I've hung wallpaper but never grasscloth. I've seen it done, though, and it does seem to be a different animal to work with. Visible seams are inevitable and layout to place them well is critical. Good quality grasscloth is not inexpensive - how would you feel if you had to eat that cost, or maybe part of it if you got started and decided you were in over your head? Could you get more from the same lot if you stopped mid-way and decided to hire it out later? Personally, I'd hold out on that one and hire a good paper hanger. My niece had her painter hang hers and as experienced as he may be with other papers, his work with the grasscloth was very amateurish and it bothers her every day. You want to be sure you hire someone with a lot of experience with it - and I'd ask for grasscloth specific references. I know you want to be done, but you've come so far - can you hold out a bit longer?

I am sure I can't get anymore paper from this lot. It was an EBay seller who bought it from lord-only-knows-where. There are no identifying codes on the rolls either. I can't even figure out the manufacturer.
I know a paper hanger who is fabulous, but she deosn't have much grasscloth experience. Finding someone around here who does will be difficult. That is another reason I considered doing it myself. I can do the research and really take my time. I would hate to hire a pro and end up with a amateurish result.
I am trying to slow down and be reasonable, but that's easier said than done (for me anyway). It will be another couple of weeks before the construction debris is cleared completely, that will force me to not rush into things.
What sort of issues I'd your sister have with her installation? I probably need to get another couple of estimates and want to know the right questions to ask.
TIA

Here's a nifty article on hanging grasscloth (click on my link will download the pdf file), and the same guy produced a 2-hour (!!) grasscloth hanging DVD; link below. It looks pretty good, actually, and the $29.95 is cheaper than hiring a pro - see the video excerpt on the page.

I ADORE grasscloth and will be following your saga with interest, since I'm hoarding a similar stash of un-reorderable eBay grasscloth for my den wall. Perhaps we could even share the dvd and go halvsies on it? (email me via my GW profile page)

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Jim Parodi's hanging grasscloth DVD

I hung grass cloth at my last house. It was easy. I painted the wall with a high gloss paint prior to starting and penciled lines to keep my joints straight. I used the starchy potato paste in a box. I wrapped a bock of wood in a towel to press on the grass cloth to get good adhesion. I also covered the outlet covers in grass cloth, you snip the corners like a box, no overlap, fold back and use masking tape to hold it down on the back. Note: I used a piece of sheetrock as my cutting table and an exacto knife.

When I moved into my new house it already had grass cloth in the dinningroom and entryway. I've lived here 20 years! I love it!

Nicole- why the high gloss paint? Does that help with placement of the paper? I was going to paint blue along the seam lines to hide gaping. You have given me hope!

I am hesitant to order the DVD. I think I can figure it out if I decide to go the DIY route.

angc....the high gloss paint helps the paper slip around for placement when it's wet. This way you pull it around or push it, even get a little wrinkle next to a windowsill and you can't see it. :0) The block of wood wrapped in a towel is to push air out that gets trapped. It's helpful NOT to trap air in the first place....start at the top, holding the cloth away from the wall and lay it down slowly as you go. Just a heads up.

I am new to this forum but wanted to say "go for it"! I guess I was dumb enough to not know I should worry about hanging it any special way because I did two rooms about 20 years ago and they turned out great! I had hung dozens of rooms of regular paper and just did it with no hesitation. You do have to be careful smoothing it out but I'm sure I used a metal tool very, very carefully! Good luck!

And.....4 hands are better than 2....
Go for it....when I hung my first wall paper over DH's objections...I told him I was smarter than any paper hanger he ever knew!
Take is slow, easy and think ahead. Measure every panel to be hung Figure out where to start.....then measure and see where you will end.
Linda C

Still debating, but thinking DIY is actually feasible. I would need to set up a work table and get a few supplies. Worst case, I fail miserably and am out $150 for materials so I paint instead. This plain little bath is due a makeover either way. I will keep you updated.

My dad did this in the '70s. He was not a pro and it turned out great. Come to think of it, I have no idea how he did it . . .the wall was so tall in our townhouse!

I had hung wallpaper only a couple times before hanging grasscloth and loved the look of it, but it's been years ago. A decorator had suggested it. My wall was painted in a typical eggshell, so I just applied wallpaper paste onto the wall as I did each panel. I did try to avoid getting any paste on the face of the paper, but cleaned it off very carefully when it happened occasionally. I recall just butting the seams very tight together and don't recall any shrinkage, but your idea to paint underneath with blue is a great idea since that would help in the event you have a tiny bit. One thing that was especially nice about hanging it was the panels were much wider than normal wallpaper so it went faster. In case there's a slight difference in the "nap" of the paper, you might be safer in always hanging the same direction up.

By the way, I just used the floor for laying mine out and cut the panels to a certain length. Then I hung the first panel using a snapped line to make sure it was straight on the wall and trimmed off the excess in the corner (if needed). That house must have had a great framer because I remember that it seemed perfectly plumb and great for hanging wallpaper! I trimmed a small amount off the top with sharp blade if that was needed and the base molding covered the bottom edge. Good luck with yours!

Actually, sujafr, grasscloth, as well as any other 'solid' color wallcovering, needs to be hung with alternating ends up - in other words, you need to turn every other sheet topside down so that any shift in coloring from one side to another on the sheet matches to the same coloring on the next side.

Helene

I hung a whole room of grasscloth 20 years ago; a friend had given me a tip
that consisted of rolling the glue on the wall, and always rolling an extra strip of glue in advance, in other words applying the glue on the wall double the width of what you need, so before applying a strip of grass cloth, I would roll the glue on the wall on the 3rd strip down so that I would not have to roll glue right next to the grasscloth strip that was just hung... it was a labor of love and I enjoyed doing it.

It gets easier as you go along and get in a groove. I would do it for hours at a time when I knew I would not be interrupted... let us know how it goes for you and good luck !!!

hi angc, how was your grasscloth wallpaper hanging? im considering doing it myself this week til next while my husband is away. im excited and hesitant at the same time thinking i may not do well. there are so few resources on how to do it on the internet. any pointers? =)

I have done grass cloth, the hardest part is cutting it and you only remember, great paste, hang the adjoining piece upside down from the first piece, keep alternating. It will be fine. I have hung lots of paper but it has been a while. I had to quit hanging secondary to MS, which makes me unbalanced and fear of heights, but just follow the instructions on the best glue/paste, great cutting materials and keeping it smooth, hanging one piece one direction, the next the other.

I hung grass cloth in my DR at the old house many years ago and I had little wall paper experience, and it went just fine. Needed a big layout space though as the paper didn't come prepasted so I had to paste it myself.

I accidentally found my favorite tool for pressing wallpaper onto a wall...an unused paint roller...the fuzzy coated cardboard thing...its soft, but allows you to add pressure and it leaves no marks on the paper.

As I recall, I also ended up cutting the paper very carefully with a scissor after I creased it on the wall as the usual paper slicer dragged rather than cut the grass.

Hung it, loved it, and so did the cat! Make sure you have extra in case you need to patch. ;o)

Embarrassed to say that I never papered the bath. I come close several times, but chickened out. The powder room is only 3 ft wide and I found an article that warned about avoiding water splashes in narrow baths. I guess water and grasscloth don't mix. The tight quarters (3x7 with 10 ft ceilings) also make using a ladder a lot impossible. I can hire the pro now, but am still unsure. I wish I had awesome pics and could offer advice, but I'm still in a holding pattern.