Canvas Stretching

The method was common both in the Nordic countries and elsewhere in Europe. It is not known how old the oldest house is that had canvas stretched on its walls. The oldest house where we have renewed and reused old canvas was built between 1907 and 1908, and that is the Thors Jensen house at Fríkirkjuvegur 11.

The video above includes photographs showing, among other things, the work of stretching canvas at Fríkirkjuvegur. In those pictures, there are three generations. Fríkirkjuvegur 11 was designed by Einar Erlendsson, and the materials for it were ordered from Sweden. The house is a timber house, and all the walls on the main floors have stretched canvas, but not in the basement or attic. It is worth noting that after the canvas was stretched and the paper was applied at Fríkirkjuvegur 11, the paper was primed with oil, and then painters began to do wood graining and marbling. Wood graining is a painting technique used to imitate wood panelling, while marbling imitates marble. This technique is decorative painting, and such walls are a true feast for the eyes.

From this, we can see that around the turn of the 20th century, this was the method used to get smooth walls. In addition, the canvas and paper act as air insulation, so the timber house breathes well, and there is extra windproofing due to the canvas and paper. Timber houses built in Reykjavík before the turn of the century and well into the century had canvas-stretched walls. As the century progressed past the midpoint, materials and boards became available to clad walls, and at the same time, it became common to plaster interior walls in stone houses. The practice of stretching canvas on ceilings persisted for somewhat longer because it was simpler and quicker than plastering overhead. Machine-made paper was then glued onto the stretched canvas with hot wheat paste, but around the turn of the 20th century, newspapers were used to glue onto the canvas, though the method was otherwise the same. Afterwards, the newspapers were wallpapered over or decoratively painted as mentioned before. That is why many who renovate older houses find newspaper pages on the canvas, which are sometimes cut out and preserved. These are both domestic and foreign newspapers, although foreign newspapers seem to be more common, preserving interesting moments from the time the houses were built.

As described in the video, the method, in brief, is as follows. The paperhanger comes to a panelled wall, measures it, and sews together hessian canvas, which is 130 cm wide, so that it covers the entire wall. This is the same canvas used to wrap fish – especially saltfish. Today, the canvas is then stapled horizontally to the ceiling, making sure to follow the horizontal threads in the weave. (Previously, the canvas was nailed with tacks, as upholstery and paperhanging were the same trade).

The canvas is folded under itself by about 5 cm. After it has been stapled horizontally, it is stapled vertically on one side into the corner, again making sure to follow the vertical threads in the weave. It does not matter on which side the nailing/stapling is, but it may depend on whether the paperhanger is right-handed or left-handed when it comes to stretching.

When it has been nailed horizontally and vertically, the wall is pre-stretched, and then the professional uses a well-sharpened awl to stretch and hold the tension while stapling. First, it is stretched in the corner opposite the right angle in the upper corner, creating a rectangle. This is the first pre-stretch, and then it is good to pre-stretch the vertical line opposite the side that is fully nailed. It is good to pre-stretch with three to four intervals on the vertical line, based on a standard ceiling height. The same is done horizontally down by the floor. It is pre-stretched in the middle, and this also applies to the vertical line during pre-stretching. More pre-stretches are needed horizontally than vertically, but one could say there are about 40 cm between pre-stretches. Otherwise, it is often a matter of feel how many gaps there are between pre-stretches. You can pull quite firmly during pre-stretching, but care is taken not to deform the canvas.

After this, the wall is usually left to stand for about 24 hours before it is fully stretched. This allows the canvas to absorb the room's moisture and heat. When pre-stretching a wall with a staple gun, it is good to staple at an angle, so that the staples can be easily removed with pincers when the final stretching begins. During the final stretching, each pre-stretch is loosened individually, and the canvas is pulled again and fully stapled. This can be done alternately vertically and horizontally to preserve the shape of the wall. If there are windows on the wall, the canvas is stretched over them, and they are cut out after the wall has been fully stretched, using the same method as on a solid wall. The canvas is cut so that there is about a 5 cm fold all around, which is folded underneath. First, it is pulled horizontally above the window, then vertically on one side, and then the other sides are pre-stretched. Soon after, the area around the window can be fully stretched. There is no need to pull very tightly; feel is what matters – it is sufficient that all surfaces maintain their shape. Machine paper is glued over the canvas, and after it is dry, it is primed with oil as mentioned before. Today, a thick, ready-made glue is used, but in the old days, a wheat paste made from flour, hot water, and caustic soda was used.

Why did people do this?

It is known that the Chinese glued rice paper to walls around 200 BC. We also know that Vikings covered their walls with tapestries or hangings with images on them, which were hung up for decoration. We also see in European castles enormous tapestries or textiles that were hung over stone walls. These centuries-old traditions were renewed with paper when King Louis XI of France had images drawn on rolls of paper in 1481 to travel with and decorate his surroundings at stopping places. The oldest known wallpaper was found in Cambridge and dates from the year 1509. Canvas stretching is therefore part of a centuries-old tradition whose purpose is to cover and decorate walls. However, the wall decorations of upright man can be traced back 30 to 40 thousand years to cave paintings.

As a final fun fact, it can be mentioned that the Master Guild of Wallpaperers proposed to the “honourable” Industrial Assembly in 1933 that canvas hanging become part of the journeyman's examination, which shows how common the method was. The text reads as follows: Students are to demonstrate methods for hanging canvas in a panelled room according to the provisions of the examination committee, wallpaper the room and add borders, decorate with wallpaper and submit a drawing thereof. The wallpaper shall be chosen in consultation with the examination committee. (Journal of Craftsmen, 2nd issue, 01.05.1933)

Ásgeir Beinteinsson
Student in floor and wall covering.