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shrinking patterns

5K views 23 replies 11 participants last post by  fauxlynn 
#1 ·
One reason I love damasks is that as you approach the kill point (where the last two strips meet as you have gone around the room, and only luck will make the pattern match exactly) the pattern can be "expanded" or "shrunk" with judicious and creative seaming (in other words, you make the wallpaper lie).

Here's one this week that I thought came out well considering I had to shrink the pattern by 1.25 inches in three 20" wide strips (four seams).

Obviously one should plan to kill along a header such as this where the strips are so short and least noticible.

Not too shabby for an old "Hack n Fraud"

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#5 ·
Just hire a pro, guys, and all your problems will be over.

As a matter of fact, I got to the job to estimate, and the HO had painted over the previous layer......and yes, I spared his life :thumbup:

Real nice guy. Not too many years in this country from Bulgaria, and that's the way they do it over there in gov't owned housing (one more reason against socialism)

I did write all sorts of disclaimers in the estimate, and he understood. As I said, a real nice guy. I wish we had more like him bred in this country.
 
#6 ·
Not being a fan of wall coverings - mainly because unless I'm really slow, I suck at it, - I am always amazed at the craftsmanship of real paperhangers. Reverse curves, multiple angles, "seamless" seams, etc.. I've been known to stand there for countless minutes just trying to figure things out on how it was done. Then I always say to myself: "I feel sorry for the poor SOB who has to remove this sh!t down the road." LOL

As usual Bill, your work is commendable.

BTW: I ran into my old family friend (He's around 70 now.) who hangs paper. He said the last year was one of his busiest in a long time. Seems wall coverings are back in vogue with alot of designers and HO's. He's hoping his back will make it through another year. Great guy.
 
#7 ·
Thanks wolf,

But like anything, with practice, comes speed and perfection. AND with proper preparation of the walls, stripping will not be onerous.

Yup, the trend for wallpaper is swinging back to vogue.

And I doubt my body will be allowing me to still hang at 70. The shoulders, wrists, and hands all take a beating. I'm impressed your friend can still do it.
 
#9 ·
Yup, the trend for wallpaper is swinging back to vogue.
And there is a whole new breed of tradesmen that don't know how to hang. And if they do, its only the basics. To be honest, I've never met a hanger younger than me, and I'm 45!

I foresee a serious lack of skilled labor in my area, if this upswing in the popularity of wallcoverings continues.
 
#16 ·
Handy cowboys over your way so I say haha. We have to serve 4 years over here on the job,and off the job in training centres. You get trained in on all aspects of the trade from painting,wallpapering,staining,graining,broken colour,marbleising,screen printing,sign writing,colour mixing and colour schemes,everything really.as you pass through your 4 years you to do tests.if you fail a test you have to repeat that whole phase again.when you finish your 4 years and have finished all your tests you are then seen as a qualified painter and decorator with papers that are recognised in most of the world. Your wages for the first year are 25% ,2nd years 50%,3rd year 75%,4 year 90% I was earning 90 Irish pounds in my first year haha happy days
 
#22 ·
Nothing "ran off". If I had continued the pattern with no adjustments, at the kill point it would have mismatched by 1.25 inches. But I trimmed each of those last pieces by about 1/3". I also appliquéd part of the pattern over each seam to make it look better.

All tricks, no trade
 
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