How To Wallpaper
Behind A Radiator
To be clear, the best way to wallpaper behind a radiator is to remove the radiator from the wall.
Some basic plumbing skills are necessary in order to safely remove and replace it, and for many of us this is a step too far.
If you don’t feel comfortable with this approach, you can still hang the wallpaper behind the radiator without too much of a problem. Just follow the steps below and take your time.
Wallpapering Behind a Radiator
1. Before doing any work around the radiator, turn it off and give it time to cool down. If you don’t do this, your wallpaper adhesive can dry too quickly, affecting the strength of the bond, and besides, who wants to burn their hands.
2. Give your radiator a good cleaning, removing any accumulated dust from the wall and brackets behind the radiator. If your radiator is looking a little tired, now would be the perfect time to add a fresh coat of radiator paint.
Handy Tip: Paint before you paper!
3. After cutting your paper to length and applying the paste, proceed to hang the wallpaper as usual, brushing down up to a point just above the radiator, leaving the balance to hang freely against your WallpaperBuddy™ or on the front of the radiator. WallpaperBuddy™ can hold the paper off the radiator, so no adhesive is transferred from the wallpaper to the radiator.
4. Measure the position of the radiator brackets, from both the edge of the wallpaper and from the top of the radiator. With a pencil, mark these measurements on the wallpaper, and cut out these sections so the paper will fit around the brackets.
5. Lift your paper in behind the radiator and proceed to smooth it to the wall behind the radiator using a radiator roller.
Most DIY stores will sell them and they are quite inexpensive. If you don’t have a roller, you can try using a stick with a dry cloth to smooth the paper to the wall.
6. As wallpaper is less visible behind a radiator, the finish is not as important as it is on other parts of the wall, but you should still take your time and try to smooth it on as evenly as possible.
7. Sponge any paste off the radiator before it dries.
8. Don’t turn the radiator back on until the paste is fully dry.
How To Stop Wallpaper Peeling Behind A Radiator
- Apply a thin coat of Border Adhesive (stronger than paste) to the wall behind the radiator, this will help prevent the paper from peeling away from the wall.
- A common cause of wallpaper peeling behind a radiator is hanging clothes on the radiator to dry. The warm moisture evaporates from the clothes and permeates into the wallpaper adhesive softening it.
We hope you found this article helpful, and we would appreciate it very much if you shared it with someone else you feel might benefit from it.
Want to learn more about making wallpapering easy?:
Wallpapering Is Made Easy Using WallpaperBuddy™
