Hospitality Wallcovering: Corridors, Guest Rooms and Public Spaces

What to look for

• Type for the area. Wolf-Gordon describes Type I in hotel rooms and waiting areas and Type II for heavy-traffic settings including hospitality. Koroseal places Type II in "hallways and lobbies."
• Stain resistance. W-101 tests stain resistance with a list of 12 household reagents, from distilled water through orange juice, butter, catsup and tea; Type II must show no appreciable staining from reagents 1-10 and Type III likewise. Koroseal publishes a stain removal table for its Teflon-protected patterns.
• Fire test results with their conditions. Koroseal Type II fact sheets report ASTM E84 Class A on GRC board with A-848-B adhesive and NFPA 286 "meets requirements" on 5/8 in Type X gypsum board with A-848-B adhesive. The required class depends on occupancy, location and sprinklers; confirm with the authority having jurisdiction (see the fire ratings guide).
• Pattern, match and width for long runs. Read the vertical repeat, the match (random, straight, half drop) and the nominal pattern width on the fact sheet. Matched patterns increase yardage (see the ordering guide).
• Shade lot control. Koroseal tells installers to "separate goods by shade lot number" and to hang rolls by roll number. Order each corridor run at one time.
• PVC-free options. Koroseal says its PVC-free lines can be combined with its digital printing (see the PVC-free guide).

We sell Koroseal online by the yard, send samples, and prepare quotes and quantity take-offs; see how to order and commercial materials.

Planning a corridor

Long corridors make shade and match visible. Koroseal's hanging instructions list the roll label fields: item number, yards, shade lot (work order) and roll number. Ask that each corridor or floor ship together, keep the label data for future repairs, and estimate matched patterns by rounding each drop up to whole repeats. Koroseal's calculator notes that "a large repeat may require additional material." For renovations, remove the existing wallcovering rather than hanging over it: Wolf-Gordon warns that vinyl over existing vinyl "may significantly increase flammability and smoke generation," and Koroseal's specification calls for old wallcoverings to be removed.

Documents for a submittal

Koroseal's 09 72 00 specification asks the contractor to "submit a sample of each type and color to be installed for the architect's approval" and a manufacturer's certification that the wallcovering meets the specification, and states that the manufacturer shall certify at shipment that the material meets its published ASTM E84 flame spread and smoke development ratings. For each Koroseal family, the documents usually available are the fact sheet, the 09 72 00 specification, cleaning instructions, hanging instructions and, for many Type II lines, an EPD, an HPD and a VOC emissions report. Request the set that matches the exact backing (woven or non-woven) you will buy.

Questions to confirm for your project

• Which areas (guest rooms, corridors, back of house) need Type I or Type II?
• What fire class does the AHJ require in corridors and exits, and is the building sprinklered?
• Does the brand standard name a cleaning method or chemical?
• How many linear feet of corridor will be covered in one shade lot?
• Are attic stock or future repair yards needed?