Career summary

Details for Paperhangers


Description

Cover interior walls and ceilings of rooms with decorative wallpaper or fabric, or attach advertising posters on surfaces, such as walls and billboards. Duties include removing old materials from surface to be papered.

Tasks

  • Smooth strips or sections of paper with brushes or rollers to remove wrinkles and bubbles and to smooth joints.
  • Trim rough edges from strips, using straightedges and trimming knives.
  • Trim excess material at ceilings or baseboards, using knives.
  • Check finished wallcoverings for proper alignment, pattern matching, and neatness of seams.
  • Mark vertical guidelines on walls to align strips, using plumb bobs and chalk lines.
  • Cover interior walls and ceilings of rooms with decorative wallpaper or fabric, using hand tools.
  • Apply adhesives to the backs of paper strips, using brushes, or dunk strips of prepasted wallcovering in water, wiping off any excess adhesive.
  • Measure and cut strips from rolls of wallpaper or fabric, using shears or razors.
  • Place strips or sections of paper on surfaces, aligning section edges and patterns.
  • Fill holes, cracks, and other surface imperfections preparatory to covering surfaces.
  • Measure surfaces or review work orders to estimate the quantities of materials needed.
  • Apply sizing to seal surfaces and maximize adhesion of coverings to surfaces.
  • Smooth rough spots on walls and ceilings, using sandpaper.
  • Set up equipment, such as pasteboards and scaffolds.
  • Remove old paper, using water, steam machines, or solvents and scrapers.
  • Apply thinned glue to waterproof porous surfaces, using brushes, rollers, or pasting machines.
  • Mix paste, using paste powder and water, and brush paste onto surfaces.
  • Staple or tack advertising posters onto fences, walls, billboards, or poles.
  • Remove paint, varnish, dirt, and grease from surfaces, using paint remover and water soda solutions.
  • Apply acetic acid to damp plaster to prevent lime from bleeding through paper.

Interests

  • Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
  • Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Education, training, experience

  • Education - These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
  • Training - Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
  • Experience - Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Knowledge

None found.

Skills

None found.

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