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Wallpaper Installation

Wallpaper installation in Huntley, IL

Residential wallpaper installation starts at $800, or $1,200 when the walls need priming. It is priced by panel, at roughly two panels an hour. Wallpaper is a specialty. Plenty of painting companies will strip it and far fewer will hang it, which is why we list installation as its own service.

Starts at about $610

Labor only. You supply the paper or we can order it for you.

Residential work is priced by panel, at roughly two panels an hour. Pattern repeats, murals and wall prep affect the scope.

CONFIRM WITH DAVID

Is $800 a job minimum with panel pricing above it, or a flat job price? David has described wallpaper installation both as priced by the job and by panel, piece, yard or strip. We need to confirm which applies.

Residential wallpaper installation estimate

Starts at $1,200

Residential wallpaper is priced by the job. Tell us the scope and we will confirm your number at the walkthrough.

Job start with wall primingApplies when we prime the walls.
$1,200
Scope2 walls
Pattern typeRepeating pattern
Wall prepWall priming selected, primed job start applies

What drives the number

Why one house costs more than the next

Nothing here is a mystery. These are the six things that move your price, up or down.

Panel count

Residential installation is priced by panel, not by square foot. One feature wall behind a bed is a different job than papering all four walls of a powder room plus the ceiling.

Pattern and repeat

Plain grasscloth hangs fast. A large repeating pattern means matching every seam and wasting more paper, and a mural has to go up in exact panel order.

Wall prep before paper

Paper needs a smooth, sized, primed surface or it telegraphs every flaw and fights you when it comes down later. Prep is a separate line, and it matters.

The material itself

Non-woven paper is forgiving. Traditional paper, silk, grasscloth and hand-printed panels are unforgiving and slow. Tell us what you bought and we will price it honestly.

Cuts, corners and obstacles

Outlets, switches, vents, chair rail, angled ceilings and stair walls all mean more cuts. A plain rectangular wall is the cheapest wall in the house.

Booking time

Every paper is different. Some manufacturers call for a booking time of 15 to 30 minutes per piece, which is time the paste has to sit before that piece can go on the wall. That is real time on site and it changes what the install costs.

What does not change it

Whether you seem like you can afford it. Our rate card is the same for every house in Huntley. It also does not change because you bought expensive paper.

VIDEO NEEDED: Mark hanging a repeating-pattern paper start to finish, showing sizing, booking, seam matching and trimming, approx 7 min

Watch before you book

See exactly how the job runs before we knock on your door

You should know what a day with our crew looks like, what gets covered, what gets moved, when we show up and when we leave. Watch it first, then decide.

See the video library

How it goes

Four steps, start to finish

  1. 01

    Measure and price

    Measure your wall height and width and note the panel size and repeat. The estimator shows the published starting price, not an invented per-panel total.

  2. 02

    Paper and quantity check

    We check your roll count against the repeat before anything is ordered. Coming up one roll short of a dye lot is the worst way to learn this lesson.

  3. 03

    Prep, size, prime

    Walls get patched, sanded, sized and primed so the paper sticks now and releases cleanly in ten years.

  4. 04

    Hang and inspect

    Seams matched, outlets trimmed, edges cut tight. We walk it with you in daylight, which is when seams actually show.

Our work

Real jobs, real houses, our own photos

Botanical wallpaper installed in an entry and stairwell
Dark damask wallpaper installed in a bathroom
Black and silver animal print wallpaper in a stairwell
Gray damask wallpaper in a powder room
Soft trellis pattern wallpaper in a powder room
Navy and gold mural wallpaper in a powder room

Straight talk

When we would tell you not to hire us

We would rather lose the job than take money for work that will not hold up or that you do not need yet. Here are times we tell people to wait or spend their money somewhere else.

You want peel and stick wallpaper installed.

We do not install peel and stick wallpaper. Peel and stick paper has no standardized manufacturing. As a result we never know what it can be installed on, how long the adhesive will last, if it can be removed, what surfaces it can be installed on, if it stretches, if it is ruined if it touches itself, color fastness and washability. That eliminates our ability to provide any type of warranty.

You are not sure you will still like it in five years

Bold paper in a busy room is a commitment. If you are wavering, do one accent wall instead of four, or paint it and live with the color first.

It is a rental you plan to sell soon

Paper narrows the buyer pool and costs the next owner money to remove. For a quick turn, a clean neutral repaint gets you a better return.

You want it up next week and you have not bought the paper

Most good paper is a two to six week lead time and dye lots matter. Rushing this is how people end up with mismatched panels. We will hold the date instead.

Comparison

D'Franco versus a typical low bid

Both columns are honest. Read the last row carefully.

What you are comparingD'FrancoTypical low bid
Do they hang paper at allWallpaper installation is one of our services.Many painting companies offer removal only.
Wall prepPatched, sanded, sized and primed so seams lay flat.Hung straight onto bare or painted drywall.
Pattern matchingRepeat checked before ordering, seams matched panel by panel.Matched roughly, and the mismatch shows at eye level.
Future removalPrimed and sized so it comes off later without destroying drywall.Glued to raw drywall. The next owner pays for that decision.
If a seam liftsLifetime workmanship warranty. We come back and fix it.Wallpaper is often excluded from their warranty entirely.
What you pay on signing dayHigher. Skilled paper hanging is not cheap labor.Usually cheaper, when you can find someone who will do it.

Last row included on purpose. If price on the day is the only thing that matters, we are not going to win, and that is fine.

Questions

Answers, including the awkward ones

Do you install peel and stick wallpaper?

No. We do not install peel and stick wallpaper. Peel and stick paper has no standardized manufacturing. As a result we never know what it can be installed on, how long the adhesive will last, if it can be removed, what surfaces it can be installed on, if it stretches, if it is ruined if it touches itself, color fastness and washability. That eliminates our ability to provide any type of warranty.

How much does wallpaper installation cost?

Residential wallpaper installation starts at about $610 and is priced by panel, at roughly two panels an hour. Wall prep, pattern matching and murals affect the scope. The estimator shows the starting price. A walkthrough confirms the panel count and scope.

Do you supply the wallpaper?

You can supply it, or we can order it for you. Either way we check your roll count against the pattern repeat before anything ships, because coming up short mid-job is the most expensive mistake in this trade.

Can you hang paper over my existing wallpaper?

No. We take the old paper off first, at $1.25 per square foot. Hanging over old paper looks acceptable for about a year and then both layers fail together.

Will the seams show?

On a properly prepped wall with a good paper, seams should be nearly invisible in normal light. On a textured or unprimed wall they will show no matter who hangs it, which is why we insist on the prep line.

How hard is it to remove later?

Easy if the wall was sized and primed first, which is exactly why we do it. Paper glued to raw drywall is what causes the horror stories about torn-up walls.

Learning Center

Keep reading before you buy

What wallpaper really costs installed

Labor, paper, prep and the roll math most people get wrong.

Wallpaper versus paint

Where paper is worth it and where paint wins outright.

Best wallpaper brands we hang

Which papers behave on the wall and which ones fight the installer.

You found the company in Huntley that still hangs paper.

See the published starting price, then send us the paper you are considering so we can discuss the panels, repeat and prep.