a broken mottled ground, with swags of flowers or branches of trees.
At other times, flowers with an upward trend spring from above the skirting.
The only objection to this kind of decoration is it may be called scissors and paste decoration, and can deceive nobody.
Cut-out friezes should be hung to a snapped line.
Borders and strapping should be similarly treated.
Panelling.
The test of the paper-hanger is good panelling.
If there is a doubt about the workman's ability to set out the room, the jobbing builder may well do this himself. Snap lines with string and charcoal. Go over those necessary with lead pencil.
If copying pencil is at hand, burn it rather than use it.
The paper may be hung to the lines on the wall.
If, however, strapping is narrow, it may come on the face of the groundpaper with advantage, otherwise paper should be cut to the lines.
What ornament follows comes over the ground-paper.
Cut-out Friezes.
When hanging cut-out friezes, borders, bands, the covered roller should be used in preference to the brush.
Some colours printed on black grounds readily lift, and for them it would be fatal to use a brush.
Generally, panelling on walls follows one or other of the suggestions sent out by the large wallpaper houses, but there are times when the breaking up and division of wall surfaces is left to the decorator.