Partial DIY wallpaper repair

Repair is the most common occupation that accompanies a person throughout his life. And even if it was done thoroughly, then in a year something will have to be repaired. Grease, glue and even plaster. After all, it often happens that, through negligence, when moving furniture, they scratched their expensive, so diligently glued wallpaper, but that's nothing. And if they were torn, and even in the most conspicuous place. What to do? How to repair wallpaper so that no trace of it can be seen?

When renovating apartments, wallpaper plays a major role, because it is they that are the most contemplated element of any home. Therefore, the base must be prepared as efficiently as possible.

First of all, before starting gluing, you should inspect the place of damage. If it is deep enough, then the surface must be putty and cleaned with sandpaper. Then a piece of the wall is treated with a deep penetration primer so that the wallpaper does not fall off again in this place.

Often, among the damage to the wallpaper, there are tears due to cracks in the wall. This happens mainly in new homes. Moreover, in one-story and multi-apartment high-rise buildings. This process is inevitable, because any structure shrinks, in which cracks appear in the weakest points of the walls:

Before repairing damaged wallpaper, you must do the following:

• Remove the wallpaper with a strip of at least 20 cm wide along the entire length of the crack.
• Remove the old filler and make the crack wider so that the plaster mixture can be applied to it.
• Before plastering, it must be treated with a high penetration primer. After complete drying, plaster this piece of wall, while laying the metal mesh. When leveling the surface with a filler, it is also recommended to use a glass fiber reinforcement stack.

A wide variety of damage can occur on the wallpaper, the causes of which can be anything:

• furniture;
• human factor;
• poor-quality glue or improper preparation of the base in some places;
• old age.

As a rule, in the latter case, the walls are completely re-glued, therefore everyone will not like redness, and against their background pieces of new wallpaper will stand out very much. Therefore, we will consider cases with physical factors. But before starting work, the first thing you need to do is choose wallpaper for repairs that match in color and texture.

Scratches are the most common causes of damage to wallpapered walls. They can be both large and small. Based on this, the scope of work is selected. Here, the geometric parameters of the wall should be taken into account, if the scratch is on a small separate section of the wall, then it can be re-glued completely, which will be the best option. If the scratch is in the middle of a large and even wall. Then on the wallpaper they mark a rectangle, square or strip of the correct shape and cut it out neatly with a mounting knife and a level, rule or ruler. After that, a piece of the same regular geometric shape is cut out of a new piece of wallpaper, but with a margin of 1-2 cm on all four sides. The prepared piece is glued to the wall using known methods. After that, using the same assembly or wallpaper knife and a ruler, all sides of the piece are cut with an indent of 0.5 - 1 cm from the edge. The cut edge is carefully removed and the edges of the newly glued piece are raised to remove the old wallpaper from under it.And everything is rolled into place with a wallpaper roller. If the wallpaper has a certain pattern, then, therefore, it is necessary to select it.

If the damage happened exactly in the drawing itself, then you can only replace it by cutting it carefully along its contour. With this method of repair, defects will not be visible at all.

If the scratch turned out to be small, then using a thin brush, the glue is applied to the lagging pieces. Then gently press down with a clean and dry cloth to remove excess. Be sure to keep the piece wet with glue. After that, the place can be rolled with a roller, expelling the air.

If, for some reason, the wallpaper turned out to be torn, then there are two options for action:

If a piece of them is still hanging, then the wallpaper can simply be glued with some liquid and white glue. For these purposes, the glue for gluing wallpaper can be a well-known PVA.

Be sure to let the edges soak in order to soften the edges and make them more pliable.

It should be remembered that heavy wallpaper requires the use of a more durable glue. And to speed up the drying process, you can use a regular hair dryer to dry your hair and set the average temperature of the air flow.

If the wallpaper fragment is missing. Then here you should proceed as described in the first case.

When large scuffs form on the surface of the wallpaper with the manifestation of their structure, then it is necessary to act here as described earlier. Cut a piece of the correct geometric shape on the wall and from the remains, but larger. Then glue with PVA and roll in. Next, trim off the edge and remove the remnants from under the piece just glued.

Wallpaper gluing can also be carried out in the second way when scuffing is formed. The piece to be glued does not need to be cut along a straight line and in the form of a regular geometric figure. It can be torn off while the tear should go in the opposite direction so that the edges of the wallpaper are not noticeable from the front side. This will keep these edges thin for better adhesion and blending into the background. Here, the main thing is to roll the piece well with a roller and coat it with glue.

We take an ordinary syringe, collect PVA glue and introduce it into the cavity in different places little by little. Then we smooth the surface.

The gluing of wallpaper joints is carried out as follows:

Pasting wallpaper joints

1. Using a thin brush, gently smear the bent joints of the wallpaper.
2. Then, with the help of a roller, they are re-rolled against the wall.
3. Let the canvas soak.

A radical method. If, after diligently smoothing the wallpaper, seams form at the joints, then they can be successfully masked. To do this, you need a thin brush and paint to match the color of the wallpaper. The edges of the wallpaper should be carefully torn away from the wall, if possible. Then paint the wall at the junction and let it dry.

You can also play it safe if the preparation of the wall is not good enough, at the joints, glue paper tape (the usual one for cash registers is suitable) this procedure is good to carry out at the time of pasting the walls with wallpaper.

Repairing damaged wallpaper: do it yourself

Damage to the wallpaper can occur for various reasons: during the rearrangement, the furniture was inaccurately moved and hooked onto the wall, the pet sharpened its claws, the recommendations for pasting wallpaper during the repair were not followed, and much more. The nature of the damage can also vary, ranging from small scratches to the appearance of a bubble in the middle of the wallpaper.

Photo: you can do everything yourself

There are many reasons, but you need to somehow fix the detected defects, which can be done with your own hands. Each such damage requires its own approach to repair.

For example, scratches on damaged wallpaper can be fixed like this:

• prepare the tool and material: you need PVA glue, a lint-free cloth, a thin brush and a hair dryer;
• cover a small scratch with glue with a brush and press this area with a rag, removing excess glue;
• if the scratch is still visible, turn on the hair dryer and warm up this place, then press this area of ​​the damaged wallpaper until the treated area cools down;
• if the scratch is large, then gently peel back the edge, coat the wallpaper with glue and repeat the steps mentioned above. Instead of a brush, you can use a cotton swab to reach the farthest spot of the scratch. Try to apply glue to the entire surface of the damage.

Photo: liquid wallpaper is also easy to repair

The same method can be used if the edge of the wallpaper is hanging but not completely ripped off.

• Stick it in place to see how it will look after gluing. If the result is satisfactory for you, then glue this piece with glue and, smoothing with a damp cloth, remove excess glue, you can also warm this place with a hairdryer. If done correctly, no trace of damage should remain.
• For more serious damage, when only an incomplete fragment of the wallpaper remains, it is necessary to make a patch. Find the remainder of the wallpaper of the same color and pattern, place a piece of cut wallpaper against the wall to match the pattern, and select a piece one centimeter larger than the damaged area. Cut it out, and if it is thin paper wallpaper, then carefully tear off the desired section of the wallpaper, since thin torn edges will stick to the wallpaper better and will be less noticeable on light wallpaper with a small pattern. Apply glue and glue the wallpaper, smoothing it with a rag. You need to not press hard so that the patch does not move. It should be borne in mind that you need to use a specialized glue that matches the type of wallpaper... For example, repairing non-woven wallpaper for painting is done with one glue, and paper wallpaper with another. Otherwise, the patch may not adhere or fall off after a short time.

If desired, girls can also cope with recovery.

If a more significant piece of wallpaper is damaged, then cut this section and remove it from the wall. If the damaged wallpaper does not lag behind the wall well, you can moisten it with water. .

1. You need to find exactly the same wallpaper and adjust the pattern, if required. Cut the wallpaper so that the new piece is five centimeters larger than the old patch.
2. Next, you should glue the wall and the patch with glue, glue it, press down and smooth it so that there are no air bubbles left. The edges of the patch are overlapped, therefore, cut off the excess areas with a sharp painting knife so that the cutout falls on the junction of the pasted wallpaper. Thus, the replaced area will practically not be visible.

If the wallpaper lags behind the abutment of the wall with the ceiling or floor, you need to carefully bend the canvas and fix it in this position... Be careful not to tear the wallpaper even more .

• Now you need to find out why the wallpaper didn't stick to the wall. Perhaps the wall was poorly prepared and the old plaster, which had fallen off, was not removed. Remove all crumbs and vacuum from dust and debris, then plaster the wall and wait until the layer of plaster is dry.
• If necessary, prime the wall.
• Now coat the wall and wallpaper, press the wallpaper against the wall and smooth it out to avoid voids under the wallpaper, remove all excess glue with a cloth. For strength, you can warm up the joints with a hairdryer and press with a rag until the seams cool.

Armed with knowledge, you can cope with even such a difficult task.

Now let's look at the case when gaps appeared between the seams of the wallpaper. If during the repair you glued the wallpaper joint to joint. then a gap at the joints is possible, and therefore a gap may appear. If the wall is very different in color from the wallpaper, then it will look bad.... You can prevent such a defect in advance and, having measured the wall, find out where the edges of the wallpaper will be joined. In those places, paint the wall with paint that matches the color of the wallpaper, a narrow strip... This will mask possible gaps between the wallpaper.

If you have not foreseen this, then you can mask the defect by applying a one-color colored putty, the color of which matches the color of the wallpaper. It is necessary to smear the resulting gaps with your finger, wipe across the seams with a rag until the putty has dried, and wipe the stains on the wallpaper with a clean dry rag.

Uneven joints are leveled with a special roller

To avoid such cases, it is necessary to carefully approach such a responsible matter as wallpapering. After all, wallpapers are glued for a long time, at least until they lose their appearance, become faded, from exposure to the sun or humidity in the room.

• If you decide to restore the wallpaper, remember: the first step is always to remove the old layer. Wet them with water, and they will more easily come off the walls in large chunks. After removing the old wallpaper, prepare the wall for pasting.
• It is necessary to remove all the paint to which the wallpaper does not want to stick, to clean and remove the putty, which crumbles and falls off.
• It will not be superfluous to check the fastenings of the sockets and switches located in the wall, fix and putty so that later the socket along with the wallpaper does not fall out in these places.
• Check the corners of the room. if they are too uneven, smooth them out with putty.
• Use a primer designed for the wall material. In order for the wallpaper to stick well to the wall, it must absorb moisture, otherwise the wallpaper will dry for a long time and may not stick to the wall.
• Avoid drafts after pasting. The room should not be too hot. Wallpaper glue must match the type of wallpaper. For non-woven glue, one glue is used, for textile glue, another, and so on. Do not use glue that is too hot, its temperature should not exceed thirty degrees. When renovating, constantly monitor the quality of your work, because it is much easier to fix it right away than after the wallpaper has dried.

We recommend watching the tutorial (how to restore the wallpaper):

It is hoped that you will be satisfied with the repair done by yourself, and that various defects will not appear on the wall that can darken the joy of the repair.

Wallpaper is a versatile finishing material for walls. After gluing, they decorate your room, giving it a unique look, however, small defects that appear during operation can ruin it.

Such damage can appear on the wallpaper when changing the arrangement of furniture, a few inaccurate actions are enough, and a strip appears on your favorite wallpaper, or a piece comes off altogether. Pets, with prolonged contact, can tear even the most durable vinyl wallpaper with their claws. Well, the most commonplace may be problems with wallpaper due to improper gluing, allowed drafts and the wrong consistency of glue.

Most likely, this wallpaper cannot be restored.

All these factors can lead to consequences of varying severity, ranging from small scratches to the edges of the wallpaper stretching from the wall. But do not rush to get upset, you can cope with the damage on the wallpaper yourself, it is enough to know how to work with this or that defect.

Small defects in wallpaper include scratches; this is the most common household defect that occurs in almost everyone. Removing scratches does not require special skills, it is enough to prepare the necessary tool and use it.

To work with minor damage to the wallpaper, we need:

• PVA glue in a small bottle,
• glue wiping material, preferably a lint-free cloth
• a brush for applying glue,
• household hair dryer.

Scratches are not visible on all wallpapers, it all depends on their depth and material texture

The technique for removing scratches is as follows:

• gently apply PVA glue to the scratch using a thin brush,
• press the wallpaper against the wall in this place, using a wiping material,
• remove the remnants of glue,
• if necessary, heat the place where the glue is applied with a hairdryer, press the wallpaper firmly against the wall and wait for it to cool.

The above manipulations should be enough to eliminate a small scratch, but if it is large, you will have to slightly complicate the task.

To eliminate a large scratch, it is necessary to slightly separate the wallpaper cloth from the wall, gently smear the wallpaper, trying to reach it with a brush, as deep as possible, firmly press the oiled piece, remove the remaining glue and heat the work surface with a hairdryer.

For deeper processing of the glue, you can use a cotton swab. In addition, it is important to apply glue to the entire surface of the wallpaper separated from the wall. Nuances play an important role, remember this.

We fixed the scratch on the wallpaper, now let's move on to gluing the edges of the wallpaper. It happens that the edge of the wallpaper has moved away from the wall and bent, something needs to be done.

We apply the above method, slightly modernizing it.

Still think your wall paper looks bad

If the detached edge of the wallpaper in its shape clearly fits the bare wall, where it used to hang, it is not torn, or slightly torn, and when connected to the wall, the general appearance of the wallpaper will be restored, then in this case it is enough to glue the edge back.

We make standard manipulations: carefully and thickly smear the edge with wallpaper glue, apply it to the wall and smooth it, remove the remnants of the glue with a rag and, if necessary, dry the area with a household hair dryer. Such a simple and quick wallpaper repair should restore the original appearance of the wallpaper.

If the detached edge of the wallpaper is torn, if it has a missing part, then a patch will have to be used in this place.

Making a patch involves using the same type of wallpaper that is pasted on the wall. Match the pattern and color of the wallpaper, matching them in the place of the defect. To use it as a patch, we need a piece a couple of centimeters larger than the piece that came off the wall and was torn. This is done in order to successfully combine the old wallpaper and the new piece so that the seam is perfect.

In some cases, picking up a drawing is easy, sometimes not

We cut out this piece with scissors, or tear it off with our hands, in the case of repairing thin paper wallpaper. Torn edges on paper wallpaper adhere very well, moreover, after drying, on light-colored wallpaper and wallpaper with a small pattern, such connections are practically invisible.

Then we move according to the outlined scheme: we apply glue to the inserted piece, and press it against the wall, we try to combine the drawing as clearly and beautifully as possible. You shouldn't press hard on it, as this can remove most of the adhesive and damage the seam.

Repair of such wallpaper is complicated by the noticeable texture of the material.

With this type of wallpaper repair, you should choose glue according to the type of wallpaper, if your wallpaper is based on non-woven, then we choose the appropriate glue, for paper wallpaper, in principle, any glue is suitable. In addition, you can use polymer glue for repair (glue on which ceiling tiles and ceiling plinths are glued) or construction PVA, but in this case the effect may be different.

The wrong choice of glue will allow the inserted piece to fall off again.

If we are not dealing with a small scratch, but with a large area of ​​damaged wallpaper, then we will have to cut this area off the wall and stick a patch. We try to cut an even shape on the wall, so it will be easier for us to fit the patch.

If a torn piece of wallpaper does not peel off the wall well, you can apply a special wallpaper remover or wet it with water in the old fashioned way.

Patching a wallpaper patch

We repair the wallpaper section in several stages.

1. We make the patch from the same wallpaper that is glued on the wall.If you do not have such rolls left, you can look into the hardware store with a piece cut off from the wall, perhaps such an article is still being produced, then you can buy the required roll of wallpaper.
2. We cut out a patch several centimeters larger than the damaged wallpaper cut from the wall, for their further correct joining.
3. We apply wallpaper glue of the desired brand to the wallpaper and wall, apply and smooth the patch, getting rid of unnecessary air, try to combine the pattern on the canvas.
4. Since the glued patch is several centimeters larger than the empty space on the wall, it overlaps. We remove it with a sharp knife, cutting through the junction of the patch and the old wallpaper. This removes unnecessary overlap and creates a perfect connection that is almost invisible.

Now your patch is on the wall and after drying it is difficult to see.

One of the most common types of wallpaper defects is peeling from the wall near the ceiling or floor. These are the most difficult areas for gluing, and it is often there that builders have defects in their work. To work with this marriage, it is necessary to remove the edges of the wallpaper from the wall in this place and try to study the cause of the delamination.

Try to manipulate the wallpaper as carefully as possible, remember that at any time they can break off.

Here are the main reasons for this detachment:

• the wallpaper was glued onto fragile old plaster, which got wet and fell off in contact with the glue,
• the wall was not primed and the wallpaper glue was completely absorbed into it,
• the consistency of the glue was not observed, it was liquid or did not fit at all with this type of wallpaper,
• high humidity was allowed during pasting,
• there was a draft in the room while wallpapering the walls.

In any case, you can now confidently conclude that the wall for wallpapering will have to be well prepared.

Choosing the right wallpaper glue will help you avoid many problems in the future.

1. We remove all debris from under the wallpaper hanging on the wall: dust, dirt, old plaster.
2. If necessary, lightly plaster the wall and give it time to harden.
3. We prime fresh plaster with a special compound or wallpaper glue.
4. We proceed to restore the integrity of the canvas: we apply glue to the walls and wallpaper, dock the piece that has gone away to the wall and other nearby glued canvases, press, smooth, remove air from under it, the remnants of glue, wait for it to dry completely.

To speed up the drying process, you can use a hair dryer, in addition, by heating the joints, you can strengthen their contact with the wall and perfectly align. To achieve the desired effect, press the joints to the wall and wait for complete cooling.

One of the most common wallpaper problems is loose or poorly joined seams. Such a defect can be observed after gluing paper wallpaper, which can stretch slightly under the influence of moisture. After drying, such stretched canvases shrink, leaving a gap between the joints.

Such gaps are very noticeable on bright and dark wallpaper, which is strikingly different from the gray base plaster or the finishing white. On light-colored wallpapers, the thin gaps between the seams are not so noticeable.

An example of a bad joint between canvases

Builders with experience, having found out what kind of wallpaper they will have to glue on the wall, can insure themselves and paint the alleged joints with paint that matches the wallpaper being prepared for gluing.

But back to the problem, in our case we need to fix an already existing defect. This is done with a putty and color scheme: a color is selected that matches the tone of the wallpaper, the putty is tinted and applied to the joints. The rest of the putty is removed before drying with wiping materials.

Once dry, the joints may be slightly visible at close range, but completely invisible from afar. This method assumes complete masking of bad joints on the wallpaper.

Many defects in wallpaper could have been avoided at the very beginning of working with them - when they were glued to the wall. A competently prepared surface, following the instructions, the use of modern materials, all these factors would help you stick the wallpaper seriously and for a long time.

Applying a finishing layer of plaster to the wall

We have prepared a number of important aspects that you should adhere to when working with such a finishing material as wallpaper.

Using these tips, you can repair damaged wallpaper with your own hands, thereby returning it to its original beauty and grace. However, remember that most defects could be avoided by properly gluing the wallpaper to the wall.