What is a stretched fabric wall covering?
A stretched fabric wall covering, wandbespanning in Dutch, is a wall finish in which a linen or hessian backing is stretched over timber battens a few centimetres in front of the wall and then finished with paper and wallpaper, textile or leather. Because the covering stands free of the wall, there is an air gap between masonry and finish.
Build-up
- Battens fixed to the wall as a frame.
- Backing: linen or hessian stretched taut over the battens.
- Lining paper.
- Top layer: wallpaper, silk or another textile, or (gilt) leather. In wealthy interiors the cloth was sometimes painted.
Why was it used?
- Against penetrating damp: on solid external walls the finish stayed drier thanks to the air gap.
- Hiding uneven walls without replastering.
- A richer appearance, plus a little insulation and sound absorption.
With the arrival of cavity walls it largely disappeared from new buildings. It survives in historic buildings, and in a modern form as acoustic wall systems with fabric stretched over sound-absorbing material.
Tips for old fabric wall coverings
- Check for damp and mould behind the covering. Hessian combined with moisture can cause black staining.
- Do not strip it without thought: in listed buildings it may be of historic value, and consent may be needed. Check with your local authority first.
- Do not fix through the fabric without finding a batten; the cloth tears or distorts.
- Keep the air gap ventilated: do not close it off, for example with a vapour-tight sheet behind it.
- Restoring painted cloth or gilt leather is specialist work.
Related terms
- Wainscoting
- Cavity wall
- Acoustics
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