My Bedroom Design Is Falling Apart!!

Okay, that might be a little melodramatic. But imagine my surprise when I came home one day last week, walked into my bedroom, and saw this…

Yes, that’s an entire section of my gorgeous grasscloth wallpaper that literally fell off of the wall and is now draped over the headboard.

Oh, this grasscloth has been such a pain in the neck. I thought it was going to be sooooo easy to install. I went to Home Depot and bought some wallpaper paste for non-prepasted wallpaper.

I knew after about five minutes that it wasn’t going to work. It was about as effective as trying to install grasscloth with chicken broth. It had absolutely no “adhesive” effect whatsoever!! I tried tacking it with thumbtacks until it dried, which is a tip I read on a professional installer’s website, but it just curled around the edged.

I panicked, because I was already starting off with a limited amount of grasscloth, and had none to waste. I rushed that strip into the bathroom, draped it over the shower curtain rod, gently wiped off the excess wallpaper paste, and let it dry.

On to Plan B.  (That seems to be happening a lot lately!!)

Environmentalists and health enthusiasts, please avert your eyes!! My Plan B just might send you into a frenzy.

I went to Home Depot and got this…Loctite spray adhesive:

I didn’t realize it at the time, but this is a different kind than what I’ve used in the past.  This is Loctite High Performance 200.  Home Depot had this kind and the Loctite General Performance 100.  Naturally, of the two, I chose this one.  I grabbed a few cans, brought them home, and got busy on the headboard wall.

It was absolutely the messiest process EVER.  It came out as a spray mist, and it got all over everything.  And if you’ve ever used spray adhesive before, you know that it stinks to high heaven!!  We had to open up the windows and clear out the animals.

After I got about three pieces of the grasscloth up on the headboard wall, I finally decided that this wasn’t really what I wanted either.  I just couldn’t take any more of the spray getting all over everything…as well as on my skin, all in my hair (gross!!!), and everywhere else.  The spray adhesive I had used in the past sprayed out as a web, not as a mist, and wasn’t messy at all, but for some reason Home Depot didn’t have that kind.

I finally found it at JoAnn Fabrics.  It’s the same brand, but the STRONGEST hold, and it sprays as a web, not a mist. 

It still stinks to high heaven, but at least it doesn’t mist all over everything. I did the rest of the room with this, and it’s been just fine. But unfortunately, the headboard wall will have to be done again with the strong adhesive.  Darn.

Two steps forward, one step back. Sometimes that’s how the whole DIY process feels.

 

 

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

12 Comments

  1. Oh you poor thing! I totally can relate. All my DIY projects are like that, one step forward three steps back. I use spray adhesive on A LOT of things, it is messy but it works. Good luck.

  2. Still in love with wall paper? Sorry, I could not resist! The grass cloth looks so great in that space that I really hope this works for you. Your plan for this room just floors me. WOW! I can't wait to see the end result!

  3. Getting ready to start a grasscloth project…do you spray the Loctite 300 ;)-thanks for that tip!…on the grasscloth itself, the wall or both??

  4. I sprayed it on the grasscloth AND the wall, and I coated both really, REALLY well and then waited the amount of time states on the can. Just beware…if you use this method, you have one shot at getting it on there straight. There will be no repositioning the grasscloth. Once it's up, it's up, and if you try to remove it to reposition it, you will tear the paper backing off. It's probably better to get someone to help you.

  5. I appreciate this blog so much. My wallpaper also fall sometimes. Thanks for sharing what will be the great thing to do with that. More good post to come!