Wallpaper Installation
Wallpaper installation in Huntley, IL
Wallpaper installation is priced by square footage of wall and by the pattern, and our published rate is about $1.75 per square foot for labor. Here is the part nobody else will tell you: almost every painting company in this market will strip wallpaper but will not hang it. We hang it every week.
About $1.75 per sq ft of wall
Labor only. You supply the paper or we can order it for you.
Pattern repeats, murals and wall prep add to it. All projects carry a $450 minimum.
Wallpaper installation estimate
$574to$714
Real range from our rate card. No form, no sales visit needed to see it.
- Installation220 sq ft at $1.75
- $385
- Wall prep, sizing and prime220 sq ft at $0.55
- $121
- Paper type
- x 1.26
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.
Square footage of wall
We price the wall, not the roll. 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.
Whether old paper comes off first
If there is existing paper, removal gets its own line at $1.25 per square foot. We never hang new paper over old.
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 neededVIDEO 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.
How it goes
Four steps, start to finish
- 01
Measure and price
Measure your wall height and width, put the square footage into the estimator, and you have a real number instantly.
- 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.
- 03
Prep, size, prime
Walls get patched, sanded, sized and primed so the paper sticks now and releases cleanly in ten years.
- 04
Hang and inspect
Seams matched, outlets trimmed, edges cut tight. We walk it with you in daylight, which is when seams actually show.
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 three times we tell people to wait or spend their money somewhere else.
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 comparing | D'Franco | Typical low bid |
|---|---|---|
| Do they hang paper at all | Yes, every week. Mark installs paper as his primary trade. | Most painters in this market strip it and decline to hang it. |
| Wall prep | Patched, sanded, sized and primed so seams lay flat. | Hung straight onto bare or painted drywall. |
| Pattern matching | Repeat checked before ordering, seams matched panel by panel. | Matched roughly, and the mismatch shows at eye level. |
| Future removal | Primed and sized so it comes off later without destroying drywall. | Glued to raw drywall. The next owner pays for that decision. |
| If a seam lifts | Lifetime workmanship warranty. We come back and fix it. | Wallpaper is often excluded from their warranty entirely. |
| Price on the day you sign | Higher. 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
How much does wallpaper installation cost?
About $1.75 per square foot of wall for labor, which is our published rate. Wall prep, pattern matching and murals add to it, and every project carries our $450 minimum. Run the estimator for a number specific to your wall.
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.
Get your installed price in about a minute, then send us the paper you are considering and we will tell you honestly how it hangs.