Filling and painting 70's-riffic panelling?

[Tristan]

Our house is chock full of panelling. Literally, every wall in the entire house (save the basement and attic) are covered in panelling. It goes well with the epic Green Shag Carpet we have in the living room.

We have since redone 2 rooms (self teaching our selves as wel go) and I have been tinkering with the idea of instead of tearing it down and putting 1/8" drywall over our beat-up plaster, just filling the grooves in the panelling with... something... and repainting the whole surface.

This would save me having to purchase drywall, measure and cut drywall, and a HUGE amount of time.

Has anyone done this? Heard of it?

If so, what would you suggest for filling the grooves with?

[Dreamy B]

I've seen it done and it looked pretty crap-tastic (I'm trying to keep with your theme). To me it was obvious that's exactly what they did. Perhaps someone more skilled could have done better.

I don't see how this saves labor, to me I'd rather hang new board and tape fewer joints then to be Phil McCraken all day long.

YYMV and all and since this is the dope someone's bound to drop in and say they did their whole house this way and fooled Bob Villa.

[An Gadaí]

We filled in the gaps and wallpapered over the panelling in our house, many a moon ago.

[Oregon sunshine]

I lived in an old house trailer while putting myself through school. I used Kilz primer to seal the paneling and then painted it the colors I wanted. It was still pretty horrible, but it's all I've got to contribute. The room that I wallpapered looked slightly better. YMMV.

[masterofnone]

Originally Posted by Tristan

1/8" drywall

They make 1/8" drywall? How the hell do you pick it up without it breaking?

On topic: I've seen it done, and even without knowing beforehand, it was obvious. That said, if you're on a budget and really hate the panneling, it's better than some of the appartments I've lived in. I'd just sand the gloss off the panneling, use sheetrock mud to fill the gaps, paint the whole thing with Killz or similar, then paint one color and sponge with a slightly different color. Thre are many ways of hiding imperfect walls with paint effects. Random google link (keyword "paint effects") to get you started.

[Sparky812]

Any idea what is behind the panelling?
You could just drywall over it, but removing the panelling is simple plus you could see and repair/upgrade anything inside your walls. ie wiring, vapour barrier, insulation, etc..

This would save me having to purchase drywall, measure and cut drywall, and a HUGE amount of time.

Believe me, filling, sanding, priming, and painting is alot of work, and it will still look like you painted over panelling.
Measuring and cutting the drywall is not a "HUGE" amount of time but tapping and sanding are but there would be less seams than with the panelling.

I guess it depends on your plans for the future...do you want to just freshen up the room and move one or do you want to make your house more energy efficient, modern, attractive for re-sale, etc.?

Personally, I go all out when I do a room... I tell my wife "If I'm going to do any work at all, I'm doing all of it at once...but only once!"

Good Luck!

[Savannah]

I just painted right over the 70s-era dark wood paneling in our place. Two coats of primer and two coats of paint. There are still grooves running vertically, but I don't care. It's just so much brighter and modern than what was there previously. There was no way in hell I was going to fill in every single groove with Polyfilla or whatever that stuff is called--I'd be at it for the next 30 years.

[CandidGamera]

Had panelling in the dining room in my house. My parents and I tore it out, plus the backing boards, patched the plaster - then we did "venetian plaster" paint on the top two-thirds of the room, and some nice stained wainscoting on the bottom..

Here is a picture I took in the middle of the project with some of the panelling torn out :

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z.../DR_Window.jpg

And some more "before/during":
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...se/DR_Wall.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...DR_Doorway.jpg

And some after :
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...DR_Plaster.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...orner_high.jpg

[Sateryn76]

Originally Posted by CandidGamera

Had panelling in the dining room in my house. My parents and I tore it out, plus the backing boards, patched the plaster - then we did "venetian plaster" paint on the top two-thirds of the room, and some nice stained wainscoting on the bottom..

Here is a picture I took in the middle of the project with some of the panelling torn out :

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z.../DR_Window.jpg

And some more "before/during":
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...se/DR_Wall.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...DR_Doorway.jpg

And some after :
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...DR_Plaster.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...orner_high.jpg

Good job! It looks really good!

Re: the OP - the problem is that, no matter what, the channel fill will crack, and may even fall out over time, depending on how flexible the panel wall is. I looked for exactly this solution in the past few years, and it can be done, but the time and expense involved far outweighs the time and expense involved in hanging new drywall.

[Ed Zotti]

I second the idea of new drywall - it's cheap, fast, and looks pro if you get the right crew. Mucking around with the paneling isn't going to save much money (unless you just paint), and chances are it'll look cheesy.

[CandidGamera]

Originally Posted by Sateryn76

Good job! It looks really good!

Re: the OP - the problem is that, no matter what, the channel fill will crack, and may even fall out over time, depending on how flexible the panel wall is. I looked for exactly this solution in the past few years, and it can be done, but the time and expense involved far outweighs the time and expense involved in hanging new drywall.

Thanks!

[usedtobe]

I've posted this before, but:

1/8" Masonite, rought side out, skim coat with drywall "mud" (add water) and tape - looks like plaster, and you lose minimum thickness from the woodwokk.
I might somday try the trick with the 1/16" luan plywood available at cheap box stores - that can be sut with an utility knife

[lee]

Originally Posted by Savannah

I just painted right over the 70s-era dark wood paneling in our place. Two coats of primer and two coats of paint. There are still grooves running vertically, but I don't care. It's just so much brighter and modern than what was there previously. There was no way in hell I was going to fill in every single groove with Polyfilla or whatever that stuff is called--I'd be at it for the next 30 years.

Our living room has a wall of painted over paneling. I think it looks far better than the paneling would have. It is a nice bright color, and the vertical grooving is just added texture. I think they must have done a decent job sanding and priming. I think they may have used napped rollers or some sort of undertexture as well. It is a nice matte paint and doesn't have the extra smooth flatness of cheap paneling.

[Joey P]

Originally Posted by Savannah

I just painted right over the 70s-era dark wood paneling in our place. Two coats of primer and two coats of paint. There are still grooves running vertically, but I don't care. It's just so much brighter and modern than what was there previously. There was no way in hell I was going to fill in every single groove with Polyfilla or whatever that stuff is called--I'd be at it for the next 30 years.

That was my suggestion. My parents painted over the paneling in two rooms when we moved into that house. It really doesn't look that bad at all. I mean, you can tell it was paneling, but it doesn't have the look or feel of paneling anymore.