# covering panneling



## lighthouse (Jan 25, 2013)

I have a lot of panneling and am trying to find an inexpensive way to cover it. I did consider just removing it and putting up drywall but learned I would also need to bump out all the windows and doorways. Problem is I have 5 windows and and 4 doorways in the space. Any idea's would be greatly appreciated.


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## bradnailer (Nov 11, 2008)

Not exactly sure of your situation but there should be drywall under the paneling. In that case, you have a couple of options, you could remove all the paneling sand and texture the drywall. You could also cut that chore in half by cutting the paneling halfway up the wall, add some chair rail, paint it all and it will look like wainscoting. This would only require you to sand and texture the top half.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

If it's like my house when i first bought it, there are just studs behind it.

In the first room I primed it all, floated the cracks with gyp and then mixed gyp, primer and water into a thick paint slurry and applied it with a heavy knapp roller. That left it looking like sheet rock with the appropriate texture and all. You really can not tell the difference.

I decided it was more trouble than tearing out the panel and hanging rock so that's what I did for the other 3 rooms that had paneling.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

bradnailer said:


> Not exactly sure of your situation but there should be drywall under the paneling. In that case, you have a couple of options, you could remove all the paneling sand and texture the drywall. You could also cut that chore in half by cutting the paneling halfway up the wall, add some chair rail, paint it all and it will look like wainscoting. This would only require you to sand and texture the top half.


If the paneling was added after the house was built there may be drywall under the paneling. I have never seen a new house that was paneled have dry wall under it.

George


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

firemedic said:


> If it's like my house when i first bought it, there are just studs behind it.
> 
> In the first room I primed it all, floated the cracks with gyp and then mixed gyp, primer and water into a thick paint slurry and applied it with a heavy knapp roller. That left it looking like sheet rock with the appropriate texture and all. You really can not tell the difference.
> 
> I decided it was more trouble than tearing out the panel and hanging rock so that's what I did for the other 3 rooms that had paneling.


We posted at exactly the same time.

I have friends that did what you first did with the gyp. It was a mess. Would not recommend it.

George


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## bnwelch (Aug 13, 2012)

2 options that we had...Kitchen had a 5'+ high birch paneling applied to the plaster walls. The other was full height birch paneling in a small office/sitting room.
House was built around 1880, so...First scenario we removed the paneling, applied a layer of sizing (a spun bond fabric used for covering block walls prior to painting/applying wallcovering) patched and painted the walls...eventually installed a traditional wainscot/chair rail just to spruce things up. In the second scenario, we left the paneling in place, but spackled all the grooves, and taped/spackled the panel joints then painted...
In both cases the final result was perfectly acceptable, and I learned a lot, more than I cared to, about repairing crumbling plaster walls (obviously the reason the paneling was there in the first place, and the reason we left the paneling in place in the second room)
YMMV


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## lighthouse (Jan 25, 2013)

*Thank you all*

Thanks for the sugestions guys


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