Quartz wallpapers: selection, sticking and painting
|The construction market today offers many finishing materials, and the range is constantly growing. The biggest variety awaits wallpaper buyers: in addition to various colors and patterns, manufacturers today offer a lot of different types, differing in a number of parameters. Among the newest and most unusual, we should highlight quartz wallpapers: they are completely natural, strong, durable and can be painted, but not everyone knows about their features today. What are quartz wallpapers, what are their advantages and disadvantages, and how to master the sticking with your own hands?
What is quartz wallpaper?
Quartz wallpapers are just beginning to conquer domestic buyers, gaining popularity due to their unique performance. They, in turn, are largely dependent on production features and materials used. The basis for quartz wallpaper becomes paper or non-wovenand the top layer is quartz or granite sand. Now they are already starting to apply vermiculite and mica chips, bugles and shell rock.
Without going into the nuances of manufacturing, we can conclude that they produce quartz wallpaper exclusively from natural materials, which means The material comes out safe and environmentally friendly.
The top layer of quartz sand can be painted in a certain color, but this does not mean that after gluing the wallpaper you can not give a different shade - you can repaint them several times. The texture of this finish is unique, and you can find wallpapers with interesting drawings and patterns, in different shades.
Benefits of Quartz Wallpaper
Of the features of the manufacture of quartz wallpaper, their main advantages emerge:
- naturalness - The main advantage of the material. Wallpaper can be used and in the bedrooms, and in children'swithout fear that they will harm the health of households;
- high strengthdue to which quartz wallpaper can hide some wall flaws. Strength provides a high level of resistance to abrasion and mechanical stress;
- fire resistancebecause quartz is not afraid of high temperature. It is not subject to rapid ignition, and when exposed to an open flame, it will not emit any dangerous substances, because it is a natural material that undergoes a minimum of processing;
- unusual texture of wallpaperwhich makes the room unique. Depending on the features of the relief and the color of the wallpaper, they can be used to decorate both classic and modern interiors;
- painting quartz wallpaper carried out to the full depthwhich is easy to see when looking at a slice of material. Due to this, the maximum invisibility of the joints is achieved;
- ease of care. To keep the quartz wallpaper in order, it is enough to occasionally walk through them with a vacuum cleaner, panicle or rag. Wipe with a barely damp sponge;
- repainting option. Changing the interior with such wallpaper is easy - you just need to purchase latex paint of the desired shade. Using staining, you can hide some of the defects that appear on the material;
- ease of sticking. Deal with mounting quartz wallpaper almost everyone can, if it acts consistently and accurately.
The disadvantages of quartz wallpaper
Against the background of numerous advantages, the disadvantages of quartz wallpaper do not seem so significant, but still they are, and you need to know about them before choosing. So, the main disadvantages are:
- high price, which limits the circle of customers and inhibits the growth of popularity of the material;
- moisture resistance. In rooms with high humidity, such material can not be used;
- the unusual texture of quartz wallpaper may seem unpleasant to some, but this is a purely subjective factor.
How to choose quartz wallpaper?
When all the pros and cons are weighed, the time for choice comes. First of all, you need to decide which basis will be preferable - paper or non-woven. Both materials are natural, and they are based on cellulose, only paper requires a minimum of processing, and non-woven is already chemically modified raw materials, but also based on cellulose. Hence some differences in the finished quartz wallpaper. So if used non-woven backing, then the finished material comes out more tear-resistant, lightweight, flexible, easier to install, has a high ability to retain heat. If used paper base, then the wallpaper is more versatile and cheaper.
As for outer layer, then all the options presented today have excellent operational properties. That quartz, that vermiculite, granite or mica, which are used for spraying, are natural materials that do not burn, do not emit harmful substances, cannot become a place for the development of bacteria and microorganisms and do not absorb odors. That is why your the choice is better based on the appearance of the wallpapersince the materials used give a slightly different relief.
It is also worth noting that in recent years, the choice of quartz wallpaper has expanded significantly. If earlier it was a laconic restrained finish, now you can find material with any pattern, pattern or embossing. Moreover, on one canvas can combine quartz sand, wood chips, mica and other components, which ultimately gives interesting effects.
Quartz wallpapers are available in standard form for this type of decoration - in rolls. Their width ranges from 0.75 to 1 m, a length - from 10 to 25 m. The difference in the width of the rolls presented is small, but still for spacious rooms it is better to use the maximum width materialto reduce the number of joints, while in miniature spaces it will be more convenient to work with rolls of minimum width, reducing the number of trimmings. There are not so many manufacturers of quartz wallpapers today. The best are wallpapers made in Belgium and Germany, and it is they who should be preferred when choosing.
For which rooms can I choose quartz wallpaper? Given the performance characteristics of the material, we can say with confidence that it fits perfectly for children's rooms, bedrooms, living rooms, hallwaysas well as for offices and restaurants. Due to its unique appearance, the wallpaper will fit perfectly into any type of interior: both in high-tech and modern, and in a classic style.
Sticking and painting quartz wallpaper
Nothing complicated in mounting quartz wallpaper No, you just need to study all the nuances before you get down to business. So, first you need prepare the wall surface: Yes, quartz wallpapers hide surface imperfections, but this only applies to minor defects, and potholes, deep cracks and protruding nails need to be removed. Naturally, the old finish needs to be dismantled: the wallpaper can be dampened and removed with a spatula, use for paint solvents or sandpaper. Irregularities need to be puttied, and then the entire surface should be primed. Before starting the installation of quartz wallpaper, it is necessary to remove the external decorative parts of sockets and switches.
On the eve of the work on gluing necessary expand wallpaper rolls and let them lie down so that they are straight and do not twist during installation. It will be easier to do if in advance cut wallpaper into pieces of the required length. For this, it is important to know the height of the walls, and it is better to measure it in different places, because differences of 1-2 cm are not excluded. 3-4 cm are left for the stock. If some pattern is applied to the wallpaper, the cutting process is complicated, because you need to correctly match the picture on different canvases. As a rule, the manufacturer indicates what the allowance should be for the correct joining of the picture. In this case, you need to be prepared that the consumption of wallpaper will be greater.
Walls do not interfere with the layoutto glue the wallpaper was easier. A distance equal to the width of the roll of wallpaper is measured from the corner, a mark is made, and then, using a level, a strictly vertical line is drawn along it, from which the roll width is again laid off, etc.
Adhesive for quartz wallpaper you need to use a special one, but it is not so easy to find, so it is perfectly acceptable to use any glue for heavy wallpapers. It is also worth remembering about the features of the material used in the basis of wallpaper. If it is non-woven, then glue will need to be applied to the wall, and if paper, then to the wallpaper itself, and leave them to soak for 10 minutes.
Adhesive butt quartz wallpaper, and the seams after drying will almost not be visible due to the heavy structure of the material. Wallpaper dries within 24-48 hours, after which they are fully ready for use. You can clean them with dry brushes and wet wipes, easily and simply restoring their original appearance, but an abundant amount of moisture should be avoided.
If desired quartz wallpaper can be paintedbut use latex paints for this. They dry quickly, almost do not smell, and have excellent performance. It is easiest to apply paint using a foam roller or a long-nap roller to paint over the material's relief. There is nothing difficult to paint: a little paint is poured into a special tray, rolled with a roller, squeezed and carried out on the wall, repeating this procedure over and over again. To achieve a dense shade, it is better to paint in two layers. Particularly difficult and inaccessible places can be painted over with a brush.
In conclusion
Quartz wallpaper is a unique material that, due to its versatility, can be used in almost any room and in any interior style. Due to its strength and durability, such wallpapers will become a durable decoration of the room, and if desired, their appearance can always be changed by coloring. If you choose the right quartz wallpaper, you can enjoy all their advantages for many years.