Wallpapering over existing wallpaper can be tempting. It can work pretty well depending on the texture and state of the old wallpaper you are covering. If you are thinking of covering your old wallpaper, hopefully, my experience can help you to decide whether to do it.
Should you wallpaper over your old wallpaper?
Wallpapering over old wallpaper is only advisable if the old wallpaper has a smooth finish. If your existing wallpaper is textured, ripped, has borders, or is one of a few layers of wallpaper it is advisable to completely remove it. If your walls are uneven, it’s also advisable to remove the existing wallpaper and re-skim the walls.
Wallpapering is not an activity that you undertake every year, so make a decision that you’re going to feel happy with. Hanging old wallpaper isn’t too hard but there are a few steps that you need to take. Let’s get into it.
How do you hang wallpaper over old wallpaper?
Hanging new wall paper over old wall paper takes some preparation to get it right,but follow these steps and nobody will know that there’s another layer of wallpaper underneath.
How do you hang new wall paper over old wallpaper?
- Check the existing wallpaper is porous
- Prepare the walls, fill in holes and cracks and tear away loose wallpaper
- Apply wallpaper primer
- Now Wallpaper – Job Done!
Wallpapering over existing wallpaper, if done right can save you a significant amount of time. Whether you completely remove your wallpaper or wallpaper over, preparation is key in order to achieve a good result. Let’s get into these steps in a bit more detail.
1. Check the existing wallpaper is porous
Before you decide whether you are going to wallpaper over your old wallpaper wet it, and see if it soaks through. In order for the wallpaper adhesive to stick to it, it should soak through.
If it does not soak through, it’s likely that your existing wallpaper is vinyl coated, which is not advisable to wall paper over as your wallpaper adhesive won’t stick to it very well.
It’s worth checking at this point how many layers of wallpaper are already on the wall. Using a Stanley knife tear away a small area in an inconspicuous place on your wall to check.
If there is more than one layer, you should consider removing all the wallpaper. This is also the case if the wall is badly ripped, has bumps, generally badly worn and uneven.
Alternatively, if you still want to paper over the old wallpaper, buy a thick lining paper to go over the existing wallpaper before you start. A 1400-2000 grade thickness should do the job in covering up any marks and imperfections.
Note that when you do this you are doubling the amount of wallpapering required – but it may be a good option if you want to avoid re-skimming your wall for example.
2. Prepare the walls, fill in holes and cracks and tear away loose wallpaper
Remove your wall of as many imperfections as possible, fill in holes and tear away any loose wallpaper with a Stanley knife. Avoid tearing off large areas of wallpaper. If you need to tear off large areas of wallpaper, you might as well remove the wallpaper completely.
Make sure the walls are clean – Get some lukewarm water, some dish soap, and a sponge. Wipe over the walls lightly with the sponge. Be sure not to over soak the existing wallpaper, as you could risk it peeling off.
3. Apply wallpaper primer
Applying Wallpaper primer is a crucial step that is often overlooked, but this I would say is the defining step to make your walls look great.
What does wall paper primer do?
Simply put, wallpaper primer helps seals your walls, and creates a surface that is better for the wallpaper to hold to.
It’s always good to apply wallpaper primer even if you are wallpapering bare walls or freshly skimmed walls to ensure an even finish.
If your old wallpaper is particularly dark or patterned,wall paper primer works really well to dull your old wallpaper colors. It ensures that once you apply your new wall paper none of the old wallpapered colors bleed through.
Applying wallpaper adhesive is good forward planning too for when you want to strip your wallpaper in the future. Removing wallpaper from a primed wall is a lot easier than a bare wall. It also prevents your plaster from breaking off the walls.
So if you are planning on living in your home for many years to come, it pays to use wallpaper primer.
If you are wallpapering over previously painted walls, primer is essential to making sure your wallpaper sticks to your walls well too.
Once primed – leave overnight to dry before you decide to do any wallpapering.
In terms of wallpaper primer, there are a lot of choices out there, with varying prices. If you are covering up darker wallpaper, I would suggest going for this 3 in 1 wallpaper primer by Zinnser. Its a primer, sealer and stain blocker that will prepare your walls well for wallpaper.
3. Now Wallpaper – Job Done!
Now it’s time to do the main job – the wallpapering. If you haven’t done much wallpapering, don’t worry I’ve got a few tips that I can share with you including where to start in a room and a useful video on how to hang wallpaper more generally.
Helpful Tips on How to Wall Paper
- Hang your first sheet from the middle of the wall or 50 cm from the corner of the wall.
- Use a plumb bob and spirit level to mark your first sheet and spirit level
- Measure an extra 100 mm on to the wall-length of each wallpaper strip
- Hang from top to bottom and fold your wallpaper using the concertina fold method
Hanging wallpaper is all about keeping straight lines. go slow. If you are hanging any textured or patterned design, make sure your starting point is in line with the manufacturer’s guide. If you’re not sure ask the person in the store before you go home. Often you have to take your first cut after rolling the wallpaper out a little. Anyway, let’s get into these tips in a little more detail.
1. Hang your first sheet from the middle of the wall or 50 cm from the corner of the wall
If you are hanging wallpaper on one wall, start in the middle and work out to the corners. If on the otherhand you are wallpapering a wholeroom, start 50 cm away from the corners and work around.
Not only will this give you plenty of room to get the first wallpaper strip level and straight, but if you are using a patterned or textured wallpaper it should give an overall more balanced look.
2. Use a plumb bob and spirit level to mark your first sheet and spirit level
A plumb bob is just a small weight that you can use to measure your first line for your first sheet of wall paper. It’s important to get this right as the rest of your wallpaper strips will follow this line.
- Put a small nail at the top of the wall where the edge of the first length of wallpaper needs to go.
- Dangle the plumb bob of the nail. Then mark the top, the middle, and bottom of the line with a pencil.
- Use a long spirit level to connect the lines, making sure that it’s level as you go along
This should put you in a good position to hang the first length of wallpaper in a straight line.
3. Measure an extra 100 mm on to the wall-length of each wallpaper strip
Measure the length from the top of the ceiling, or coving if you have it to the top of your skirting board. Once you have done that, add an extra 100mm on top of that to allow for any trimming that needs to be done.
- Make you are aware of how the patterned wallpaper should look at this stage, i.e which side is the right way up.
- Once you have cut your length of wallpaper, mark one side as the top of the wallpaper and another as the bottom, just so you don’t confuse yourself.
- Apply the adhesive in sections, from the center moving outwards, folding in a concertina motion (I’ll explain what this is in my next point)
- Pick up the wallpaper making sure that the top of the wallpaper is facing the right way up.
- Get the edge of the wallpaper in line with the plumbline pencil mark that you have already drawn. The top of the wallpaper should be over the edge of about 50 mm. Cut in line with the coving once you have stuck the whole sheet of paper.
- Work carefully and slowly – this is the most important wallpaper sheet you will hang.
4. Hang from top to bottom and fold your wallpaper using the concertina fold method
The concertina fold is known as the ‘zig-zag‘ fold. When you fold the wallpaper you can fold the outside in on itself, being sure not to get any adhesive on the outside of the wallpaper.
Top Tip: Hold the wallpaper with both hands and be sure not to let the wallpaper drop suddenly. this will help avoid any ripping.
As promised here’s a video that I used as a guide on how to wallpaper more generally, hopefully, it will be of some use to you as well.
Is painting over wallpaper a good idea?
I tried painting over a section of wallpaper in my house to see if it looked ok. It didn’t look great, but it was mainly due to the quality of the old wallpaper, and the uneven walls. I decided to re-skim and paint the walls.
That being said, painting wallpaper is a good idea. I’ve painted over lining paper many times and it looks great.
Just make sure that wallpaper is well attached to the wall and it’s in good condition. Use wallpaper primer and adhesive wherever necessary to make sure the existing wallpaper is not sticking out in any place.
What kind of paint do you use to paint over wallpaper?
If you are painting over vinyl wallpaper, you will definitely need to use a primer before you start painting. Once you have primed the wall properly, you can use any kind of paint emulsion on top.
You’ll probably need two to three coats to get it looking right.
Preparing your walls for wallpaper and decorating in the right order is super important as well in order to get the best possible finish.
What order should I decorate a room?
Deciding what order to decorate a room is very important in order to achieve the cleanest possible finish. It’s also important to take the necessary steps using frog tape along skirting and coving edges as necessary to avoid accidental paint marks.
So what order should you paint a room? Paint from top-down Start with the ceiling and coving, applying two to three coats (leaving approx 2-3 hours to dry between coats) of your emulsion of choice. Leave overnight to dry. then move on to walls, and finally skirting or baseboards.
If you are looking at getting coving or looking to do it yourself as part of decorating your room, I’ve written an article here, that takes you through the general steps of fitting it.
Its generally better to take the top down approach when it comes to painting, because when it comes to painting large areas, rollers tend to spatter paint everywhere. You have a fighting chance of covering/avoiding unwanted paint marks this ways. It’s also just quicker to cover these spaces first.
Do you paint the walls or woodwork first?
Painting walls and areas first that tend to have larger surface areas tend to make more sense before moving onto woodwork.
Not only is it quicker, but preparing woodwork tends to be a messy job involving sanding, stripping paint, and then several coats of gloss or stain.
When you’re sanding, whether its manually or with an electric sander, the sawdust goes everywhere including the walls. Dealing with the woodwork first just tends to lead to more preparatory work in my experience, making your whole decorating job longer than it needs to be.
The order that you do jobs is important to the quality of your overall job, as well as the time it takes to complete any works.
Want more Information?
I hope I’ve answered your wallpapering questions as part of this post, but just incase I haven’t I’ve included some links to some posts that I have found useful as part of my decorating process and maybe you will too.
Wallpaperdirect.com has a really good illustrative guide to hanging wallpaper, so if you are looking fora visual guide that’s not a video, you may find this useful.
B&Q have a great simple post on how to prepare your walls for decorating, including how to prepare older surfaces too. If you are renovating an older home like I was this post is useful to have a browse through.
Dulux have a great post on color schemes and how to choose the right color scheme for you. I’m not that naturally creative so posts like this, I find super useful!
In Summary…
Hanging wallpaper over old wallpaper can be done, if you put the work into preparing your walls properly and remove as many imperfections as you can before hanging it.
In some cases, it can be preferable to hang wallpaper over existing wallpaper in order to avoid re-skimming walls which is an additional expense. It can also be time-efficient as well, as removing wallpaper requires filler and other prep work as well.
As long as the surface you are working with is smooth and in relatively good shape, I don;t see any issues with it. Be sure, it’s the right decision though as it’s an expensive mistake to make.
If you enjoyed this article or are looking for any more DIY tips, or if you’re embarking on a renovation project like I was, check out more of my content including how to stop rawl plugs spinning, to deciding where to put plug sockets.
Maybe you can learn from my mistakes, so you don’t have to make them in the first place. Thanks for reading guys, speak to you soon!