Wallpaper has never gone out of style and it is the best way to personalise a room. There are beautiful options out there, but have you ever wondered what it costs to install?
| Labour per roll | R 250.00 - R 350.00 |
An average wall (7m2) is going to require between 3 and 4 rolls of paper at a cost of between R 650 and R 1 700 per roll.
How much wallpaper will you need?
The best person to answer this would be the Professional you are hiring to install the wallpaper, but often you want to get a sense of costs before committing to a Pro.
1. Measure the surface area of the wall where your wallpaper will go
Measure the length and height of each wall you plan on wallpapering, and round that number up (e.g. the wall is 3,18m long, round up to 3,20m). You can then multiply these numbers to get the surface area as m2.
2. Measure the distance between repeating patterns on your wallpaper
Look at the edge of the wallpaper roll and look for 2 identical parts of the pattern. Hold the end of your tape measure on a point in the pattern and extend it to where the pattern repeats itself. Write down your measurement so you can estimate how many rolls you’ll need for your wall.
This will assist you in being able to determine how much USABLE wallpaper you have per roll. Even though the total surface area is listed on the packaging, the amount that’s usable varies depending on the pattern and how much you need to trim to make it line up. Once you have this figure for the pattern repeat, you can use the following guidelines:
- 0.000–15.24 cm of pattern repeat, then there is 2.3 m2 of usable paper.
- 17.78–30.48 cm of pattern repeat, then you can use 2.0 m2 of paper.
- 33.02–45.72 cm of pattern repeat, then use 1.9 m2 of paper.
3. The final calculation
Then you can divide the total surface area of the wall by the usable metres of the wallpaper. This figure will tell you how many rolls you will need. If the figure comes to say, 5.3 – you can round this up to 6. Wallpaper is often sold in single and double rolls. For example, in the previous calculation, you can buy either 6 single rolls or 3 double rolls to cover the same area.
It is always advisable to add an extra 10-20% on so you have excess for any mistakes or waste.
Our partners at Leroy Merlin have a great selection!
Things to consider before the installation
The layout of the room
If the room has too many doors and windows, you do not have a lot of wall space that you can cover. This means you have to decide if it will be worthwhile to wallpaper a sliver of the wall.
How large is the wall
This is a no-brainer, the larger the wall/space, the more wallpaper you need, the more adhesive you will use, and the longer a specialist will be on-site for the installation. It then becomes quite an expensive project.
Which room will have the wallpaper
If you were hoping to wallpaper a bathroom or kitchen, you will need tougher wallpaper that can withhold heat and steam. This gives you less choice with regards to design.
Do you have kids
An odd consideration, but an important one if your toddler sees themself as a budding Picasso. Some wallpapers can be wiped down, but some with not withhold the wrath of a toddler with a koki!
Adhesives
Wallpapers and wallpaper adhesive go hand in hand. But some special wallpaper materials require specific glues or pastes. The surface, too, plays a significant role, especially as wallpaper isn’t always necessarily applied to walls.
Your Pro will be able to advise which adhesive will be the best to use.
Finding the right Pro
Now that you have a better understanding of the costs – it’s time to find the best Pro for the job. Luckily for you – Kandua has 100s of Pros that can install wallpaper.
Here are our top tips to help you find the right pro for your installation:
All you need to do is:
- Answer some questions about the job
- Share your contact details so no more than 5 Pros can contact you directly
- You’ll be contacted with quotes or a request for more info by affordable, experienced and trusted Pros
- Read their online reviews
Remember, it’s not always about finding the cheapest option, especially with wallpaper installations. Stick to these tips, and take into account, the entire package, Pro reviews, your experience in dealing with them and then, of course, the cost.
Suzette Meyer is the lead author and content creator for Kandua.com, South Africa’s #1 marketplace for home services. She researches and writes the Kandua Advice articles, Cost Guides, and the Kandua Email Newsletter, drawing on the expertise of Kandua’s base of over 40 000 pros across more than 100 services, and the data gathered from the 100 000+ home service projects facilitated through the platform.
Home improvement can be daunting, and it is often difficult to find out if you are paying a fair price for your products and services. Suzette has made it her mission to help homeowners with advice on all aspects of home repair, maintenance and improvement, including how to choose the right handyman and how to make smart upgrades that improve your resale value or save costs.
