Can I paste photo wallpaper over other wallpaper?
You want to give your room a makeover by putting something new on the wall. A nice patterned wallpaper, beautiful nature wallpaper, painting wallpaper or textured wallpaper with a stone or concrete look. You’ve decided to wallpaper yourself, but you still have some questions. Quite understandable.
“Can I wallpaper over (painted) wallpaper?” or “Is it better to remove my wallpaper before sticking new wallpaper on the wall?” are questions we often get from customers, before they order photo wallpaper from us. In this blog, we answer these common questions once and for all.
Remove old wallpaper or not?
You may choose to remove your old wallpaper before sticking new wallpaper on the wall. But this is not always necessary. Are there many lumps, bumps or cracks in the old wallpaper? Then we do recommend removing your old wallpaper. If you don’t, your new photo wallpaper will not be nice and flat, it may warp and get ugly bulges. And that, of course, is a shame.
If the old wallpaper layer is still pretty neat and even, wallpaper over wallpaper can be a good -and easier- option. After all, it saves you a lot of work. But the type of wallpaper is also very important here.
Wallpaper over wallpaper?
Not only the quality, but also the type of wallpaper determines whether you can stick the new wallpaper layer directly over the old layer. Without having to remove the old layer first. Because of its thickness and structure, paper wallpaper (duplex) is actually the only one that always gives good results with wallpaper over wallpaper. With the other types of wallpaper, it is usually better to remove (the underlay of) the old wallpaper before applying a new layer. Especially if there is a texture in the old wallpaper. You may start to see this through your new wallpaper.
Wallpaper over painted wallpaper
Basically, the same tips and rules already shared above apply here. But what you should pay extra attention to is the thickness of the wallpaper and the colour of the wall. Because of course it would be a shame if the bright pink colour on your wall shines through your new wallpaper. You can counter this by first painting the current wall white before sticking the new wallpaper on it. Make sure the paint has hardened well before you apply the glue and stick the new wallpaper on. Otherwise the wallpaper will not adhere properly.
So overall, whether you need to remove the old wallpaper before applying a new layer of wallpaper depends on several factors. Do you have duplex paper wallpaper? Then wallpapering over wallpaper goes well nine times out of ten. With all other types of wallpaper, you have to be more careful. It is better to be on the safe side by removing (the underlay of) the old wallpaper. Do you have questions about wallpaper removal or are you unsure which type of wallpaper is currently on your wall? Then send us an e-mail ([email protected]) or call +31 (0) 85 130 82 85. We will be happy to help.
