How to measure up and calculate need for wallpaper

Making sure you have the right amount of wallpaper to decorate a room is more complex than it sounds. Here's a fool-proof method to getting it right every time.

Level of difficulty

Level 2: Intermediate

What you need

  • Tape measure
  • Paper
  • Pencil
  • Calculator
  • Nails
  • Hammer
  • Wallpaper

The steps to follow

  1. With a tape measure, measure the height and width of your wall. Multiply these two numbers to get the area of the wall. Round off the measurement to the next whole number.
  2. Draw a diagram of the wall you plan to cover with wallpaper. Include the height and width of the wall, along its total area, on the diagram.
  3. Use the following calculations to get an idea of how many rolls of wallpaper you need to purchase.

    a) Measure the perimeter of the area you plan to cover with wallpaper.

    b) Divide this measurement by the width of the roll. The standard width for wallpapers in the UK is 52cm (20.5in) ¬. For example, if your perimeter is 15m, divide this number by 0.52 m (52 cm), and you get 28.846. Round this number off to the next number (29).

    c) Multiply the height of the surface by the number of wallpaper widths. This will be the total length of wallpaper you'll need.  Let’s say the height of your wall is 3m, multiply 3 x 29 which comes to 87.

    d) Divide this length by the length of the wallpaper. The standard length for wallpapers in UK is 10m (32ft). 87 divided by 10 comes to 8.7. 

    e) Round 8.7 to the next whole number and you get 9 so in this case, you'd need 9 rolls of wallpaper to finish the job. Bear in mind however, that it's best to have extra rolls of wallpaper handy in case of mistakes or miscalculations so buy an extra roll or two to be sure.

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