What is the Advantage and Disadvantage of sports wall coverings

 you’ve never hung wallpaper before, you might be wondering if there’s an easy wallpaper to use.  Watch me explain the pros and cons of three different kinds of wallpaper and which one avoids a big headache (both during installation and when you’re ready to remove it) while I hang a custom wallpaper on set at Cityline.

Watch Pros & Cons of Prepasted, Unpasted & Peel and Stick Wallpaper:

If you’ve wondered, “how hard is it to put up wallpaper?” I might be able to help.  I’ve worked with all three different types of wallpaper so I have a lot of advice to share with you.

For more DIY Wallpaper Tutorials, remember to Subscribe to my YouTube Channel!

What is Prepasted Wallpaper?

I’ll start by explaining what prepasted wallpaper means because that’s the only type of wallpaper you can buy from my website – and I think it’s the most easy wallpaper to work with.

So, what is prepasted wallpaper, anyway?

Basically, it already has glue on the back of the paper, so you don’t have to buy extra paste to put onto the wall or onto the back of your wallpaper.  Usually you use water to activate the paste.  With mine, you dip the wallpaper in a bin of warm water.  With some others, you spray water onto it.

It’s a really clean and simple wallpaper to hang, even if you’ve never done it before.

Other Types of Prepasted Wallpaper

With some other prepasted wallpaper, you use a spray bottle to spray water over the back of the paper and then you fold it over onto itself to activate the paste and relax the paper.  This is called booking.

When I was in my twenties and first moved out, I tried hanging this kind of prepasted wallpaper.

The issue I ran into was not knowing how much water to spray.  I was worried if I used too much water, I’d ruin the print or it would get very delicate and rip.

But by using too little, when I folded the paper over onto itself it dried out and stuck to itself.  It was a nightmare pulling it apart.

It also dries more quickly on the wall which can make it a little harder to work with and can shrink more easily, exposing gaps in the seams.

If you go with this kind of prepasted wallpaper, I suggest testing a sample before working with the full panels, to see how much water to use.

What is Unpasted Wallpaper?

So, what is unpasted wallpaper?

It’s when you buy extra wallpaper paste and either apply it to the wall (called “Paste The Wall”) or the back of the wallpaper (called “Paste The Paper”).

It can be tricky to know how much paste to apply, so again, I recommend testing a sample.

If you put too little, the wallpaper can fall off the wall or curl at the seams.

And if you put too much, the glue can seep out of the seams and stain the wallpaper or it could cause mildew problems.

What is Peel and Stick Wallpaper?

Lastly, what is peel and stick wallpaper?

It’s like a sticker where you peel the backing off the wallpaper and stick it to the wall without using water or glue.  It’s another easy wallpaper to work with.

So, peel and stick vs prepasted wallpaper?  Which one is best?

I used to sell peel and stick wallpaper but I stopped for a few reasons:

1. Lots of peel and stick wallpaper is made with vinyl which can have an odour and can be toxic for your air quality.  I decided years ago to only sell non-toxic, eco-friendly wallpaper for my own health and the health of my customers.
2. It’s harder to get rid of air bubbles under peel and stick wallpaper.
3. You have to place it perfectly level on the wall in order to match the patterns up at the seams.  If you don’t, you have to peel it off and reposition it until you get it right.  Good quality peel and stick wallpaper stays sticky, but some of the cheaper options loose its tack and eventually won’t stick to the wall if you continuously pull it off to reposition.  Prepasted wallpaper slides around on the wall for a few minutes so you can easily match the pattern up at the seams.

Test with Wallpaper Samples First

If this is your first time hanging wallpaper (whatever type you choose), I recommend testing a sample before working with the real thing.

You want to get comfortable with the amount of water or paste you need, see how sturdy the print is when you’re working with it and feel how durable or delicate the paper feels during installation.

You can buy a wallpaper sample from my online shop.  Just find a pattern you like then click the “Buy a Sample” button (as seen above).

All my wallpaper samples are printed on the same prepasted wallpaper as the full sized version, so just dip it in warm water and place it on the wall to test it out.

How to Hang My Easy Wallpaper

If you like the idea of a prepasted wallpaper, you might want to watch each manufacturer’s installation video before you buy, because there are a couple ways of hanging prepasted wallpaper.

You can watch this How to Hang Wallpaper Video Tutorial to learn how to hang mine.  Here’s a quick overview:

• You dip each wallpaper panel into a bucket of water, slowly pull it out and place it on the wall. Simple!  Don’t believe me?  Buy a sample of any pattern in my online shop and test it out on your wall!
• Your seams look perfect since you can slide each panel into place for several minutes after putting it on the wall.
• The paper is strong and durable so it won’t rip and the design on the front won’t rub off when it gets wet.
• There is already the perfect amount of paste on the back, so you don’t need to use any extra glue.
• The width of each panel is only 18”, so it’s totally manageable for one person to hang – although it’s always more fun getting a friend, spouse or your child to help!
• Don’t worry about the complicated processes called “booking” or “double cutting the seams” when you choose my wallpaper.
• It’s removable when you’re done with it and it’s eco-friendly!

Save on Wallpaper

Join my newsletter community and I’ll let you know when my wallpaper goes on sale and dish all my DIY ninja tricks so you can learn how to hang wallpaper like a pro.

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About the Author: 

Adrienne is the owner and founder of About Murals. Her work has been featured on Cityline, HGTV, The DIY Network, CTV Life and The Toronto Sun. She enjoys writing about trends in wallpaper murals and creating videos teaching DIYers how to hang wallpaper. You can reach her at adrienne@aboutmurals.ca.

When it comes to our home interior, many people try to be trendy with the current interior design vogue ensuring that they are visually outstanding. With this common trend of interior wall panelling, it has taken over the other wall finishes like paint, tiles cladding, wallpapering, etc. Amongst the most wall panels, the ‘PVC Wall Panels’ are more common for the interiors to enhance the look of your home along with the furnishings and floor coverings.
Do you want to know why you should choose the ‘PVC Panels’ for your interiors? We are happy to tell you why?
Did you know? 50% of PVC products are used in construction. It is a low-cost material that has replaced wood in many interior related items.
In the 1970s, Germans were the first to use the PVC sheets in Walls as a decorative interior finish. It was quite a unique and smooth surface finish available compared to the other wall coverings at that time.

PVC panels are such Eco-friendly product that are trending because of its varied properties such as impact resistance, durability and flexibility. These are light weight panels that are easily available in the market at an affordable rate.

Types of PVC Wall Panels for Interiors

01. PVC Foam Board

PVC Foam Board is prepared by PVC foaming and pressing with additives. These are available in thickness ranging from 1mm to 20mm. We generally use 4 mm or more thickness for panelling a wall. The size of PVC foam boards varies from 1.22m to 2.05m width and 2.44m and 3.05m length. These are available in varied bright colour shades like white, black, yellow, red, green, blue, etc.

PVC Foam Boards

The boards with thickness more than 6mm are majorly used for external wall cladding material. They become an extra layer of protection. The layer protects the wall from rain, snow, hail, and sunlight. They also become insulation for the room inside and reduce the intensity of external sound entering the walls.
We can also have CNC cutting in such boards to create decorative patterns on the wall panelling.

Jali in PVC Foam Boards

02. PVC Sheets

These are PVC sheets, sandwiched between the longitudinal grid of PVC within them. This grid provides the sheet strength and makes the sheet lightweight, therefore also known as light weight panels.
PVC wall panels have edges with an inter locking system, so that water cannot pass through the joint. Some designs have grooves, which gives a stripes form to a wall. In such patterns, the joints are not at all visible as they merge with the grooves.

PVC Sheet Wall Panelling

The most commonly available PVC wall panels size of 8mm thick in India is 10-inch wide and 10 feet long.

They are available basically in the following tone:

Wooden Pattern:

• There are varied wooden texture PVC sheets available that mimic the wooden look. They also have 4-inch plank groove pattern which gives a uniform wooden plank look on the wall. The wooden textures are achievable by printing and hot foil treatment on the surface.

Wooden Texture in PVC Sheets

Golden Stripes:

• The edges of PVC panels are treated with golden or silver lines, to overcome the plain bald look. Such sheets are used in offices and commercials.

Silver Stripes in PVC Sheets

Solid Colour:

• These are plain colour sheets used in bathrooms and kitchen as per our choice. Colours are achievable by treating the surface with semi transferable printing or hot foil treatment. Thus it can have many colours and textures

Colour with Silver Stripes in PVC Sheets

Marble Textures:

• Some PVC sheets are hot filmed treated with stone textures mimicking the look of stone. Such sheets are useful in bathrooms, kitchen, toilets, etc.

Marble Texture PVC Sheets

There are different types of corner edge moulding available to cover the edges of wall panelling.
(a) H Joint: These are useful to join perpendicular pattern sheets that are in one plane.
(b) Corner Cove: These are edge closing trims that has a cove design for aesthetics. It can be used as a skirting.
(c) F Edge Trim: The F edge trim covers the thickness of wall panelling. They are useful in covering panels near door jambs and window opening.
(d) Internal Corner Edge Trim: These are useful in covering corner edge junctions and are applicable in the internal side of wall panelling.
(e) External Corner Trim: These are useful in covering corners of the wall and are applicable on the external side of wall panelling.

Types of Trim– PVC Wall Panelling

(f) Functional Corner: These are similar to corner edge trims but are better in strength to take the abrasion or wear and tear at a lower level of wall panelling.
(g) J Edge Trim: These are similar to F edge trim but are used to take PVC sheets horizontally. Moreover used to cover sheets above an opening.

Edge Profile with Sheets

03. 3D PVC Wall Panels

These are panels with embossing effect in PVC. They give a 3d effect by creating light depth in the wall. They give an opportunity to give a modern and contemporary look to space.

3D PVC Wall Panel

Pros of Using PVC Panels

• When there is dampness in the wall, PVC wall panels are most useful, as it can resist moisture very effectively.
• We know that PVC is an environment-friendly and many medical equipment and food packages are also made of PVC material because they cause no harm to the environment. Thus, such material is useful in hospitals, sports arenas and schools.
• PVC show good resistance against moisture. The surface has no pores or cracks, so it prevents the growth of bacteria’s. They have a polyurethane layer which gives a smooth and a plain surface to the board. So it becomes easy to clean such boards. No dirt gets accumulated on the surface and it is easy to maintain such kind of wall panelling. Thus, such panels are suitable for kitchen and toilets along with other rooms.
• They don’t rust when used in external surfaces of the house.
• The ignition temperate is 60 C degrees, so they don’t burn easily. In case of fire, they emit lesser smoke compared to wood and the by-products formed from combustion are less toxic in nature.
• These are light weight panels, so the installation process is short. These panels can be easily cut and installed without grouts.
• Many panels have interlocking or tongue and groove system which makes the process of fixing fast. It also helps to replace a single panel whenever it gets damaged.
• The PVC wall panels are good for insulation.
• The PVC panels are recyclable and one can handover old one to a plastic recycling facility.
• The PVC panels are available in many colors, designs and shapes. So, it offers many options for a designer to create a decorative wall surface.
• The PVC panels are finished surface panels. They need no extra finishing like painting or polishing etc.

Cons of Using PVC Panels

• These are final finished panels, one need to take caution that it doesn’t get hit by a sharp object that can cause scratches on it as it will be difficult to remove or hide or treat such scratches.
• Nailing/Screwing such boards can be tricky sometimes. If the screw goes wrong, the same hole cannot be used to screw the board

Well, now when you know so much about PVC panels. Hence, you can opt for PVC Wall Panels and make your walls look attractive and decorative!
Tell me where are you thinking to plan it in your house? Share your thoughts and experience on PVC Wall panels.

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Image Courtesy: Image 2 – ecoste, Image 3 – innoshouse, Image 4 – ramahomedecor, Image 5, Image 6, Image 7 – mcnettimages, Image 8, Image 11 – csmau

Author Bio

Urnit Kaur – Urnit Kaur is an Architect based in Ahmedabad. She loves Design challenges and it helps her client’s to bring their thoughts into reality. She has been passionately involved in Architecture from designing projects to managing them on site since 2014. She has been part of Ahmedabad Heritage Dossier project, designing ISRO Bopal campus and currently working on other varied scale projects with Aakruti Architects. With her rich experience in fieldwork, she shares tips and facts in her blogs about Architecture, Interior and MEP services. She believes learning should never stop, so she has developed a hobby of creating colorful home décor items by experimenting different materials and aesthetics.