Dean hangs wallpaper and lining paper in Delapre homes, the interwar streets opposite Delapre Park, just under a mile south of Northampton town centre. Interwar rooms here suit papered chimney breasts and picture-rail layouts, but the solid outer walls need checking for condensation first.
Rooms laid out for paper
Interwar houses on streets such as Delapre Crescent Road, Eastfield Road and Ransome Road often keep two features that suit wallpaper: a picture rail running round the main rooms, and a chimney breast projecting into the front and back reception rooms. Both give a pattern a natural frame.
- Below the rail only. Paper from skirting to picture rail, with a flat emulsion frieze and ceiling above. It keeps a bold pattern from overwhelming a modest terraced room.
- Chimney breast as the feature. One strong design on the breast, plain painted alcoves either side. It suits the smaller mid-terrace front rooms well.
- Full room, rail removed. Some owners have taken rails out. Paper then runs to the ceiling, and the old fixing line needs filling and lining first so it does not ghost through.
Pattern repeat matters more in small rooms. Dean will set out the drop from the centre of the chimney breast so the motif sits evenly either side, rather than starting in a corner and finishing with a half pattern on the most visible wall.
Checking the outside walls before any paste goes on
Most of Delapre is solid brick with no cavity and, according to the energy certificates, no insulation as built. The plaster on those outer walls runs cold, and condensation collects behind furniture and in the corners. Paper on a wall like that can lift at the seams or grow mould underneath, where you will not see it until it shows through as a dark patch.
So before quoting a papering job on a front or back wall, Dean checks it with a moisture meter and looks for old mould staining. If there is a problem, we treat it and let the wall dry, and we may steer you towards a breathable paper and a fungicidal paste, or suggest keeping the feature on an internal wall instead. The handful of homes with external insulation on their EPC records are far less prone to this. If a wall has been replastered after damp repair, it needs to dry out fully and be sized before it takes paper.
Old plaster and lining paper
Interwar plaster is generally sound, but ninety years of redecorating leaves its marks: layers of painted-over paper, patched cracks where a fireplace was blocked up, and uneven corners. We strip back to the plaster, fill and sand, and then usually hang a lining paper cross-lined to the finish paper. It gives a heavy or expensive paper an even base and helps the seams sit tight. On a wall that is simply too rough, lining paper painted in emulsion is sometimes the better answer than a patterned paper.
Paper in rented rooms
With student halls on the Waterside Campus just north of Ransome Road and HMO controls covering parts of Delapre, some houses here are shared lets. Landlords rarely want full papered rooms, but a washable vinyl on one wall of a communal lounge can take knocks better than paint and is easy to sponge clean. We will give an honest view on where paper is worth it and where paint is the more practical choice.
For the full process, from stripping to the final trim, see our wallpaper hanging service. Other work we do locally is on the Delapre area page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
