What is behind my wood paneling?

[Josh662234]

I’ve been in my house for two weeks to the day now and I’ve got a lot done in my garage and in the yard.

The weather had me inside tonight so I decided to pull an ugly piece of wall paneling, hoping for Sheetrock painted an ugly color. Unfortunately there is some form of wallboard, covered in what appears to be two different types of glue. Was this peel and stick paneling?
The house was built in ‘65 so I’m assuming the wall contains asbestos, correct? It is on every single wall of the house besides the bedrooms.
TIA

 

[The Cobbler]

wallpaper?
and yes, there will be asbestos in that house

 

[larry_g]

I'd suggest that you pull an electrical box and see if you can see the layers in the wall. Look for one that may have been recently added.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Musicinabottle]

I'm betting that it's just dry wall with wall paper facing. If so, you can steam that wall paper off, primer the wall and shoot some texture on it.

 

[Kaizen]

Under one of the sheets cut a piece out to see the cross section. Then send that to get asbestos tested before you do anything.


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[BuffettFan]

And there will be lead paint also.
depending on where you are, you may be getting into a world of B.S. if you have to have both abated.
I would do some anonymous checking on local codes concerning both of these issues before proceeding.

 

[surfer8210]

Just go with Sheetrock over each wall. That’s what I did, there was no way that steaming that paper off was going to be successful.
The benefits were great with almost zero air movement into or out of the house.
It was very easy to control the temperature inside also.


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[Falcon67]

A) get to liking the paneling, our old house was like that and it was fine. B) check the local laws about homeowner remediation of hot surfaces. You would need to carefully remove everything on every wall down to the studs and possibly pay for proper disposal. That's the reality. I work at a university that is 127 years old, we have that going on. They just did the carpet in my office - 2 days, full tape up, full crew to got down to a bare floor. Took a week to do the first floor of the building and most of us stayed home a few days because the chemical smell was really bad. Still is in the stairwells and that was 2 weeks ago.

 

[Milton Shaw]

That wall paper is not going to come off with steaming. If it did not pull off with panel adhesive then its on for life. Just sheetrock over it and be done. Go on and install more outlets, cable, speakers etc before you close the walls up. If not insulated well just cut holes at the top of each stud cavity and blow in loose fill. This is a chance to really fix and insulate the house for the next 20 years at least. Use a good barrier paint on the drywall for a moisture barrier if you are where they are recommended.

 

[86Vette]

I concur with those who say just lay over that paneling with 1/4" sheetrock.

 

[yeldogt]

Depending on the area of the country (you don't have location) -- that could be skim coat plaster w/ wall paper. I see the hot water heat -- skim coating was very common in all of the NE. It was very common for people to panel back in the 70's ..although your house would not have been very old. Maybe they thought it was easier and an update as well vs removing the paper and painting?

What are the moulding like? and damage around the windows?

Some panels being very thin and light could be glued to the wall -- other need some nails ... they sold a very sticky adhesive for it.

Personally, would never just cover it .. it's not going to work around the heat and moulding anyway. If this is a place you plan to stay in for a while -- and want something that looks correct in the end -- either paint the paneling -- or rent a steamer and get at it. Any glue on the paper will come off w/o much fuss.

I had a mudroom and office in one house with paneling -- we painted it (not white) -- it looked fine. Do one room and try it out.

I'm not sure why there would be asbestos in the paster ? None of mine did -- horse hair in some ... lead paint maybe

 

[Josh662234]

Lay 1/4” Sheetrock over the paneling or rip the paneling down and lay it over the old Sheetrock?
How does one go about pulling the outlets forward to be flush with the new wall

 

[Moose97]

Not sure where you are but check with local AHJ and see what the requirements are for asbestos abatement. In Texas there is none for residential, only commercial.

I think the sheetrock overlay may be your best bet.

 

[JimNC]

Agree with Larry_G, pull an outlet or switch and see if you can get an idea of how many layers you’ve got. Heck that could be 1/4” ply nailed to the studs, would **** but no asbestos!

My house near in Oak Park IL had plaster walls, but in one room I swear they had applied wood-grain self-stick shelf paper...you just never know.

 

[Kaizen]

Lay 1/4” Sheetrock over the paneling or rip the paneling down and lay it over the old Sheetrock?
How does one go about pulling the outlets forward to be flush with the new wall

They have plastic spacers that give it the space.
However in my 1900 colonial with nice trim and details the previous owner did the drywall trick so I was left with not much reveal on the trim around the windows and doors. Ive has up to six layers of flooring and three layers of wall in much that I’ve redone. I always take it to the studs. Lots of work but I hate covering up ****.
You might want to figure a plan and do one room at a time. Might have drywall under all that stuff that just needs some patching


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[Andler2008]

In my case, my home was built in 1970, and has lath and plaster walls with brick exterior. I found that the PO had lined quite a few interior walls with the stuff just brad nailed into the plaster(what a PIA), and in other areas he staked furring strips (yes, staked) to the plaster and put the drywall over that. He also ran some "additional" lighting circuits for the porch up between the paneling and the plaster instead of through the wall.

I was only 25 when I replaced 1k sq ft of flooring, 5 walls between 15-20' in length and made my own "Craftsman Style" trim for the windows and doors. Had I known more then, I would've taken the plaster and lath out and updated the insulation and then laid drywall over that. I will be redoing it all within the next few years.

 

[86Vette]

In my case, my home was built in 1970, and has lath and plaster walls with brick exterior. I found that the PO had lined quite a few interior walls with the stuff just brad nailed into the plaster(what a PIA), and in other areas he staked furring strips (yes, staked) to the plaster and put the drywall over that. He also ran some "additional" lighting circuits for the porch up between the paneling and the plaster instead of through the wall.

I was only 25 when I replaced 1k sq ft of flooring, 5 walls between 15-20' in length and made my own "Craftsman Style" trim for the windows and doors. Had I known more then, I would've taken the plaster and lath out and updated the insulation and then laid drywall over that. I will be redoing it all within the next few years.

Your house was built in 1970 and still had plaster and lathe walls? Must have been a REALLY old school builder!

 

[86Vette]

They have plastic spacers that give it the space.
However in my 1900 colonial with nice trim and details the previous owner did the drywall trick so I was left with not much reveal on the trim around the windows and doors. Ive has up to six layers of flooring and three layers of wall in much that I’ve redone. I always take it to the studs. Lots of work but I hate covering up ****.
You might want to figure a plan and do one room at a time. Might have drywall under all that stuff that just needs some patching


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These are the spacers you're likely thinking of...

https://www.kyleswitchplates.com/plastic-box-extender-goof-ring-adjusts-up-to-1-5-deep-1-gang/

 

[Andler2008]

Your house was built in 1970 and still had plaster and lathe walls? Must have been a REALLY old school builder!

You made me question the date on the county auditors site, so I did some more digging on the and found a "transaction date" from another couple in 1956. So now I really have no idea when the house was built lol

 

[bullnerd]

Paint the paneling and go back in the garage.

 

[Kaizen]

These are the spacers you're likely thinking of...



https://www.kyleswitchplates.com/plastic-box-extender-goof-ring-adjusts-up-to-1-5-deep-1-gang/

More like these
https://www.homedepot.com/p/ReceptX...Receptacle-Box-Extension-Ring-00002/100156491


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[Falcon67]

Also note - if you find drywall under there from the 70s, early 80s - the mud is hot too. Not the sheet, just the mud - sorta LOL

 

[6768rogues]

I doubt that any of your wall components have asbestos. If you are worried about it, take a small piece to a testing lab, it doesn't cost much to have it tested.

 

[619DioFan]

Paint the paneling and go back in the garage.

Totally agree.

 

[TractorJeff]

The paneling in my 1975 built house was glued on like that (caulk gun adhesive).
It will bleed through paint, so may as well re-dry wall!

 

[Alchase]

Reminds me of a story:
In my youth my Dad use to use a razor strap when he had to punish me and my my four older sisters. He would double it up so when hit hit our butts, it would make that really loud snap with hardly no sting. If you knew my dad, he would never hit us to hurt, but we did not know that when young. Picture a 6'3" Ward Cleaver, who would not even cuss.
We were terrified of that strap. One day my sister did something stupid, and knew she would get "the STRAP"! My dad was half finished with the wood paneling in the unfinished bedroom down stairs. My sister stole the strap and hid it behind the paneling in that bedroom, but told no one.
Fast forward twenty years, my dad and I are remodeling the bedroom and we found the strap. That night the whole family came for dinner. After everyone had finished dinner, my dad says he has something for the girls, and leaves the table. As all my sisters are in conversation, out of nowhere, my dad throws the old strap in the middle of the table!
My sister's eyes were about to bugged out of their heads! They not only remembered, they were instantly terrified seeing "the STRAP"!
I was almost rolling on the floor cracking up from the look on their faces.

So be careful, you never know what you might find behind the panelling, LOL

 

[Josh662234]

Alchase that is too funny. My wife keeps hoping we’ll find money haha

I’m going to send a sample out this week to see if it’s hot

 

[kossuth]

You made me question the date on the county auditors site, so I did some more digging on the and found a "transaction date" from another couple in 1956. So now I really have no idea when the house was built lol

Thats probably close. Dry wall became pretty common after the Korean War. I would look to see what the oldest type of wiring you can find. Either in use or abandoned, that will also help date the place.