Frequently asked questions

What about butt joining and not overlapping? All qualities, even the ones on repeat, are precision pretrimmed and should be butt jointed. Do not overlap and double cut. If you paste the wall 10 - 20 cm beyond the width of each strip, you can never get adhesive on your fabric.

Need More Guidance?
Visit our Application Instructions Page for comprehensive installation instructions.

All our wallcoverings are easily peelable. Normal procedure is that once a customer wants to remove the wallcovering, you peel it down starting at the top of a length and gently pull the strip down. Please note that it is important you pull the strip downwards, so into the direction of the ground and do not pull it towards yourself. If you pull it towards yourself, it will create tension on the plasterwork.

Once you follow these steps, half of the backing will stick to the wall and no damage is created. The remaining paper on the wall can afterwards easily be removed by a steamer.

All qualities, even the ones on repeat, are precision pretrimmed and should be butt jointed. Do not overlap and double cut.
If you paste the wall 10 - 20 cm beyond the width of each strip, you can never get adhesive on your fabric.

For a more detailed explanation please visit our Application Instructions Page.

If you have a shrinkage problem, almost always the reason is that the product stays wet for too long so that the water is forced out of the paste, penetrating through the backing to the fabric. 
It could be that the wall itself is not dry. The paste must be ready mixed and undiluted, without adding water. Do not use powder glue. 
Best is to hang the material on a naked wall (so in most cases no priming or sizing), so that the paste can penetrate into both the wall and the backing of the wallcovering. 

In the production process of textile wallcovering no plasticizers (phthalates) are used. Therefore we can state that none of our products contain phthalates, DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP and DNOP. 

For maintenance instructions, please download our maintenance document.

All qualities are tested according to ISO 105-B02: 2014 standards.

Detailed lightfastness documentation is available in our comprehensive "General Information" package. You can download this package directly from the download section on each collection's product quality page.

All qualities are both Euroclass EN 13501-1: 2007 + A1: 2009 and ASTM E84-13a tested.

Detailed Fire Retardency documentation is available in our comprehensive "General Information" package. You can download this package directly from the download section on each collection's product quality page.

In general, textile wallcoverings are suitable to use on panels. However, seen the diversity of the wallpanel systems on the market, we suggest to consult the expertise of the panel supplier to advise in the specific situation.

Generally speaking upholstery or drapery fabrics are not designed for wallcovering. Therefore Tapetex does only process our own textiles where we design and engineer for use as wallcovering. 

When a job requires additional material of the same quality, the lot number and roll number must be indicated on the order. We will inform immediately if that lot is still available for delivery.

Stock can be reserved for 14 days, after which the reservation is automatically released by Tapetex. It is possible though to extend the reservation, for another 14 days, with written notification.

If desired, a stock cutting for approval can be supplied. In order to do so, the approx. quantity required in linear meters or yards must be indicated, so that the stock is reserved and the corresponding cutting for approval will be send. If an order is placed against a cutting sample, the order must show the lot number required.
Please refer to the tab "Distributor downloads" for the official request form.

Tapetex does not produce against received orders. We produce on stock so that for instance in 2016 Tapetex delivered 98,9% of all orders straight from stock. As a general rule there is no need to check stock for under 500 linear meters or yards. For larger quantities, it is advisable to check stock. If not in stock, the delivery time will be indicated.

Customs in textile are difficult, time-consuming and costly. We do not actively promote customs, although we can do most things with few limitations.

Please refer for further elaborations to the document Custom Production.

The installation of textile wallcovering is a "white glove job" by a qualified installer. Observe the information provided on the leaflet Recommendations for Application and on the product label. 
The most important subjects are: reversing yes/no; do not seal the wall; use heavy duty premixed undiluted clear vinyl adhesive in just a thin layer; do not fit in pieces later and work continuously. 

For a more detailed explanation please visit our Application Instructions Page.

Unlike with wallpaper, textile wallcovering is not produced in fixed length rolls. We do not work with minimum order quantities, every quality can be ordered starting from 1 linear meter/yard and further in full linear meters/yards. 

Since our products have a width of 137 cm, or for most silks 110 cm, we quote per linear meter/yard. However, we would recommend quoting by the square unit to potential customers for the following two reasons: some companies offer materials of narrower width and many budgets are based upon square units.

It is furthermore important to realize that all Tapetex products are precision pre trimmed for butt-joining so there is no loss of material. 
 

Paper backing or a nonwoven (woodpulp reinforced with polyester) is preferred considering:

• Paper backing can be applied to all fabrics whether open or closed woven. An acrylic backing can be applied only to rather closed fabrics. 

• The paper / nonwoven backing is made from 2 thin layers. When the wallcovering has to be removed the wallcovering is stripped down from the wall. The paper will split with one layer to the back of the fabric and the other to the wall without any damage to the wall. The remaining layer can be easily removed with a steamer. 

• Acrylic backed wallcoverings need to be soaked with water before they can be stripped down from the wall. In most cases the wall is damaged and will need a costly repair as to labour and time.

Fabrics with a construction sensitive to fraying at the seams are finished during the production with an anti-fraying treatment. 
Therefore generally one can say that the joints on all Tapetex products, if installed correctly, will be heardly noticable. The visibility of joints depends upon the specific design and whether you wish to show a horizontal effect. A general rule is that if the warp (vertical) yarns are much finer than the weft (horizontal) yarns, the fabric will show a visible seaming. For instance, with silk you have a dominant weft yarn sothat you get a sophisticated panel effect on the wall with visible joints. 

Furthermore, to ensure a perfect seaming all Tapetex products, even the products with repeats, are factory precision trimmed and well packed with cardboard endcaps. If you handle your strips with care, the result will be perfect and to satisfaction of your customer.

Tapetex mainly uses 100% renewable natural resources like linen, silk, wool, sisal, viscose and cotton. The paper backing consists out of 70% FSC certified wood pulp (FSC A000531) and is reinforced with 30% polyester.
In production, we only use current generated by wind or hydro power and all processes are water based. In addition, the products do not contain PVC, chlorine, plasticizers, heavy metals or harmful dyes.

Learn more about our commitment to sustainability at our sustainability page.

All Tapetex qualities are stain repellent finished. This finish prevents water based splashes penetrating and staining the material. Any such splash will simply bead up on the surface and then, providing it has not yet dried, can easily be removed by gentle blotting with an absorbent tissue or cloth. 

It is advised to use adhesive Tapetex PRO-1 or similar premixed heavy duty, clear vinyl adhesive, suitable for textile wallcovering.
The adhesive consumption is approx. 5 m2/kg. The usage of adhesive and the hanging process of textile wallcovering is considerably different from vinyl.

All technical facts concerning the Tapetex PRO-1 adhesive can be found in our Tapetex PRO-1 Wallcovering Adhesive document.

Sound is a form of energy and energy cannot be destroyed. Textile wallcovering converts sound energy into mechanical energy. As sound waves impact in the material, the material responds by vibrating. The ability of a textile wallcovering to convert sound energy into mechanical energy depends upon the texture of the yarn, the surface of the fabric and the weight of the textile.

It is obvious that every single quality of textile wallcovering has its own noise reduction coefficient and this noise reduction coefficient is different for the absorption of sound at frequencies of 250, 500, 1.000, etc.,etc., Hertz.

Considering that these tests are extremely expensive and especially since every individual quality gives different results, we do not test in this respect. However, we are convinced that the interior design community knows that textile wallcovering absorbs the sound and creates acoustical comfort and calmness.

Textile is constructed by the interweaving of wo sets of yarns: a warp (vertical) with a weft (horziontal) yarn. This can either be accomplished with a handloom or power-operated loom. However, different types of weaving machines (looms) will create different types of textile patterns. 
There are three basic types:

• Plain weave, this is the simplest of constructions where the warp and weft yarns are woven one to one. In order to create this weave, the weft creates right angles alternately with every warp. 

• Dobby weave, in which small geometric type of patterns (e.g. herringbones) can be made. 

• Jacquard weave, which is the most complex form of weaving, where vitually any type of pattern, even photographs, can be recreated in the textile.

Colour is introduced to the textile by either "yarn-dyeing", which means the yarns are dyed separately prior to the weaving process, or colour is introduced by "piece-dyeing", which is done on finished woven fabric. Furthermore it of course is possible to colour coat or print a fabric. 

Please note that only water based dyes without heavy metals are used in either process at Tapetex.