Best 6-Step Guide On How To Replace Water Damaged Wallpaper

Isn’t it bad when your room’s wallpapers start peeling off, and what’s worse is when you don’t know how to replace water damaged wallpaper? Whether it’s just a small section or the entire room and house, for that matter, knowing how to apply wallpaper without crease is a must.

Wallpapers came to full swing in the European Era of sophistication, where we typically see homes of even the average citizens covered in pretty but straightforward patterns. They are then seen as some form of luxury, with some changing them as often as they can to keep with the trend.

how to replace water damaged wallpaper

After some time, though, cultures went back to simpler, minimal, and plain walls of a single color. Luckily, with people staying home longer these times, wallpapers are returning with more robust materials, better designs, and convenient application methods.

 

Steps For Replacing Water Damaged Wallpaper At Home

Water may be one of the worst enemies of wallpapers. The older versions are much more sensitive to this interaction, with some disintegrating only after getting wet a few times.

Fortunately, wallpapers these days are much more durable due to the more advanced material used and the addition of protective layers. This doesn’t make them invincible against water, though.

Once your wallpaper shows signs that it’s coming off your wall due to water damage, follow this procedure on how to deal with it.

 

Step #1. Assess the damage extent

Before you start ripping off the damaged wallpaper from your walls, you first need to assess how much of it needs replacement; that is, if the change is only to curb the damage.

There can be many forms of water damage by which the damage can look like. It can start peeling by layers, get discolored, tear up, and come off by section from a slight peel.

Most of these damages happen bit by bit, so it’s uncommon to need change for wallpapers all at once.

First, check all the wallpapers in your place after a rainy season or anything that may have caused water damage. Try cleaning up the water stains from the wallpaper too.

 

Step #2. Measure the area that needs replacement

Measure up the areas you deem the need new pieces and note their shapes and position. You should do this with a tape measure or something similar.

It’s best to keep a written piece for this since you can use it later when applying the new wallpapers. You don’t have to follow the shapes of damages too well. It’s better to measure them in squares or triangles, which will be easier to follow and give a seamless layering later on.

 

Step #3. Find and acquire the wallpaper or something similar

It would be better if you still have leftovers of the wallpaper on your wall and if it fits all the areas you need. This is why it’s very advantageous to buy your first wallpapers with a bit of extra.

If you don’t have leftovers, you should first visit the store where you got the existing pieces. It’s also better to call them and inquire before dropping by.

It’s possible that the wallpapers you need are no longer available, especially if it’s been a while or is a popular design. In this case, you need to look for either a similar or complementary style.

While you’re at it, buy some extra yards for future replacements.

 

Step #4. Measure and draw the shape of the part to be replaced

Once you’ve returned from the store, you can now start measuring the initially measured damaged areas on the new wallpapers you’ve acquired. It would be best to use a ruler and pencil for this, on a wide table or anywhere clean and flat.

Make sure you write some code on each piece that indicates which room and spot each piece should go, especially if there are a lot of replacements to make. Also, try to fit the replacements to the old spots first before cutting them.

Make sure you leave about a centimeter for every edge so there won’t be any lapses.

 

Step #5. Clean the application area

After all the replacements have been cut and grouped by room, you should start removing the damaged sections and clean the surfaces before reapplication. You can use a cutter and ruler to cut these sections from usable ones.

Find a putty knife and use it to carefully scrape the old wallpaper you want to remove. Smother the surface with sandpaper if need be, and make sure you remove all debris and particles leftover.

Dust off the surface afterward and wipe it with a clean cloth. Make sure it’s completely dry and clean.

If it’s a cement wall underneath, check this article on how to repair water damaged cement wall afterward.

 

Step #6. Apply the wallpaper

Once the sections are ready, you can now apply the wallpaper. Apply some primer first before rolling out the sheets and smother them section by section to avoid creases.

It’s best to set up a single direction to follow for this so it goes orderly. Also, apply to tricky sections first.

Read this article next about how to fix water damaged fiberboard.

 

Conclusion

We’re done discussing how to replace water damaged wallpaper, including how to prep the surfaces. Make sure you do enough planning with the design and application before starting something as major as this.

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