Wallpaper experts John and Mike Keane show how a little wallpaper can camouflage unsightly wall heating vents that seem to stand out in the middle of the room:
- Hold the wallpaper pattern up to the wall and mark it while the vent is still on the wall.
- Take the wallpaper panel and lay it out on the work surface, matching the print if your vent is wide enough to require more than one width of paper. Lay the vent on it and cut around the vent, leaving a generous amount of paper for turning back .
- Brush the adhesive generously onto the front and the back of the vent, even down into the fins, or openings. The Keanes recommend using vinyl-on-vinyl adhesive, which is the strongest type of wallpaper adhesive.
- Before applying the paper, add a little adhesive on the back. Also double-check the match of the pattern.
- Lay the paper on the vent and use a roller to press the entire surface, including the fins, until the paper is secured to the vent.
- Trim the paper, leaving enough to fold to the back of the vent. Then, with the vent face down, use your fingers to secure the paper around the perimeter of the panel, as if you were wrapping a package.
- Working from the front, hold the vent up to the light so you can see through it , then with a knife carefully slit the paper in the center of each fin. (You'll be able to feel the knife following the outline of the fin-you're essentially tracing the fin with the knife.) As the paper tears easily when it's wet, use a very sharp blade.
Don't cover anything that has a direct electrical connection, such as phone boxes , wall-hung stereo speakers, etc.
Guests John and Mike Keane
Expert Wallpaper Hangers, Custom Wallpapering & Painting
Phone: 609-778-7772
Fax: 609-835-2352
Also in this Episode
)
