Wallpapering is the final stage of wall decoration. This is the most visible part of all finishing work, so special attention is paid to preparing the walls for wallpapering. Let's take a closer look, how to align the walls under the wallpaper and how to do it yourself.
How are the walls lined for wallpaper?
The technology of leveling walls for wallpaper is somewhat simpler than leveling for painting, where every imperfection of the wall is visually noticeable.
There are several options for leveling walls:
- putty;
- plaster;
- drywall.
To decide which leveling method is better to apply, you need to focus on the curvature of the walls in the apartment, the required speed of finishing work and the amount that you are willing to spend on your repairs.
- Putty is suitable for initially smooth concrete walls that have small cracks, depressions and other defects. In other cases, this will be the most expensive alignment method.
- Plaster allows you to even out differences and irregularities of a few centimeters. It is affordable, but the labor costs for its application are quite high. For self-repair, plaster is not chosen so often because of the laboriousness of the process, in addition, this option is not suitable for everyone because of the long drying time.
- Plasterboard sheets make it possible to level the surface with absolutely any differences. Any novice master will cope with their installation, moreover, the sheet material is relatively inexpensive. The disadvantages include the fragility of the GKL and the reduction in the area of the room due to the space occupied by the frame. The latter can be avoided by using the frameless drywall installation method.
Wall Curvature Detection
To determine how to level the walls in the apartment with your own hands, you need to measure the irregularities with a vertical plumb line. This will require a long cord with a weighting agent at the end. The plumb line should be fixed at the top of the wall, for example, on a driven nail. Hold the cord from below and measure the differences in the wall at three points - above, below and in the middle. Horizontally, the unevenness is checked by a level, and for the correct choice of material, it is also necessary to measure the diagonals of the room.
- If the differences are significant, you will have to use plaster or drywall to level the walls.
- If the irregularities are insignificant, you can start priming the wall for putty.
Leveling with putty
Leveling surfaces using putty includes the following steps:
- Cleaning the wall from dust, dirt, remnants of the old coating.
- Padding. This stage is necessary to improve the adhesion of concrete and leveling material, as well as to resist fungus and bond all microparticles of the surface.
- Putty application.
- Grinding. For its implementation, it is necessary to fix sandpaper on a wooden block or use a grinding machine.
Let us consider in more detail the stage of applying putty.
For work you will need:
- putty starting and finishing or one universal composition;
- spatulas - small, large, angular;
- sandpaper or grinder.
Ready putty and dry mix are sold in stores, which will need to be diluted with water and mixed with a construction mixer until a uniform mass is obtained.
Tip: you need to purchase putty at the rate of 1 kg per 1 sq. m of surface with a layer thickness of 10 mm. More detailed instructions and composition should be read on the package.
- Using a small spatula, putty is collected from the container and transferred to a large spatula.
- A starting layer is applied to the prepared walls with a wide spatula.
- The next leveling layer will be perpendicular to the starting one. Before applying it, you need to wait about 12 hours until the previous one is completely dry, sand it and prime it.
Large and small spatulas are washed with water during operation, relieving them of the drying mixture.
- Finishing putty is applied in the same way as the starting one, but with a thinner layer.
To align the inside corners of the walls, it is best to use a special angled spatula. A special perforated corner pad will help to correctly form the outer corner, which is recessed in the solution, set according to the level, and after drying it is covered with a layer of putty. When sanding the corner, it is important not to overdo it and not remove the extra layer of putty, otherwise the overlay will be visible.
Better understand how to putty walls, step-by-step photos and videos on leveling the walls for wallpaper will help.
Plaster leveling
This method is used when it is necessary to level walls with sufficiently large defects.
- First, the surfaces are cleaned of litter and dust, then primed.
- Beacons in the form of metal or wooden slats are attached to the walls with a gypsum mortar with an indent of 20 cm from the corners of the room. The distance between the beacons should be slightly less than the length of the rule.
- The plaster is applied with a spatula to the area between the beacons from the bottom up and leveled with a rule that rests on the slats. Movement should be zigzag.
- In places of irregularities and bubbles on the surface of the plaster, the mortar is removed and poured again.
- After processing one area, the rule is pulled from top to bottom to remove excess solution.
- The actions are repeated until the entire gap between the two beacons from floor to ceiling is filled, now you can move on to the next one.
- Beacons at the end of the work must be removed from the wall, as rust may appear on them, which will appear on the wallpaper. The recesses from them are sealed with a solution.
- The last stage of work is the grouting of the plaster that has not yet dried out with a solution of a more liquid consistency, which makes it possible to make the surface even and smooth.
If high-quality gypsum plaster was used for leveling, it will be enough to sand the surface well before wallpapering. Otherwise, the wall must be puttied.
Plasterboard leveling
Using drywall is a good way to do-it-yourself wall leveling. It is used in rooms with very uneven walls or to save repair time, since the installation of drywall is very fast.
You can use two drywall leveling methods:
- wireframe method, involving the installation of a frame made of a metal profile;
- frameless method, in which drywall is attached to the wall with a special glue.
It is necessary to determine in advance the places of sockets and switches and mark them on sheets of drywall.
Regardless of the chosen method of mounting the GKL, the joints between the sheets must be sealed with a special gypsum putty for the seams, reinforced with a special tape or sickle mesh, putty the grooves from the screws.
Since some types of wallpaper have a slight transparency, it is strongly recommended to putty the entire surface of the drywall. In this case, the wall must be primed before applying putty and after it. If you decide not to putty the entire surface of the plasterboard walls before wallpapering, they must be primed, otherwise the wallpaper paste will soak the surface of the sheets. In addition, during subsequent repairs, it will be almost impossible to remove wallpaper from untreated drywall.
Cost of work
If you decide to entrust the alignment of the walls under the wallpaper to specialists, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the approximate prices for repair work.
- In Moscow and Moscow Region, leveling walls with plaster will cost from 300 rubles. per 1 m2, drywall with a frame - from 500 rubles. for 1 m2, without a frame - from 350 rubles. per 1 m2, putty - from 100 rubles. for 1 m2;
- in St. Petersburg, the cost of plastering on lighthouses starts from 280 rubles. per 1 m2, plasterboard cladding by the frame method - from 460 rubles. for 1 m2, frameless for glue - from 320 rubles. for 1 m2, puttying works - from 90 rubles. for 1 m2;
- prices for similar work in the regions may vary significantly.
Now you know how to align the walls under the wallpaper and you can choose the most suitable method for you, we only wish you a quick and high-quality repair with a minimum of nerves spent and with a maximum of savings.
