What Tools Do You Need to Hang Wallpaper?
The full wallpapering kit explained. What each tool is actually for, which two are worth spending money on, and the ones you can leave on the shelf
To hang wallpaper you need a tape measure, a pencil, a spirit level, a sharp snap-off knife with spare blades, a broad filling knife, a smoother, a seam roller and clean white cloths. For our pasted papers, add ready-mixed paste-the-wall adhesive, a bucket, a paste brush and a short-pile roller. That is the whole list.
Wallpapering has a reputation for needing a shed full of equipment, most of which belongs to a way of hanging paper that has largely disappeared. Below is what each tool is actually for, which ones repay buying properly, and which you can ignore.
Measuring and marking
- Tape measure. A 5m one is plenty.
- Pencil. Ordinary graphite, sharpened. Never a pen or a marker, because ink bleeds through damp paper.
- Spirit level, at least 1m. This is what you draw your vertical line against, and that line is what every length is hung to.
- Or a laser level. Not essential, genuinely useful. It projects a true vertical you can hang to without re-drawing on every wall, and it pays for itself on a whole room.
A traditional plumb bob does the same job as a level for a fraction of the price. It is slower and it swings, but it has never been wrong.
Cutting
- Snap-off knife and plenty of blades. The most important tool on the list. Every cut wants a sharp edge, and a blunt blade drags and tears damp paper rather than cutting it. Snap the blade on every few cuts. That is what the segments are for.
- Broad filling knife, 100mm or wider. You hold it in the crease at the ceiling and skirting and cut along it. A straight edge or a wallpaper trim guide does the same job.
- Wallpaper scissors. Long-bladed scissors for cutting lengths on the floor or table. Optional if you are cutting against a straight edge with a knife.
Do not use household scissors or a kitchen knife. Neither cuts a clean straight edge, and the edge is the part of your work that shows.
Pasting
For traditional and heavy-grade papers only.
- Ready-mixed paste-the-wall adhesive. No mixing, consistent every time.
- Bucket and a scuttle or roller tray.
- Paste brush. For cutting in at the ceiling, the skirting and into corners, where a roller cannot reach.
- Short-pile roller and pole. For covering the middle of the wall quickly and evenly. A long-pile roller holds too much and leaves ridges.
Smoothing and joining
- Smoother. A plastic smoother suits our heavy-grade paper; a felt-edged smoother is kinder to the super-matte surface of the traditional and removable papers. A wide smoothing brush also works.
- Seam roller. A small hard roller for closing the join. Used lightly, because pressing hard on a matte or textured paper leaves a permanent shine.
This is the pair worth spending money on. A cheap smoother with a hard, rough edge will mark a matte paper, and you only find out after the length is on the wall.
Cleaning and protecting
- Clean, dry white cloths. Several of them. Paste on the face of the paper comes off with a clean, slightly damp white cloth and a light touch.
- Dust sheets and masking tape.
- Screwdriver. For socket and switch faceplates, with the power off at the consumer unit.
Not a sponge. A wet sponge puts far more water onto the paper than you want, and a coloured cloth can transfer dye to a damp surface. This is paper and ink, and it should be treated as such.
Access
- Step ladder. Tall enough that you are not working from the top step.
- A stable working platform for a stairwell, meaning a scaffold board between two secure supports, not a ladder balanced on a step. This is the part of the job that actually carries risk.
- A clean, clear surface to cut on. A table, a board, or a swept floor.
Do you need a pasting table?
Not for our papers. A pasting table exists because paste used to go onto the paper, and you needed somewhere to lay a length out, coat it and fold it. With paste-the-wall paper the paste never touches the table.
What you do need is somewhere clean and flat to measure and cut. A pasting table is a convenient version of that, and it is cheap and folds away, but a wiped-down dining table or a clean floor does the same job.
The kit for peel and stick
Shorter, because there is no paste:
- Tape measure, pencil, spirit level or laser
- Sharp knife, spare blades and a straight edge
- Felt-edged smoother
- Step ladder
- A clean surface to cut on
A pin is worth having in your pocket for trapped bubbles.
Tools for taking wallpaper off
Different job, different kit: a broad stripping knife, a scoring tool, a sponge or garden sprayer, wallpaper stripper, and a steamer if the paper is stubborn or there are several layers.
What you can skip
- A wallpaper trough. Only needed for prepasted papers, which are an American format.
- Overlap or repair adhesive. Useful in a tube for fixing a lifted edge later, unnecessary for hanging, because our papers butt-join and are never overlapped.
- A steamer, unless you are stripping.
- Wallpaper smoothing gloves, tape and gadgets. A smoother and a sharp blade do everything they claim to.
What is the minimum I need to hang wallpaper?
Tape measure, pencil, level, sharp knife with spare blades, broad filling knife, smoother, seam roller and white cloths, plus adhesive, bucket, brush and roller if you are hanging a pasted paper.
Do I need a pasting table for paste-the-wall wallpaper?
No. You need a clean flat surface to measure and cut on; the paste goes on the wall.
Can I use a paint roller for the paste?
Yes, a short-pile one. Keep it for pasting afterwards.
What is a seam roller for?
Closing the join between two lengths so the edges sit flat. Use it lightly, one gentle pass.
Is a laser level worth it?
For one feature wall, no. For a whole room or a stairwell, it saves time and removes the commonest cause of a drifting pattern.
Do you sell tools or adhesive?
No. We make wallpaper only. Adhesive and tools come from your local decorating merchant, and any good one will know exactly what a paste-the-wall non-woven paper needs.
