Wallpapering arch requires pie-shaped cuts

: I am wallpapering two rooms and in between them is a wall with an archway cut into it. I have done wallpapering before, but never on an arched surface. I don’t understand how to transition from the flat wall to the curved surface. So, how do you wallpaper the arch?

A: Wallpaper jobs are tough enough, but archways are a particular pain in a most uncomfortable spot below the belt. I think my distaste for wallpaper stems from the possibility that someday I may have to remove it, which is even less thrilling than hanging it.

An arched wall opening is tough to wallpaper since you can’t just wrap the curved areas (the paper will crease and whatnot). You have to follow some steps and make pie-shaped cuts to get the paper to turn the corner and then cover the underside of the arch with a new strip of wallpaper. For this reason, don’t expect the pattern to match.

Hang the wallpaper drops as you normally would from the ceiling to the floor. Smooth the paper out and trim it at the ceiling and the baseboard. Cut the wallpaper around the archway so that there is about an inch of overhang around it.

To get the wallpaper to follow the curve of the arch, you will cut small wedges out of it so that there are no creases or folds. The number and size of the wedges depends on the radius of the arch, but you can generally space them out every 5 or 6 inches. To determine the size of them, first cut a few slits in the paper along the overhang and fold it around the edge. You will be able to tell how wide to make the wedge cuts by the overlap at the slit.

If this sounds too complicated, start out at about one-half inch wide and end the tip of the wedge at one-quarter inch from the edge of the wall. Test-fit the cut, and if you find the paper bunching up, you can always change either the distance of the spacing or the size of the wedge cutouts. You will only need to make the wedge cuts where the archway starts to curve.

Then, glue the overlap to the underside of the arch with wallpaper adhesive. If you are going to wallpaper the adjacent room, follow the same instructions for the other side of the wall.

All that’s left now is to just wallpaper the underside of the arch and down each leg of the wall. You can either cut a strip of wallpaper to fit or you can buy a length of border for a contrasting look and definition between the rooms.

Either way, trim the strip to fit so that the width of the strip in one-quarter inch narrower than the width of the surface. Use vinyl-to-vinyl adhesive and stick it to the surface so that there is a one-eighth inch space at each edge of the arch. Squeeze out the air bubbles and excess glue with a smoothing tool and a damp sponge.

Michael D. Klimek is a licensed contractor and president of Pro Handyman Corp. Questions may be sent by e-mail to: questions@pro-handyman.com. Or, mail to: P.O. Box 96761, Las Vegas, NV 89193. His Web address is: www.pro-handyman.com.