How to hang paste the wall wallpaper
Updated: 21 October 2026
You are in a spare room with a paste-the-wall roll from amazon.co.uk and a roller. How to hang paste the wall wallpaper is a dry hang: adhesive on the plaster, the strip kept dry, a butt join, and a wipe if paste reaches the print. Soaking the length or overlapping the seam is how a first attempt goes wrong. The [non-woven wallpaper comparison](/hub/painting-supplies/non-woven-wallpaper) sets the rolls out. Peter F. set this sequence from UK hanging notes on 20 October 2026. There was no lab hang. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You are in a spare room with a paste-the-wall roll from amazon.co.uk and a roller.
You are in a spare room with a paste-the-wall roll from amazon.co.uk and a roller. How to hang paste the wall wallpaper is a dry hang: adhesive on the plaster, the strip kept dry, a butt join, and a wipe if paste reaches the print. Soaking the length or overlapping the seam is how a first attempt goes wrong. The non-woven wallpaper comparison sets the rolls out. Peter F. set this sequence from UK hanging notes on 20 October 2026. There was no lab hang. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Hang method | Soak | Material | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  A.S. Création A.S. Création Trendwall 2 black | Paste the wall | No soaking time | Vinyl fleece | 9.0 | about £21.37 | View offer |
| Best value |  Warmiehomy Warmiehomy flocking dark grey | Non-pasted | Not stated | Plant fibre | 8.8 | about £15.99 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Livingwalls Livingwalls Metropolitan Stories 2 | Paste vs pre-pasted | Fields disagree | Vinyl fleece | 8.8 | about £24.28 | View offer |
On this page
Before you paste
The strip sits on plaster that is dry, filled and sized. New plaster has to dry before you hang, which is how DIY Doctor treats preparation. If you hang the same day, the paste loses its grip. Gloss needs a key, or the adhesive holds the paint film and then lets the strip go.
Match the batch on every roll before you mix paste. If you are papering one wall, take the drop count from the non-woven wallpaper for a feature wall page. Mark a plumb line about one strip-width in from the corner. Keep the first length dry. Booking is for traditional paper.
The paste-the-wall sequence
Paste a band a little wider than the strip, and leave the back dry. Graham & Brown's UK how-to uses that order: paste with a roller, hang the dry length, brush from the centre, and butt the next drop. Offer the top to the ceiling, leave a trim allowance, and line one edge up with the plumb line. Smooth from the middle outwards.
Butt the next length against the first. A lap of about 2 mm is the line you see once the paste dries. Slide the strip while the paste is open, then stop. Stretching the fleece pulls the print. Wipe paste on the print while it is damp.
Paste, bubbles and seams
Wipe paste off the face while it is damp. A dried smear on a dark ground is much harder to lift. Wallpaper Direct's hanging note sets a practical limit of about two strip-widths ahead, so the paste stays open. A cold box room skins paste faster than a heated hall. Paste one band, hang it, then paste the next.
A bubble usually means a thin patch of paste, a stretched strip, or smoothing that began at the edge. Lift the dry side while the adhesive is open and brush from the centre again. If paste lands on the print, use a barely damp sponge and clean water, and rinse the sponge. Soaking the drop in the bath leaves this method. Stop if the insert does not say paste the wall.
When this sequence does not apply
Use these steps only when the label or the hanging symbol says paste the wall. If the label says paste the paper, read paste the wall versus paste the paper before you mix a tub. Pre-pasted means the adhesive is already on the back, and a dry strip on fresh wall paste does not activate that layer. Peel-and-stick has no paste tub, and a blank installation line means the insert decides.
A stairwell, a drop match around a bay, damp plaster, or a tenancy that limits stripping belongs with a decorator. If the wall is damp, too far out of plumb for a butt join, or not yours to strip, stop there.
Common questions
Do you soak non-woven wallpaper?
Leave the strip dry when the symbol says paste the wall. Soaking and booking belong to traditional paper, and a grasscloth booking time does not carry over to a printed non-woven. This page gives no soak time for that reason. Wet the back and the paste on the wall can skin while you wait. Read the symbol before you fill a trough.
Do you paste the wall or the back of the paper?
Put the adhesive on the wall, a little wider than the strip you are about to hang. The back stays dry. Pasting the back as well squeezes adhesive out at the seam and pushes the join into a lap. If the insert says paste the paper, follow that instruction. This page stays with the paste-the-wall symbol.
How far ahead should you paste?
Wallpaper Direct’s practical limit is about two strip-widths, so the paste stays open while you hang. Treat that as their limit, and shorten it in a cold room. Paste one width, hang the dry strip, then paste the next band. Pasting a whole chimney breast first lets the earliest area skin before the strip will slide.
What do you do if paste gets on the face?
Wipe it while it is damp, with a barely damp sponge and clean water, off the pattern and onto a cloth. Rinse the sponge so you do not put adhesive back. A dried smear is harder to lift on a dark ground. Keep the length out of the bath if you want to stay on this dry hang.
Does this sequence apply if the listing says pre-pasted?
Use these steps only when the roll says paste the wall. Pre-pasted adhesive is already on the back, and fresh wall paste does not switch it on. Some amazon.co.uk listings say both non-woven and pre-pasted, or they leave installation blank. Follow the insert in the box.
Can you hang it over new plaster the same day?
Wait until the plaster is dry, then size it. DIY Doctor treats sizing as preparation, and pale plaster can still hold moisture. Paste on a damp wall loses its grip. Gloss needs a key too. If the wall was plastered this week and still feels cool, leave the rolls wrapped.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures saved for this set. The wider price band is a rule of thumb.
- GOV.UK, Construction products regulation in Great Britain (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Commission Decision 2010/82/EU (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- BSI, BS EN 233:2016 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- SIST EN 233:2017 preview (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Wallpaper Direct, Hanging paste-the-wall wallpaper (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Wallpaper Shop, Wallpaper symbols (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- DIY Doctor, Wallpaper preparation (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- amazon.co.uk, Non-woven wallpaper search (retrieved 20 October 2026)