Your home is a window into your personality. It is a personification of your taste & lifestyle. It’s also the place of comfort & security that you seek after a long day’s hard work. As such, who wouldn’t like to come back to a house which is relaxing and calming? The aesthetic excellence of a ‘wallpaper’ helps you achieve just that and more. Unlike the monotone paint, a wallpaper adds a play of textures and patterns on your walls to bring an artistic touch. Wallpaper comes in a variety of colours & styles to brighten up a living room or add quiet overtones to a den. EcoPro – The leading manufacturer of eco-friendly fibre Cement Board, brings to you guiding tips on buying a wallpaper.

Buying a Wallpaper Roll

Wallpapers are generally sold in rolls of square meters or square feet. Some wallpapers can also come in smaller measurements such as 60cm x 60cm – it all depends on the material & design. The correct way to buy a wallpaper is by calculating the total wall area (total wall length x height) where you wish to paste it. It is advisable to buy more sheet than the area to effectively match patterns.

Types of Wallpapers

There are various varieties of wallpaper such as Liner, Printed, Foil, Flock, Mylar, Bamboo etc while the most common ones are Vinyl, Embossed and Textured. Some types are shiny and smooth to touch while others are 3 dimensional, projecting out of the wall surface. Some are easily washable while others are high maintenance. Many are moisture-resistant while some can even emulate a fire resistant board. Know your requirements and buy accordingly.

Read Also: Things to Tick Off Your Checklist Before You Finalize That False Ceiling

Choosing the Right Design

The wallcovering you choose can make a room appear bigger, warmer, and brighter or the exact opposite of it, and even hide imperfections. For instance, cool color backgrounds make a room appear larger; textures can camouflage imperfections of the wall or emulate elements such as marble or wood; A pattern with a layered design such as a floral one can create a perception of 3D; A patternless room can bore you, while a room with too many patterns can cause restlessness; Vertical stripes make a room appear taller while horizontal serves the purpose of making it look wider. You should also take the ceiling color and structure under consideration especially if you already have a false ceiling for hall or bedroom. The best way is to take advice from an interior designer to make the right decisions.

Self-adhesive, Pre-pasted or Dryback

For wallpapers to hold on to the walls, they need an adhesive. Traditional wallpapers are dry rolls which need to be pasted on the walls with the help of an external solution such as a clear adhesive. The self-adhesive version of wallpapers is much easier to install. They come with a covered adhesive strip which needs to be peeled to expose the gluey surface of the wallpaper, post which the paper is simply pushed on the wall. Another variety, the pre-pasted wallpaper, is similar to self-adhesive, except that you need to activate the paste on the back of the paper with water or an activator provided by the manufacturer.

The material composition of EcoPro fire resistant board is such that they encourage the wallpaper to easily stick to them and peel away from them.

Preparing the wall

To achieve the best possible results and a smooth, even appearance, the wall surface needs to be dry, clean, neutral in colour, smooth, even, stable and absorbent before applying the wallpaper. Remove the old wallpaper and clean the wall thoroughly. The electric outlets and switches should be covered with tape. If there are cracks or holes in your wall, apply wall putty with a putty knife, then wait for it to dry. Afterwards, sand it smooth with a fine-grit sandpaper. Paint primer with a brush on the wall to help the paper adhere more effectively.

Here, EcoPro Fibre cement walls need a notable mention as you hardly need to prep them before putting on a wallpaper. They also come with a perfectly even surface which eliminates the extra work of filling gaps or holes.

Putting up the Wallpaper

Apply wallpaper paste to the back of the paper and carefully stick it to the wall. Begin from the top to bottom and left to right to have it pasted evenly. Every time you finish pasting one strip, press and flatten the wallpaper with a brush to eliminate wrinkles and bubbles. Wipe off the excess glue with a wet sponge after letting the wallpaper set for at least 15 minutes.

EcoPro is a manufacturer of fibre cement boards which is a modern and efficient alternative for walls, drywall partitions, soundproof wall panels, exterior cladding panels, etc. The material components are such that they overcome the shortcomings of elementary materials like wood and cement.

Fibre cement board is a truly ingenious invention. Thanks to its components, Fibre cement boards are durable, low on maintenance, fire-resistant, impenetrable by bugs, rodents and molds and also impervious to moisture. They can act like a termite proof plywood and be built to closely imitate wood, stone, and brick. Additionally, they can also be painted, making them extremely versatile! All these qualities make fibre cement a very fluid material for your interior use.

Why Fibre Cement Boards Work Well Inside?

The qualities that make it so attractive for exteriors make it a good material for indoors, too.  For instance, Fibre cement boards are excellent energy savers. They insulate your home from external elements such as heat and cold, consequently, saving electricity bills behind the turning of Heaters and Coolers. They can act as soundproof wall panels to avoid your house from resounding like the walls of a deep cave. Instead of the usual POP, the fibre cement board can be used as a false ceiling for hall and office spaces. The advantage of fibre cement is that they are easy to install with minimal invasion, are light in weight, are more sophisticated in appearance, are available in various design options and are also cost-effective. Clapboard style fibre cement planks give you the look of wood without the cost or the maintenance. Fibre Cement Panels come in more sizes than plywood or drywall and can also be cut to use as trim. A fibre cement board’s qualities as an exterior siding make it good for interior applications, too.  Here are 8 ideas to try yourself.

1. A Fibre cement panel can be used as a headboard in your bedroom
2. If you are lucky enough to have inherited some beautiful industrial space big, metal-framed windows, you can use fibre cement panels to create urban lofts
3. You can cover your walls and ceiling with clapboard planks of fibre cement in the shape of lines to add visual interest
4. Planks with wood finish can be used on walls and ceilings give your home a cabin feel, akin to a knotty pine panelling style
5. Fibre cement boards can be used to build drywall partitions for your own little office space inside the house
6. Fibre cement can be used as excellent support for tile countertops in the kitchen or bath, because of its mold and moisture resistant qualities
7. You can build customized fibre cement planters for urban and chic indoor and patio plantations
8. Make a raised platform for your bed

These are just a few ways in which fibre cement boards can uplift your interiors and add style with a utility to your ambience. If you are looking for an excellent quality Fibre cement board for your interior and exterior applications, visit EcoPro and find out your options, today!

Several cities in India this year witnessed unprecedented soaring temperatures during summer and even recorded deaths due to heatwaves. The discomfort and health problems caused by extreme temperatures is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed seriously and urgently. According to the Indian government-backed research the two major cities, Delhi and Mumbai, are becoming “urban heat islands”, with significantly different climates to their surrounding rural areas.

Heat islands are created due to the use of heat-absorbing construction material and poorly planned building designs. With the growing significance of smart cities, there has been a tremendous rise in the concretization of buildings.

The upcoming smart city plans have brought in its wake huge layout of closely spaced multi-storeyed buildings. These concrete buildings form canyons that trap the heat between the walls and lead to warming up of the buildings. A vicious cycle is created in the cities, where the use of air conditioning adds up to the heat waves and pollutants, leading to heat-emissions. Many commercial complex and corporate offices use glass as a facade material which adds on to the heat inside the building & more usage of air conditioning.

According to the TERI Research if this phenomenon of heat Island is not addressed and resolved it may “eventually result in unprecedented repercussions such as heatwaves, health impacts, human discomfort and increased mortality among the elderly.”

The need of the hour is to take corrective measures to control the heat-island effect. One of the ways to counter the harmful heat emissions is to use nature-friendly, reflective and cool construction materials. Building water-retentive pavements and using reflective sloping roofs too can help us combat surface heat.

EcoPro is one of the latest breakthroughs in the construction industry that can help curb the heat island effect. It brings in the benefits of innovative and sustainable building material like fibre cement board, to build houses, roofs, etc. These fire resistant boards are ideal building solutions as they are weather-proof with sound thermal properties.

The fibre cement sloping roofs can help to create a cool effect as it facilitates less heat absorption. Individual houses like bungalows and row houses can use roofings of this material to achieve internal as well as external temperature balance.

Ventilated facades are also good alternatives for glass facades that lead to heat traps. These external coatings create an air chamber between the insulation and the coating. It improves the thermal resistance of the external wall by reducing heat losses and infiltration rates. There are some other benefits of ventilated facades that make them the right choice for architects and the home-owners like energy savings(by cutting down the use of air conditioning), acoustic insulation(reducing noise), protection against dampness and rain and finally, camouflaging the ugly building wires, plumbing installations etc.

Apart from concretization, there are several other factors like the rising number of vehicles, high usage of glass for the facade, depleting green cover, loss of wetlands and air pollutants that are contributing to the heat island effect. According to the scientists’ urban heatwaves are likely to increase in frequency and intensity. Hence, it has become imperative to adopt a holistic approach with well-planned strategies for sustainable urbanization to contain heat stress.