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Many wallcovering manufacturers, retailers, and do-it-yourself websites give loose step-by-step advice on how to hang wallcoverings in commercial buildings. However, commercial wallcoverings are a huge project that should be done by a professional.

This is because certain types of wallcoverings, like custom murals, and architectural layouts, such as elaborate stairwells or high ceilings, require professional tools and techniques.

When you hire a wallcovering professional like Cochran & Mann in Frederick, Maryland, you also get personalized decor suggestions. For example, wallcoverings with stain resistance and scrubbability are great choices for restaurant kitchens, hotel laundry rooms, or office bathrooms.

Other wallcoverings resist abrasions and are washable. This makes them a great choice for children’s hospitals or daycares. Another type of wallcovering is one that features color-fastness. These are great for rooms with lots of natural sunlight like grocery stores, office conference rooms, and other commercial properties.

Aside from personalized suggestions, this professional expertise can also help solve any problems with wallcoverings. For example, a common problem is with seaming. From stains and streaks to gaps and lifts, these are the most common seaming issues with wallcoverings.

• The wallcovering is stained or streaked at the seam. Staining or streaking at the seams happens when the old wallcovering or paint is reactivated by the water in the new wallcovering paste. It’s also caused by the failure to rinse off the wallcovering and walls after hanging to remove all excess paste, according to the Wallcoverings Association, a nonprofit trade association that represents wallcovering manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers.
  
  For a temporary solution, wipe the seam with a clean cloth to make the stain less obvious.
• The wallcovering has gaps at the seam. If the wallcovering paste wasn’t strong enough to hold the covering when applied to the fabric side of the covering (never directly onto the wall), it shrinks when it dries. For a temporary solution, paint in the gap with watercolor if you can color-match it closely.
• The wallcovering is lifting at the seam. If not enough paste was applied to the edges of the wallcovering, lifting happens. It’s especially common with relief paper and vinyl. For a temporary solution, lift the edge of the wallcovering. Use a paintbrush to apply more paste.
  
  If you have a vinyl wallcovering with overlapping edges, invest in specialist vinyl seam adhesive.
  
  Before you hang more wallcovering, apply the paste liberally, especially at the edge of the covering.
• The wallcovering seams are open. This wallcovering problem is caused by numerous factors. The most common is the excessive rolling of seams, which forces adhesive from behind the wallcovering. Other causes include the failure to apply adhesive to the edges when pasting and when you allow paste to dry on the edges while booking.
  
  For a temporary solution, use special adhesives to close the loose seams in the wallcovering.

Other problems that can happen include poor color or pattern match, bubbling, a lack of slip, flat relief patterns, creasing, brown spots, damp patches, no adhesion to the wall, tearing, and patching.

While you can perform afterthought solutions to these problems, the best solution to all wallcovering problems is professionalism. If you’re looking for new wallcovering, it’s best to contact a wallcovering professional like Cochran & Mann from the get-go.

You can also download our Styling With Wall Covering Guide to learn about types of wallcovering for your commercial building, tips and tricks, and so much more. Click on the button below to download your copy: