What kind of material is this - anti-vandal wallpaper? How does it differ from ordinary wall finishing material? Are there any special features of such wallpaper stickers? Are there alternatives to this material? Let's figure it out.
Anti-vandal (contract) wallpaper made of thick vinyl on a paper base.
The essence of the problem
One of the many problems with wallpaper is its limited resistance to mechanical wear. In a narrow hallway, where clothes constantly touch the walls, or on corners, they quickly become unusable. We know the traditional solutions to this problem: using thick vinyl wallpaper or painting the paper covering with latex.
However: modern acrylic-silicone-based water-dispersion paints are a wear-resistant, washable coating and can be an excellent replacement for wallpaper.
Remember those commercials that say “but everything changes when they come”? It's time to quote the catchphrase: with the appearance of a small child or an active cat at home, old recipes cease to work.
Any covering very quickly loses its original appearance: it is either decorated with an abstract painting in the spirit of the “sower” named after Ostap Bender, made with dad’s fountain pen, or is separated from the wall by the sharp claws of the family pet.
How is this not a scratching post?
What to do?
One of the materials that can preserve the appearance of walls is anti-vandal wallpaper.
Doors for cats: to prevent the pussy from scratching the door
If your pet is used to freedom of action and loves to roam the streets, then you often find yourself having to get out of bed at night to let him out or let him back in. To save yourself from such troubles, cat doors are the best option.
You can buy a ready-made door, or you can make it yourself. Now there are many types and models of cat doors, made of wood or plastic, in various versions. The design usually consists of two entrance elements and a tunnel connecting them.
The most common types of structures:
- manhole;
- window;
- door.
A manhole is a through, unprotected opening. It is designed for moving between rooms; making an exit to the street in the form of a manhole is impractical.
The window is better suited for your pet to freely leave the house and go outside. It is equipped with a sash that moves freely on a hinge.
The best option is modern cat doors. Let's look at them in more detail.
- To install the door, cut a hole of a suitable size in the door leaf or wall. Insert a tunnel into it, which will disguise the cut areas, and secure the external elements.
- The doors are made of durable, moisture-resistant materials. They are attached to a special rim on the outer part of the frame, which ensures tightness and ease of use.
- A magnet built into the wall will not allow the door to react to gusts of wind, and at the same time will not interfere with the cat’s movements.
- There are electronic doors for cats equipped with a reader, the key to which is located on the collar. This will protect your home from foreign animals.
You can make a simple door for your pet yourself if you carefully examine the ready-made designs in the store.
Please note that the door must open in two directions - towards the entrance and towards the exit, so use special hinges as a moving mechanism. Cover the perimeter of the frame with carpet. This will not only hide unsightly-looking edges, but will also save you from possible drafts from the cracks, since a thin door without additional devices will not provide a tight seal.
What it is
In short, anti-vandal wallpaper is all materials that are adhesive to walls and are resistant to wear and moderate mechanical stress.
Application
In what cases is the use of this material justified?
- In the nursery . The irrepressible enthusiasm of the researcher, characteristic of any child without developmental disabilities, in relation to the home environment is clearly destructive.
Anti-vandal wallpaper for painting will help reduce inevitable damage to a minimum: its strength will protect the walls from damage when they are pounded with a wooden horse, and will allow you to remove the plasticine with a stiff brush. The ability to repaint will come in handy when pencils and felt-tip pens come into view of the young gentleman or lady.
You can use a permanent marker to color in everything except the marker itself. With two markers you can color everything.
- In the hall . Thanks to its wear resistance, anti-vandal wallpaper will not change color and texture after five thousand contacts with grandfather’s canvas raincoat when returning from fishing.
- In the kitchen, anti-vandal wallpaper will come in handy after frying in an open frying pan or during a child’s first experiments with food. Traces of experiments will have to be removed from the walls using acidic or alkaline preparations; resistance to them, of course, will come in handy.
- Finally, anti-vandal wallpaper from cats is needed everywhere and always . When it occurs to a ferocious predator that its claws are not sharp enough is unpredictable.
Simon the cat testifies: there is a problem.
By the way: dogs sometimes also do not neglect the opportunity to express their protest at the expense of their home environment. The author recalls an episode when an Airedale terrier, locked in someone else’s apartment, carefully laid the upholstery of a new sofa on top of the wallpaper removed from the hallway walls and emphasized his indignation by dampening the installation.
Kinds
What are vandal-proof wallpapers for walls?
There are two main classes of materials on sale:
- Fiberglass wallpaper for painting. The material is exceptionally resistant to wear and aggressive environments; cat's claws also do not cause any noticeable damage to him.
- Vinyl anti-vandal wallpaper. They differ from ordinary washable ones in their greater density (up to half a kilogram per square meter) and relatively simple pattern.
The simplicity is due to the method of painting: the dye is not applied to the surface of the wallpaper, but is introduced into its material. As a result, minor scratches do not stand out in color and are practically invisible even at a distance of half a meter.
Often, additional strength to wallpaper is provided by reinforcement with natural or artificial fiber and a thin outer layer of even more wear-resistant material. Thus, Vescom Color Choice 138.064 wallpaper is vinyl on a woven cotton base, protected by a thin layer of Teflon. Even the most resistant inks and dyes are washed off from Teflon film.
Vescom Wallpaper.
Properties
All anti-vandal wallpaper, regardless of the manufacturer and manufacturing technology, have a certain set of qualities:
- Self-evident resistance to wear and mechanical damage.
- Light resistance, which is not surprising: the wall covering will, among other things, be illuminated by direct sunlight.
- Antibacterial properties. The fungus does not take root on the pasted surface: both fiberglass and plasticized polyvinyl chloride (vinyl) are inedible for it.
- Fire safety. Fiberglass fabric does not burn in principle; vinyl does not support combustion.
However: when talking about the complete fire safety of vinyl, manufacturers are somewhat disingenuous. When heated above 120 degrees, polyvinyl chloride undergoes thermal decomposition with the release of caustic hydrogen chloride, which makes the air unfit for breathing.
The price of wallpaper varies from 150 to 1500 rubles per square meter; Most of the proposals fall within the delta of 180-250 r/m2.
Erfurt Vliesfaser 710 wallpaper costs 157 rubles per square.
Optimal options for decorative wall coverings
When a cat lives in the house, it is better to cover the walls not with wallpaper, but with other, more sustainable materials. For example, tiles are suitable for the kitchen, bathroom and toilet. For other rooms you can use:
- plastic;
- fake diamond;
- porcelain stoneware
Another option is decorative plaster. Those who prefer wallpaper are advised to consider special options:
The liquid coating on the walls is very smooth. It will be difficult for the cat to pick it up with its claws. Hot stamping wallpaper
It is important to glue them correctly, firmly covering all joints and corners with adhesive tape. Vinyl wallpapers. Fiberglass wall covering.
The last two options are especially attractive due to their durability and require minimal maintenance. Periodically they need to be wiped with a damp sponge. These decorative coatings can be repainted dozens of times in any color. Wallpaper that doesn't attack cats is a dream. There are no such people. However, by choosing from the options listed above, you can protect your walls as much as possible from sharp claws.
Sticker
How to stick heavy and dense wallpaper with your own hands?
The instructions, in general, are no different from those for other washable wallpaper.
- The wall to be covered is carefully leveled; the recesses are puttied, the protrusions are removed by grinding. In the case of drywall, the seams are sealed with plaster; but their reinforcement is not necessary: the wallpaper will prevent cracks from appearing.
- The porous surface is primed with an acrylic-based penetrating primer. This way we will get rid of dust, eliminate the possibility of peeling off the surface layer of putty and reduce glue consumption.
- For gluing glass wallpaper, PVA glue diluted with water is used. In the case of vinyl with a density of over 200 grams per square meter, it is better not to dilute it: the viscosity will help hold the strip of wallpaper until the glue sets. When gluing glass wallpaper, glue is applied to the wall; in the case of vinyl, it is better to apply it to the strip of wallpaper itself.
A foam roller is used to smooth the strip and remove air bubbles.
- The first strip is glued not along the corner line, but along a plumb line. The rest are glued end to end, without overlap.
Painting
How to paint anti-vandal glass wallpaper?
The selected dye must be resistant to high humidity, abrasion (including wet) and household chemicals. At the same time, its harmlessness and absence of odors at the painting stage are welcome: after all, we are talking about an apartment.
The obvious choice is water-dispersion paints based on acrylic resins.
Among the countless proposals, it is worth paying attention to two classes of dyes:
- Acrylic silicone paints have the highest resistance to wet wear and can withstand up to 5,000 cleaning cycles.
Acrylic silicone water-dispersion paint.
- Acrylic-latex “rubber” paints can not only be washed when dirty: they provide complete waterproofing. At the same time, the appearance of the coating and the tactile sensations from contact with it differ little from conventional interior paints.
Alternatives
What, in addition to special wallpaper, can protect the bottom of the walls from children's creativity and cat's claws?
- The ultimate solution is to cover the lower part of the wall with laminate. The board length of 120-138 centimeters is quite sufficient for our purposes. Fastening - along the sheathing or directly to a flat wall using silicone sealant.
The photo shows exactly such a solution.
- Washable paint on a smooth surface also does not arouse the cat's enthusiasm; The fruits of children's artistic talent are easy to paint over.
- Finally, durable plastic wall panels are a good budget solution with the only drawback: their surface most likely will not survive contact with the notorious wooden horse.
How to stop a cat from scratching wallpaper
It is difficult to stop a cat from scratching wallpaper.
You'll have to be patient and use some tricks. The best way to satisfy both the owner and the animal is to get a scratching post. Preferably not one, but several. Ideally, they should be made from different but natural materials. This will attract the attention of the animal.
Cats often tear up wallpaper or furniture immediately after sleep. At the same time, they stretch, yawn and purr. Taking this into account, it is better to place one of the scratching posts next to the place where the pet sleeps. As soon as the animal wakes up, immediately carry it to the chosen place to form a stable habit. Over time, the cat will stop tearing the wallpaper.
If the animal does not want to switch to the scratching post, you can spray the wallpaper with a special repellent sold in pet stores. Perfumes with a strong smell, ammonia, and citrus oils can cope with its functions.
On the contrary, apply a product that attracts the pet’s attention to the scratching post. For example, a couple of drops of valerian, mint
More radical actions include a loud scream or other noise made at the moment when the animal approaches the wall or has already begun to tear off the wallpaper. At this point, the animal can be doused with water. Perhaps, after several repetitions of such actions, the cat will develop negative associations with this place, and it will begin to look for another object.
To protect walls from cats, you can either cover the surface with materials that are difficult to damage. To use other methods, the animal owner will have to be patient. The best option is a scratching post.
