The short answer
Mural installation in Oakland Park starts with exact wall measurements before you order, so the image is sized and cropped correctly. On the day, we smooth and prime the wall, set a level starting line, and hang the numbered panels in sequence so the picture stays aligned edge to edge.
A wallpaper mural is a single large image split into numbered panels, and getting it right is closer to assembling a puzzle than to hanging regular paper. If one panel goes up a fraction off, the horizon tilts, a tree trunk breaks, or a face in a photograph splits down the middle. We install printed murals for homeowners in Oakland Park, a short trip of about 8 miles south of our Pompano Beach base, in bedrooms, playrooms, dining rooms, home offices and entryways. Here is how we take a mural from a print file to a finished wall that reads as one continuous picture.
Measure before you order the print
Most mural problems begin before anyone touches a brush. Custom murals are printed to a size you give the supplier, and if those numbers are off, the image either falls short of the ceiling or gets cropped in a way that cuts off the part you liked. We are glad to come out and measure the wall first, noting the true height at both ends, since floors and ceilings in older Broward homes are not always parallel.
We recommend adding a few inches of bleed on every side so we have room to trim at the ceiling, baseboard and corners. We also mark where outlets, switches, windows and vents fall, so you can decide whether an important part of the image should be shifted away from them before printing.
- Measure height at left, center and right of the wall
- Add bleed on all four edges for trimming
- Note outlets, vents and windows inside the image area
- Confirm whether panels are pre-pasted, paste-the-wall or peel-and-stick
Where murals tend to work in Oakland Park houses
Single-story ranch homes and condos in the 33334 area often have one wall that stands alone: the end of a living room, the wall behind a bed, or a dining nook without windows. Those uninterrupted surfaces are perfect for a mural. Popular choices include tropical leaves, soft watercolor landscapes, maps, sky scenes for a child's room and photographic images that open up a smaller space.
We are honest about walls that will fight the image. A wall with a doorway in the middle, a large air return or a run of built-in shelves can break a mural into awkward pieces. In that case a repeating pattern wallpaper might serve you better, and we will say so.
Getting the surface ready
A mural magnifies flaws because the image is usually smooth and continuous. Sprayed wall texture, patched holes and paint drips all show through, especially in photographic prints with large areas of sky or solid color. We fill, sand and, where needed, skim the wall flat, then apply a wallcovering primer so the panels can slide into alignment and come off later without tearing the drywall.
On walls that face the outside, we check for moisture first. Block construction keeps houses here sturdy through storms, but a damp spot from a leak or condensation has to be dealt with before it gets covered.
Hanging the panels in order
We lay out every panel on the floor to confirm the numbering and check the print for defects before anything is pasted. Then we snap a plumb line for the first panel rather than trusting the corner. Each following panel is butted or overlapped according to the manufacturer's instructions and matched to the image, with extra attention to details that cross seams, such as lines, faces or lettering.
Excess at the top and bottom is trimmed with a fresh blade, and outlet openings are cut cleanly so the cover plates sit flat. A typical single-wall mural is completed in one day, with larger or multi-wall murals taking longer.
Living with a mural in a humid, sunny climate
South Florida brings strong light and heavy summer humidity. Murals on walls facing big west windows can fade over the years, so UV-filtering window film or curtains help if the color is important to you. Keeping the AC running at a steady setting also helps the panels stay tight at the seams through the wet season.
We install murals in Oakland Park and in nearby Wilton Manors, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, North Lauderdale, Margate and Coconut Creek. Send us the mural link or the supplier's spec sheet, and we can tell you what prep the wall will need and whether the product suits the room you have in mind.
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