How To Remove Fake Wood Paneling?

KateBeck12 · Jun 3, 2014

Hello! I live in a 1911 craftsmen style house, 4th generation to live in it so it's a family house. My grandpa was a big fan of fake wood paneling and one of the spare bedrooms is completely covered in this fake paneling. It goes about 7ft up the wall with a 1ft border of white paint at the top. My mom and I wish to redo this room, take down the paneling and paint it. How would we do this? It's safe to assume that the walls behind the paneling are rough and not in good shape with plenty of nail holes. I have some experience with home remodeling and my dad will be supervising this but I want to see if I can do it on my own! The picture below isn't my room but the paneling is very similar. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

nealtw · Jun 3, 2014

This would have been done much later than when the house was built, so you might find anything behind this stuff. Most times the were put up with nails with a matching colour. The nails will be visable and if that what you find you should be able to just rip it down, almost by hand. But some people glued it up or even used glue and nails. Then it will be a challenge and you can expect some repairs to the wall behind it.
And welcome to the site.

KateBeck12 · Jun 3, 2014

Yeah we're guessing my grandpa put it up in the 60s' or 70s' and it doesn't look like it'll be horribly painful to remove. But after I do take it off how would I go about fixing the holes and the possible rough/uneven patches?

nealtw · Jun 3, 2014

Plaster or drywall should be simple enough to fix up, but he may have been hiding damage that was there so you really won't know until you get into it.
http://www.lowes.com/cd_Patch+and+Repair+Drywall_498789296_

KateBeck12 · Jun 3, 2014

That link is exactly what I was looking for! Hopefully he wasn't hiding damaged walls and that we can just use little patch jobs and not have to cut out sections! But knowing my family it's very possible he was! In my bedroom that I remodeled there was +7 layers of wall paper and numerous layers of paint. My family is all about shortcuts!

nealtw · Jun 3, 2014

Does the house have drywall or plaster?
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20210037,00.html

KateBeck12 · Jun 3, 2014

90% sure that it's plaster.

nealtw · Jun 3, 2014

KateBeck12 said:
90% sure that it's plaster.

So am I.:agree:

CallMeVilla · Jun 4, 2014

We have all done this in the past ... Rip the stuff off. Smooth the wall by removing glue with a stiff putty knife. Patch the holes with drywall compound unless you are a purist and want to use spackling. In some cases, it is even easier to skim coat the entire wall ... but you are just getting started, right?

Get a sanding pad and pole with a screen. This outlasts sandpaper and makes the job go faster. Once the surface is smooth, you can prime the walls and paint. DO NOT use the so-called "W" pattern while painting. Cut in the edges and corners, then paint smoothly up and down the walls with a good wet edge overlap.

YOU CAN DO IT!

Drywallinfo · Jun 12, 2014

Another option is to tape and finish the paneling. I just did this last summer in our basement family room. You need to make sure all edges are level with each other and then tape all seams and corners as if this was drywall. Also, I filled all the grooves in the paneling by applying compound and skimming level (and repeating since this shrinks in). After all was done I primed and painted. My walls turned out like new drywall without the expense of drywall and mess of tearing things out. See http://www.drywallinfo.com for info on taping and finishing drywall.

How To Remove Fake Wood Paneling?

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