Lining Paper Calculator — How Many Rolls Do I Need?

Lining paper grades run from 800 (lightest) to 2000 (heaviest). Grades 800 and 1000 are lightweight — grade 1000 is the most popular all-purpose choice, and 800 suits smooth walls that just need a fresh base. Grades 1200 and 1400 are midweight, ideal for walls with minor imperfections as they hide small cracks. Grades 1700 and 2000 are heavyweight, for rough or badly damaged walls where a perfectly smooth finish is critical before painting or wallpapering.

If you're painting over lining paper, hang it vertically like wallpaper. If you're wallpapering over it, hang lining paper horizontally (cross-lining) so the joints don't line up with the wallpaper joints. Cross-lining gives a smoother finish and prevents visible seams showing through the wallpaper.

A typical UK paste pack — such as Polycell Paste-the-Wall (211g) or Solvite Paste-the-Wall (230g) — covers around 5 rolls, so roughly 40-46g of dry paste per roll. Heavier grades (1200+) soak up a little more, and an all-purpose paste sachet (about 92g) also hangs around 5 rolls. Mix paste slightly thicker than for wallpaper so it supports the weight of the paper, and allow about 10 minutes soaking time after pasting before hanging. Always follow the mixing ratios on your paste packet.

Allow at least 24 hours for lining paper to fully dry before painting. In cold or damp conditions, allow 48 hours. The paper may look dry to the touch after a few hours, but painting too soon can cause bubbles and wrinkles as moisture gets trapped. Make sure the room is well ventilated during drying.

Standard UK lining paper rolls are 10 metres long and 0.56 metres (56cm) wide, giving approximately 5.6 m² of coverage per roll (a few retailers list the length as 10.05m). Some professional rolls come in 20m lengths for fewer joints. The width is consistent across all grades.

Add up the length of every wall, including the two walls of the notch. There is a quick check: for any room shaped like a rectangle with a corner cut off, the perimeter is exactly 2 × (overall length + overall width) of the bounding rectangle, because the notch walls line up with the wall sections they replace. Features that project into the room, such as a chimney breast, add perimeter rather than removing it: include the breast's two short return sides in your total. Doors and windows are handled by the separate deduction fields, so do not subtract them from the perimeter.