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Small Cabin Forum / Cabin Construction / Interior wood paneling
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paulz
Member
# Posted: 28 Dec 2020 11:37
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Going to finally, 5 years later, cover the studs and insulation in my cabin. Last summer I went to get some free plywood (remember those days?), leftover from a big buck tech display at Burning Man. Also being given away was lots of this 3/16" veneer paneling. I'n not really picky about looks since just about every square foot of the walls has something in front of or hanging from it.

On the left is a piece complete with Burning Man desert dust, on then right is wiped down with a wet reg.

What are the cons of using this stuff? I know the fire protection of sheet rock isn't there. The grain would need to be vertical I guess, meaning battens every 4'. I would prefer to stain or oil it as opposed to painting. Hanging a picture would require some kind of fastener.

Show me any photos if you're done wood paneling.
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gcrank1
Member
# Posted: 28 Dec 2020 13:36
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Well Paul, you could do like a friend of mine did years back, he salvaged any decent carpeting he could and just kept layering it on the floors of his drafty old 100+yr old farmhouse. He lived on the first floor sandwiched between the carpet upstairs and under his feet. Ceiling kept getting closer though....
Cover your walls with whatchagot now and add to it over time as better comes along?

Just
Member
# Posted: 28 Dec 2020 19:43
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I used the same stuff on the last one I built, it looks good.
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Fanman
Member
# Posted: 28 Dec 2020 22:09 - Edited by: Fanman
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You could put the plywood on first and then put the paneling over that, then you'd have a substantial wall.

Paneling unsupported directly on the studs is asking for trouble, been there fixed that.

DaveBell
Moderator
# Posted: 29 Dec 2020 04:39
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Quoting: paulz
Burning Man desert dust

Burning Man dirt is high in alkaline. Try something acidic like vinegar to see if it removed the dirt. Rinse and dry. Also try CLR.

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 29 Dec 2020 08:34
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I used all 3/8" plywood for the inside of mine. It gives it much more shear strength too.

paulz
Member
# Posted: 29 Dec 2020 09:11
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Quoting: gcrank1
Cover your walls with whatchagot now and add to it over time as better comes along?


Lol, that's what I've been doing. Carpet on one wall, some mirrored closet doors on another, whatever will hang on a nail.. Actually I will miss having the blocking and studs to keep stuff on.

Quoting: Just
I used the same stuff on the last one I built, it looks good.


Looks great, great color too. I was thinking of leaving mine a light color for room brightness but yours looks much richer. I have a couple gallons of stain around here somewhere i need to test.

Quoting: Fanman
You could put the plywood on first and then put the paneling over that, then you'd have a substantial wall.


The exterior is sheathed in 1/2 plywood with board and batten over that, figured that was enough sheer? Cabin has been stable for 5 years so far, actually more than I expected since it floats on pier blocks.

Quoting: DaveBell
Burning Man dirt is high in alkaline. Try something acidic like vinegar to see if it removed the dirt. Rinse and dry. Also try CLR.


Good idea. Seems to wipe off easily but who knows how a finish will react.

Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech
I used all 3/8" plywood for the inside of mine. It gives it much more shear strength too.


Can't afford plywood anymore!

Thanks guys! I'm mostly an outside work kinda guy but during these dark cold winter days I promised myself to fix up the inside.
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gcrank1
Member
# Posted: 29 Dec 2020 11:04
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Fwiw, I tried the 'darker/richer' finish in my 1st cabin and had to take it out, went with plain pine boxcar siding and did it ever brighten things up! Fortunately I discovered the issue before I did the whole interior like I had intended. Then a lot of the stuff that ended up on the walls was darker so I had a good balance for visual contrast anyway.

paulz
Member
# Posted: 30 Dec 2020 09:47
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I found a couple gallons of stain yesterday while digging out some white paint for the inside of the concrete bomb shelter on my property. Didn't get a chance to see what color it is. Got the bomb shelter painted, ready for shelving. Some previous 'artists' had decorated it. '420' is a reference to pot.
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Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 30 Dec 2020 10:18
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As gcrank points out, in a small cabin you have to be careful with how dark you stain wood or the walls will close in on you. You might try thinning down the white paint and doing a wash on the plywood. It will still let the grain show but will lighten the wood up and the inside of the cabin. Friends here did this with ship lap and it looks great.

That said..I'm a natural wood guy. Our interior is almost all t&g Aspen, really light wood, or the inside of the pine D logs, also light. Some unstained bead board.... not sure how long I'll leave that in here. Looks ok I guess. Crazy thing is the PO put up the bead board at the end of the kitchen counter and surrounding the bathroom sink/countertop. But the counters were in first.... so we want to change out the bathroom countertop, but... we have to tear all the trim and bead board off the walls first just to get the countertop out! Same in the kitchen!

ICC
Member
# Posted: 30 Dec 2020 10:32
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Quoting: Nobadays
That said..I'm a natural wood guy.


Yep I prefer very light or just a touch darker. I have some walls that are aspen T&G and some that are pine T&G that were just clear coated. They have darkened slightly with age. I have made custom mixes with light colored stain made even lighter by diluting with a neutral, almost no color, stain.

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On the subject of stain; what is your preference, if any, oil based or water based stain? I have tried water based a couple of times over the years but prefer the oil based stains.

paulz
Member
# Posted: 30 Dec 2020 10:39
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Yeah I fully understand the difference light vs. dark. The master bedroom in our house is the same size as the cabin (!) but is painted white. Feels like you're in Versailles by comparison. Glad you guys brought it up.

This is one of those cases where just because I have some finish laying around doesn't mean I should use it. What about gloss, what are the ideas on that? Flat, semi..

I know nothing about this, as usual..

Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 30 Dec 2020 11:13
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Quoting: paulz
I know nothing about this, as usual..


But you're our guy when it comes to changing out the "ratchet arm muffler bearings!"

Prefer oil based stains, I think they flow/absorb better. Finishes in Satin, gloss or matte/flat... a personal choice. Our ceiling is satin which means a bit of shine but not over the top. Personally I only use gloss on table tops.

ICC
Member
# Posted: 30 Dec 2020 11:40
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Gloss, semi, satin, matte..... personal choice for sure. I don't like high gloss on most things and generally do not like matte. Although my vehicles attain a matte finish with all the country road dust they collect.

I prefer satin finish over semi-gloss too.


Re: oil vs water based stain... It does seem odd to me but my impression has been that the oil type soak in better too. The water-based seemed too thick to soak in a lot which made more of the stain wipe off and be lighter than I wanted. Although I have also noticed some colors of oil stain seem to have the same problem (not soaking in as well... sitting on the surface some and wiping down more than I want).

ICC
Member
# Posted: 30 Dec 2020 11:44
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Quoting: paulz
The master bedroom in our house is the same size as the cabin (!) but is painted white. Feels like you're in Versailles by comparison.


Funny that I like light colored wood stains so much. I have a lot of sheetrocked walls and not a single one is white. Some of them are painted medium dark; darker than I would do with stained wood. Some of the painted walls are also lighter shades, but definite colors.

OH! Ceilings are mostly white and are mostly Matte... Same as the wall paints are mostly Matte, so there are places I like matte, just not on stained wood.

gcrank1
Member
# Posted: 30 Dec 2020 12:04 - Edited by: gcrank1
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So much depends upon the lighting you have available.
In our old cabin it was mostly kero lamps so the light pine and some white panels were really needed, it was almost a cave with the originally planned faded out red barn boards. They were perfect on the exterior though.
With the new-gen LED lights our new cabin with plain sawmill rough-cut boards, no finish, is reflective/light enough; guess Id almost call the wall tone as a light-med maple color?
And window light, if you have good window placement it will be bright, and maybe have solar gain in the day.

Fanman
Member
# Posted: 30 Dec 2020 21:57
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Quoting: paulz

Quoting: Fanman
You could put the plywood on first and then put the paneling over that, then you'd have a substantial wall.

The exterior is sheathed in 1/2 plywood with board and batten over that, figured that was enough sheer?


I wasn't talking about the overall building strength; what I meant is that thin paneling directly on the studs is bad, but a layer of 3/8 plywood gives you something to support the paneling and gives you something to screw things into.

paulz
Member
# Posted: 31 Dec 2020 10:26
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Quoting: Fanman
I wasn't talking about the overall building strength; what I meant is that thin paneling directly on the studs is bad, but a layer of 3/8 plywood gives you something to support the paneling and gives you something to screw things into.


Oh yeah, good point.. Sheesh, 3/8 is $30 a sheet right now!

This stuff is 3 ply, fairly rigid. Not that it would hold a picture nail...

gcrank1
Member
# Posted: 31 Dec 2020 10:43
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You could mount just a backer board at 'nail height' for stuff you hang up.

Aklogcabin
Member
# Posted: 31 Dec 2020 11:10
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Hello paulz . For what it's worth. I did woodworking for years n applied a few hundred gallons of stains. Minwax worked best. Oil based. Most important part is that it contains both pigments n dies. In water bases, generally dies, and overlaps get darker, hard to do for me unless I was spraying. On walls I would apply with a foam brush, bristle if it tears the foam . Folks use cloth to wipe excess, I preferred good paper towels. Doesn't leave fuzz.
Topcoat, a waterborne lacquer would work well. I used Deft brand. Dries in 30 minutes or so. It says no sanding needed but your paneling is older and through grains will swell and stick up. Get a light foam sanding block, take your scraper and scrape the lock sever times knocking any sharp gritty off. Vacuum walls top coat again. Try a foam roller maybe.
Again just my experiences. If a built a piece of furniture for a customer who wanted a semi gloss I would finish out one gloss higher. Especially on tabletops that get wiped down daily. It will be shinier for a few months but will fade out to a duller hugh. UV light especially hitting those walls.
Good luck hopefully helps someone. Basically the same procedures for furniture n such.
Happy New year man !

Fanman
Member
# Posted: 31 Dec 2020 17:50
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Quoting: paulz
Oh yeah, good point.. Sheesh, 3/8 is $30 a sheet right now!


Yeah, plywood prices are crazy right now.

I'm still toying with stain alternatives for our house. In the cabin I covered the walls with plywood beadboard (Ply-Bead), which is strong enough to go on studs by itself, then I coated it with a transparent exterior stain. It stunk for a week or so but looks great, and unlike interior stains you don't have to wipe it off, which is problematic with all the grooves. Still, some have suggested the exterior chemicals may not be appropriate for indoor use.

Now, I'm redoing a large part of our house. I'm doing the walls with beadboard also. We may end up painting it, but stain is an option if I don't have to wipe it. I don't like the stain/poly combos.

gcrank1
Member
# Posted: 31 Dec 2020 19:36
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Pre-fit, remove, stain outside & let offgas, install?

paulz
Member
# Posted: 31 Dec 2020 19:36 - Edited by: paulz
Reply 


OK I'm convinced to go light color, maybe even clear or white wash as Nobs suggested. My ceiling is cedar T&G, no stain, in photo above. Did that a couple years ago, got a good deal on it, natch.

Do I stain before or after install, or both?

Fanman
Member
# Posted: 31 Dec 2020 19:52
Reply 


Where do you get whitewash, and/or what is it made of?

If I stain the ceiling (planning T&G pine at this point) I'll stain before I put them up.

paulz
Member
# Posted: 1 Jan 2021 09:42
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Quoting: Just
I used the same stuff on the last one I built, it looks good.


Just, are your panels 4' wide? What did you do about the seams? I was thinking I would use 1x battens.

Just
Member
# Posted: 1 Jan 2021 16:00
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The owners tried to fill them with wood filler ,not so good , said they were going to go with some batons and trim ,not sure if they did .took me a week to get them moved in ,it was a favor for a friend's family l have not been back it's a 8 hr.
Trip ..
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paulz
Member
# Posted: 3 Jan 2021 08:36
Reply 


OK, so, if I don't want my panels any darker, I don't really want 'stain' do I? And also not too glossy. Do I want something that actually coats and dries (like clear lacquer or poly) that's painted on, or something more like oil that wipes on and soaks in? Here again is the test piece wiped with a wet rag.
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Steve_S
Member
# Posted: 3 Jan 2021 09:25 - Edited by: Steve_S
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I've used Shellac Clear & Amber, various types of Polyurethanes and others over the years.

TBH, KISS applied is likely the best. A Good quick drying clear semi-gloss or satin finish, water-based urethane is likely the best way to go. Easy to apply, good coverage, goes on milky so you can see it and dries clear within 30-45 minutes. It's also a boat load cheaper than other types of clear coats.

One catch... depending on sunlight coming into the rooms. There can be "sunfade" over time. To prevent that from happening, get a coating with a UV protectant in it.

All my 6" window sills are Red Pine, all coated with water based Poly but I ran out and used another without UV protectant (didn't realize) on one window and after a few years (3), you can really tell !

As for dividing lines between the sheets, I'd use 3/4x1-1/2" in strips of pine with routered edges in a 4'x4' box pattern. The contrasting colour with the plywood would help it pop out a bit. You could use a brad nailer to attach it or finishing nails. If you think of an 8' tall, 4' wide setup, one trim along top & bottom, along the sides and across the middle @ 4', so a pair of 4'x4' boxes basically.

Mind you, I am wood crazy... LOL, ceilings, beams, all cabinetry, moldings and trims, most of my house.... inside & out. hehehe.

gcrank1
Member
# Posted: 3 Jan 2021 09:28
Reply 


Get non-yellowing

paulz
Member
# Posted: 3 Jan 2021 14:06 - Edited by: paulz
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Thanks, I like the water base idea. My paint philosophy, having just painted my bomb shelter this week, is get the shit on there and get it out of your hair, clothes, shoes and anything else in the way later.

Do you put that water base on with a brush or roller, thick like, or just wipe it on with a rag?

Here's the bomb shelter. 9" concrete walls. Next weeks project, shelving made out of leftover I-joists.
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20210101_142736_resi.jpg


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