Just How Much Wallpaper Can One Room Take?

When it comes to home decorating, there is the lazy way and there is
proper way. There are no other choices. In our ever busier lives, it
is so tempting to go for the lazy way that we forget the long term
damage that we can be storing up for our homes and the trouble and
expense that we will face at some stage in the future.For the lazy
decorator, we aren't even going as far as nailing curtains to the
window or using sticky tape to mend tears in wallpaper. We are talking
about the more acceptable end of lazy with the two prime candidates of
woodchip and layering. Wood chip wallpaper is the dream choice for the
home decorator. Cheap to buy and with no right way up, all it needs is
a slap of wallpaper paste and stick it on the wall anyhow. For the
really ambitious, paint over the paper. Then if you get a knock or a
tear, all you need to do is repaint the damaged section, the chips
disguise any damage and your wall paper looks as good as new
again.Option two is simply to slap one layer of wallpaper on top of
the previous one. Decorators repairing old houses have reported
removing over ten layers of paper, each one carefully pasted over the
previous one in a curious time capsule of the change in tastes over
the years.The trouble with these methods of decorating is that you
never get down to the wall. Cracks and crumbling plaster are hidden
and whilst your room may look good at the surface, the hidden damage
is slowly multiplying as creeping decay attacks your home. As if that
wasn't bad enough, the more layers of paper you stick on your walls,
the greater the risk that the plaster may not be strong enough to hold
all the paper and will eventually part company with the main wall,
leaving you with a major repair job.For the very unlucky, multiple
layers of wallpaper or of paint on top of wallpaper can also trap
moisture in the wall, leading to mould and damp. This can lead to dry
or wet rot creeping around your home under the layers of wallpaper,
eating away at the very fabric of your home and destroying plaster and
wood until the only remedy left is to completely strip your home to
bare brick and start again.Of course, all this can be avoided by
abandoning the lazy way and just doing the job properly. Whether you
do the decoration or call in experts, when wallpapering a room, strip
off the old paper. Then repair any damage and prepare the surface
properly before applying fresh wallpaper. Yes this might take a little
more time but the long term benefits of looking after your home
properly will be worth it in the end.