Beautiful wallpaper in the living room, bedroom not only look expensive and stylish, they give the room a special comfort, warmth. Photo wallpaper and at all serve as the main element of the decor of the room, its “highlight”. Thick wallpaper canvases act as a way to heat and soundproof the room. Wallpaper is often chosen for finishing walls: it is the cheapest, can be glued with any wallpaper glue and is environmentally safe.
Paper-based canvases can be thin or “triplex” – triple with a layer of wood in the middle. You can also be 100% sure that fiberglass wallpaper (fiberglass fleece) is safe. They contain glass fiber and other harmless components. Glass wallpaper is usually white in color and used for subsequent painting. They are ideal for offices and wet areas.
Much more expensive are the following types of wallpaper:
- vinyl;
- fabric wallpaper;
- fleece;
- bamboo;
- silk;
- acrylic sprayed;
- decorative plaster (liquid wallpaper).
Wallpaper can be smooth and embossed, embossed and even textured – for example, in the form of brickwork. The choice of fabrics is very rich, and the advantages of using this type of finishing material are undeniable:
- preparation is carried out to a minimum, as small defects in the walls are perfectly hidden by thick fabrics;
- Wallpaper perfectly adheres to most types of substrates, even with bare concrete, provided the use of special adhesive;
- Shades and textures of wallpaper are incredibly diverse, the surface is soft, gentle, giving the interior “visual warmth”;
- Wallpaper is practically incapable of causing allergies (we are talking about paper, non-woven materials), modern cloths are safe for humans
- finishing layer will increase the effect of noise insulation, reduce heat loss in the corner apartments;
- Paper wallpaper – vapor permeable material, they do not violate the microclimate in the room
- glue new wallpaper can even a non-professional, the method is simple and accessible – just learn how to combine the pattern and smooth the cloth on the wall the service life of wallpaper is long, many can be washed with household chemicals.
The disadvantages of this type of finishing, too, there are:
- to tear firmly glued cloths from the wall, you need to try – first you will have to moisten them with water, then – scrape them off with a spatula (usually problems arise when replacing paper wallpaper, dense are removed more easily);
- dirt, stains from the paper strips are difficult to remove, on the surface may remain scuffs (washable wallpaper can easily tolerate such manipulations)
- Animals often damage the wallpaper, tear it off, so if you have a pet, you must buy a roll of material to spare;
- Paper wallpaper is not suitable for rooms with high humidity – bathroom, kitchen, they can peel off or lose their appearance
- under the influence of mechanical factors, the material is easy to tear, and thin paper wallpaper can be deformed even with his fingernail.
Types of paints, pros and cons of painting walls
Paint – an alternative to wallpapering, it can be chosen instead of the traditional wallpapering. When choosing a paint product, you need to consider the function of the room in which you intend to repair. Materials can be such as:
- acrylic and latex – used in rooms with high humidity, give a very beautiful, silky coating (matt or glossy);
- water-based (based on PVA) – suitable only for dry rooms, in contact with water and steam lose their properties and beautiful appearance;
- silicone – used by allergy sufferers, as by 100 % exclude appearance of reaction, but expensive by cost.
Oil paints, acrylates and nitro enamels are practically not used for walls. They contain a lot of harmful substances, so in recent years they have been replaced by more modern compositions.
The advantages of painting walls indoors are as follows:
- surface preparation necessarily includes priming with antiseptics, which significantly “revitalizes” the room;
- in the presence of stains, small defects can easily carry out local repairs – it will not lead to large costs;
- Painted walls can be washed, their appearance will not suffer, with paint is easy to wash away dirt, traces of markers, food residues, stains from drinks;
- pets do not scratch painted walls, do not sharpen their claws on them;
- paint colors are varied, you can order in a construction store tinting in any, even the rarest shades.
The disadvantages of painting also have. Preparation of the walls is always labor-intensive, because otherwise even the smallest defects will be perfectly visible. If a non-professional takes on the job, the result may not be good enough. It is also difficult to carry out the initial painting, as opposed to a small update of the coating. It is better to learn the technique of application, so that ugly smears are not visible on the wall. Another disadvantage has matte coatings – their pores are clogged with dust, which penetrates from the air, so you will need to wash the walls regularly.
Comparison of criteria
To paint the walls or glue wallpaper – a matter of taste. To choose an option, you need to compare all the parameters, selecting for yourself a solution suitable in terms of price and labor costs.
The cost of materials
Such a comparison is correct only when considering materials of similar quality. For example, there are very expensive wallpaper (e.g., natural fabrics, bamboo) and no less expensive paint (when calculated per square meter of area). Approximately the same price will be budget versions of water-emulsion and paper wallpaper. If we compare the quality latex paint and wallpaper fleece, the cost of the work will also be approximately equal.
In terms of the cost of additional tools, painting loses out. You will need to buy a roller, brush, paint tray, paint container, as well as pay for tinting. For gluing wallpaper, you only need a regular bucket, glue, and a roller.
Calculating the cost of the surface
All work on the finishing of the walls begins with the preparation of the surface. This is often the most extensive and expensive stage, which takes a lot of effort and time.
Before painting
If it is decided to paint the walls of a living room or office, you can’t do without pre-preparation. In the absence of alignment of the walls, defects will be highly visible, which will spoil the quality of repair. In addition, without preparation, the adhesion of the base will remain low, so the walls will quickly appear cracks, dents or bulges. The main stages of preparing the walls for painting:
- Dismantling the old coating. This step is skipped only in new houses, where the walls are concrete or have minimal thin plaster.
- Alignment of the walls. The use of fillers (cement, gypsum and others) helps get rid of cracks, pits and chips. Depending on the quality of the original coating, it is sometimes necessary to make several layers of putty, apply reinforcing mesh.
- Finishing puttying. It is necessarily performed before the subsequent painting, allows achieving a smooth surface of snow-white color. Especially important is the finishing for painting with light coloring materials.
- Sanding. This stage of the work is needed to give the base perfect evenness.
- Priming in 1-3 layers. Priming helps to reduce the absorbency of the surface, improves the adhesion of the finish with the wall.
- Much faster preparation of the gypsum plasterboard surface is carried out. Here putty only the seams (joints) of gypsum plasterboard sheets, after which the material is primed for 2 times. This will seriously reduce the cost of time and money.
Before wallpapering
The cost of work to prepare the walls for the subsequent wallpapering can vary greatly depending on the initial smoothness of the walls and the type of cloth. If the walls are even, and the wallpaper is thick, embossed, it will be enough only to remove the old coating and priming the walls. Such preparation is fast, not expensive, it is easy to perform with your own hands. The standard option is the most common. It includes dismantling, applying putty in one layer to seal cracks, holes and chips of existing plaster. After the wall is primed. The option “from scratch” is used when there are bare concrete walls or a very uneven surface with many defects. The walls have to be completely cleaned from the coating, primed the surface for 2 times, then putty, sanded and primed again. The cost of such preparation is about the same as the price of the preparatory measures before painting.
Do I need thorough preparation?
In general, prepare the walls for wallpaper is much easier than for painting. In the first case, small defects do not matter much, they will be covered by dense fabrics. Even more serious irregularities will not become conspicuous. Before painting, thorough preparation is of the utmost importance. All defects will be as on the palm, so for their sealing it is necessary to apply plaster and acrylic putty, followed by priming.
Difficulties in wallpapering Difficulties in wallpapering can arise only if you buy low-quality material, which, after the drying of the glue will give shrinkage or deformed when applied to the wall. Also somewhat difficult to work with colored wallpaper with a pattern or original details – they must be properly combined.
In addition, the consumption of canvases will be large. In staining, too, there are difficulties: sloppy application of strokes, slow work can lead to negative results – the appearance of stains, streaks. When finishing putty, the slightest scratch will also dramatically reduce the quality of the coating, which will greatly complicate the repair.
Environmental friendliness
Boast of ecological purity can wallpaper, made of natural materials – glass, wood, paper, fabric. Many of them, unfortunately, are impractical or have insufficient beauty and are only used in offices. Vinyl wallpaper in the production of include the use of formaldehyde.
Despite assurances from manufacturers that the substance is released only when strongly heated, the apartment within a few months will be present unpleasant smell. Paints for walls, for the most part, are environmentally friendly. This applies to latex, acrylic and water-based materials. Only alkyd enamels are dangerous to the body, but they are almost not used for finishing living quarters.
Practicality
The safest paper and textile wallpaper do not last long. They quickly get dirty, and they are not washable, not resistant to abrasion. With ordinary scratches on the paper can appear a hole. Vinyl wallpaper, like fiberglass, fleece, last much longer, is easy to clean, they can be removed from any stains without loss of external gloss. Paint gets dirty faster and harder than durable wallpaper, but painted walls are much easier to clean. But it should be remembered that intense friction will lead to the brightening of the area on the overall background, so the wall will have to be repainted.
Aesthetics
After reading the different design projects, we can conclude that there are rooms with both wallpaper and painted walls. Both types of finishing materials are presented in the widest assortment, colors and types. However, for the bedroom, experts advise to use wallpaper – they are more comfortable, provide a sense of tranquility, peacefulness. Paints are considered more boring, but they can be significantly enlivened by the application of beautiful prints.
If it is difficult to make a choice in favor of paint or wallpaper, you can make a compromise – to perform in different rooms both types of finishing. There are also alternative options – liquid wallpaper, decorative plaster, panels or even a wooden finish. They will allow you to diversify the design of the room, performing it to your own taste.