Wallpapering a Room

[NeuroZombie]

My wife and I are about to embark on a strange journey (how strange was it? ... sorry RHPS in my head).

We are going to wallpaer our second bathroom. Why am I bringing this up on these boards? I wanted to hear some advice.

First off, this is not your normal "buy a roll of wallpaper. etc.." job. We are using posters and print outs (printed on 24 lb paper) of Science-Fiction, Fantasy and Horror movie/comic books/pulp novel covers/pulp mag covers, tec.. to plaster all over the walls in out bathroom. We wanted to go all freaky and fun with our second bath, and we got the idea from a friend of ours who has about a bazillion punk sticks all over her "Punk as F***" bathroom.

I just wanted to see if anyone has done anything like this, or is in the remodoling biz or anything and would have a few pointers on doing this. If I don't gethelp here I will be forced to *gasp* go to TLC's boards!

Thanx in advance!

 

[Angcuru]

Lucky for you, I have 5 years experience in the remodling biz.

Before I give you any advice I need to know what the state of the walls are now. Do they currently have wallpaper on them? Paint? Are they bare drywall? Paneling?

 

[Psychic Warrior]

Some friends of mine did this same thing with a huge number of illustrated fantasy books (stuff with legends of witches, King Arther, fairies just about everything fantasy related). The coolest part is that they left on most of the sotries about the pictures so you always have something read when you rin the john!

They used simple wallpaper paste liberally applied to the pages and stuck them on. A soft cloth and a light touch to smooth them out with some water and they looked great! I would lvoe to do something liek that in my bathroom or spare bedroom.

 

[Turanil]

Beware that in such a moisty place as a bathroom, while regular wallpaper would be made to resist moisture, it may not be the case with posters and pics printed on normal paper. This maybe would need to have those posters and pics laminated first?

 

[NeuroZombie]

-Angcuru-

The walls are painted plaster with a very slight, irregular pattern from the application of the plaster. I painted the walls about 6-8 months ago with a high-quality indoor paint. Is is a realtively small bathroom with the requistite sink and toilet (installed and/or built by me), and an awesome corian shower that the previous owners installed.


-Turanil-

RE: The Dampness - This is one thing that I was affraid of. I was wondering if they make some type of laquer or clear coating that could be painted over the images after they are up and dry. There seems that there would have to be something like this on the market.


-Psychic Warrior-

I bet that looks awesome! Thanks for the tid bit about their methods.

 

[Rel]

My initial advice would be "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T PUT UP WALLPAPER!". That's coming from my horrid, awful experience having had to take down some ancient wallpaper in our bathroom that came off in tiny, half-inch wide, 2 inch long strips despite liberal application of that stuff that is supposed to soften the glue.

But your idea sounds cool.

I'd still put it up with the thought in mind that, "Someday I might want to take this down." Therefore I'd see if you could find some really cheap rolls of wallpaper on clearance at a hardware store. They don't even need to match. Then put them up an put the pulp fiction on top of that. I'd suspect that you can get some kind of polyurethane based laquer to cover it with.

Your project sounds cool so good luck. Post a pic when you're done.

 

[Angcuru]

If it's painted plaster, you should be ok with simple wallpaper paste, but be very careful to smooth all all of the bubbles. As for the moisture issue, I would recommend a coat of clear polyurethane. You can buy it in spray cans at the home depot, and after several coats of the stuff, you should be fairly safe. Be sure to test it on a sample beforehand, though. The polyurethane coat would make it especially difficult to take down in the future, however.

 

[adwyn]

Having had 20+ years in remodelling and real estate, I'd say be very careful. Nothing you do will be likely to keep the humidity out, and mold has become a major issue in the US housing market. The clear varnishes can be a mixed bag, instead of keeping moisture out they often keep it in.

If you do decide to go forward make sure that the room is well ventilated. Also look into fungicides that can be mixed into the glue or paint, they definetly help. Your local wallpaper specialty shop (not DIY's like Lowe's or Home Depot) should be your first stop. They usually can give some good advice, especially in yur already humid clime.

 

[NeuroZombie]

Thanx for all of the advice so far. I got the "put up cheap wallpaper first" from a friend of mine, but thanx for reminding me!

 

[Psychic Warrior]

My initial advice would be "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T PUT UP WALLPAPER!". That's coming from my horrid, awful experience having had to take down some ancient wallpaper in our bathroom that came off in tiny, half-inch wide, 2 inch long strips despite liberal application of that stuff that is supposed to soften the glue.

Bah. You had it easy. Easy i say! the house my wife I bought had anywhere from 3-4 layers of wallpaper on every wall and the cieling. Yes the loonies who owned this place before wallpapered the cieling 3 times. It came off pretty easily but having to work above your head for 4-5 hours a day is murder. One room was simply hellish - we tried wallpaper remover, a steamer (worthless - never waste the money on one) and finally found alittle item called the Paper Tiger. A hand held ball with serrated teeth that scored the wallpaper and allowed the remover to get in under it. Still took 3 days to remove.

Neurozombie - if I remember correctly they did put a very light coat of urethane on it (from a spray can). Of course the bathroom they did was only a 1/2 bath and had no shower.