
An Even Wall Before Paper
Twenty-year-old builder paint, spot touch-ups and filled anchor holes get leveled and sealed first, so the paper lies flat and the paste dries at the same rate across the wall.

Services
Wallpaper InstallationWallpaper SourcingInterior PaintingCabinet PaintingAreas Served
Carolina Beach, NC
Kure Beach, NC
Wrightsville Beach, NC
Jacksonville, NC
Swansboro, NC
North Topsail Beach, NC
Holly Ridge, NC
Richlands, NC
Sneads Ferry, NC
Surf City, NC
Hubert, NC
Burgaw, NC
Surf City, NC
Topsail Beach, NC
Hampstead, NC
Rocky Point, NC
Scotts Hill, NC
Bald Head Island, NC
Belville, NC
Boiling Spring Lakes, NC
Bolivia, NC
Calabash, NC
Carolina Shores, NC
Caswell Beach, NC
Holden Beach, NC
Leland, NC
Navassa, NC
Oak Island, NC
Ocean Isle Beach, NC
Shallotte, NC
Southport, NC
St. James, NC
Sunset Beach, NC
Raleigh, NC
Myrtle Beach, SC













Surf City's median build year, 2002, is newer than North Topsail Beach's (1989) or Topsail Beach's (1985), according to the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey, and the town's figure includes its mainland side. Nearly a third of Surf City homes went up between 2000 and 2009, and about one in five in the 2010s, so more than half date from 2000 or later.
That makes the typical bathroom or powder room here roughly twenty years old, and in many houses it still has its builder finish. Builder paint from that decade was often a flat, porous coat. Two decades then add spot touch-ups in a slightly different paint, filled holes where towel bars and mirrors moved, and the odd nail pop. Paper hung straight over that drinks paste unevenly and shows each bump. So the wall is filled, sanded and sealed before the first strip.
Most of these walls are in houses. About seven in ten homes in town are detached, and fewer than one in twelve sit in buildings of ten or more units. Just under half are held as seasonal homes, so if the house is closed up on install day, tell us who has the key.
The older three in ten, built in the 1980s or before, may carry an earlier owner's paper. That comes down, and the wall is repaired, as part of the job.
Nearly everyone who calls has the paper already, picked on their own or with a designer. If you're still deciding, we figure the roll count from the pattern repeat so the order comes out right the first time. Every install is done by our W-2 crew, and a powder room with an accent wall fits comfortably in one day. Our wallpaper installation page explains the method from the first strip to the last.
A roll count from the repeat, if you're still ordering
Any old wallpaper taken down and the wall beneath it repaired
Holes and touch-up spots filled and sanded flush
A wallpaper primer over the painted wall
A plumb starting line set with a level
Seams matched to the pattern around the full room
Inside corners hand-cut, never wrapped
A final look at the room with you, then cleanup

The difference is the surface, not the hanging. A flat builder coat is porous, and repairs made over twenty years rarely match it, so we prime the whole wall rather than just the patches; otherwise paste sets faster on one spot than the next. Plate mirrors glued straight to the drywall were common in that era. If yours is staying, we paper around it. If it's coming down, have it removed first, since the adhesive often tears the drywall face. Sprayed texture, where present, may need smoothing before paper will lie flat.

Twenty-year-old builder paint, spot touch-ups and filled anchor holes get leveled and sealed first, so the paper lies flat and the paste dries at the same rate across the wall.

Haven't bought yet? We work out the rolls from your pattern's repeat and the room. In a small powder room, a large repeat can waste much of a roll, so the count matters.

A second-generation wallpaper company and Wallpaper Installers Association member, we split each strip at an inside corner and restart it plumb, so the pattern stays level around a vanity wall.

Just under half of Surf City homes are seasonal. If you're away, a neighbor or a lockbox can let the crew in, and photos of the finished room follow.
From the first conversation to the finished room.
01Request the instant estimate, choose the decade the house went up, and attach a photo of the wall as it looks today.
02We check your roll count against the repeat, or calculate it if you haven't ordered, then set a date, usually two to three weeks away.
03After a call to say we're on the way, the crew fills and sands the old builder finish, primes the wall and hangs the paper.
04Check the seams and corners with the installer before cleanup. Your one-year workmanship guarantee begins as soon as the room is finished.
The instant estimate prices your room on the spot; we quote the job rather than charging by the roll. What drives the figure:
Wall area and height
The paper itself, since vinyl, grasscloth and unpasted designer papers hang differently
Pattern repeat, which affects cuts and waste
Fixtures to cut around, such as vanities, mirrors and towel bars
Wall prep: filling and priming a builder finish, or stripping old paper in an older house
In a 2000s Surf City house, prep usually means filling and priming rather than removal, and it's counted in your estimate from the start. A glued mirror that stays on the wall adds careful cuts around its edges, so mention it in your estimate request. Your quote is honored as given. Paper isn't included unless you buy it through us, and military households receive 10% off.

Repaint the rest of the house, from the same company.

No paper picked yet? Start with the designer lines we order from, and we'll size the order to the room.

North Topsail Beach next door, and the rest of the list.
From our Wilmington base, we serve Surf City and the surrounding Onslow County area, plus the rest of the coastal Carolinas corridor.
Tell us the build year and the room. We'll price prep and install together.