drywall question

i'm drywalling an older home. it's matched lumber all around including interior walls, partitions etc. on the walls now tentest(sp) with 3-4 layers of wall paper. is it ok just to drywall over all of this or should i rip to the studs?

Reply to
robson
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No, it's not ok to drywall over it. All your electrical boxes will then be

1/2" back from the finished surface of the wall, and it will not be possible to mount any of the outlets or switches securely.

I assume "matched lumber all around" means solid wood panelling? If so, why on earth do you want to remove that, or cover it over?

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

Reply to
Doug Miller

Electrical box extenders are made to handle this situation, but my main concern would be what are you going to do at the windows and door trim areas with the added wall thickness? Butt against the trim, or tear it off and shim out the jambs?

RJ

Reply to
Backlash

which do you hate more: cleaning up a mess, or trying to get drywall to fit in impossible situations.

if you care about the house, rip it out. if you want the job to look best, rip it out. if you want it to take the least amount of time, rip it out.

if you are a glutton for punishment, drywall over what you got.

randy

Reply to
xrongor

that was the intention - to get the electrical outlet exten's. my fear in the circa 1930's home was the use of leaded paint, which the tentest has on it. i did not want to disturb it when removing to the studs. the matched lumber in all the walls was the material of choice. it is not a finished product and is laid horizontal. In our area it was either matched lumber or lathe for plaster. another reason not to strip back - i don't have to worry about studs when securing the drywall. i'm not doing any electrical work and the house is insulated.

Reply to
robson

If you're just laminating over the existing walls, you could try 1/4" drywall instead of 1/2. Then flat tape around door jambs and window sashes.

Reply to
Dee

Reply to
Jim Conway

it just doesnt go as easy as it sounds. seemingly simple tasks end up taking forever because you are trying to compensate for some flaw/trim/outlet/whatever in the existing wall.

randy

Reply to
xrongor

I went right over the top of it with quarter inch. I actually had a couple of drywall people tell me it would be cheaper and would likely look better because they felt with settling in older homes I may get more waviness by going down to the studs. I did this in three rooms. In two rooms I abutted the current trim (it was new) and in a third I ripped out and replaced the trim. All rooms look great but I'd recommend pulling the trim first.

Reply to
Jim Tiberio

That wasn't an issue for us at all.

Reply to
Jim Tiberio
1 room done and taped as a test - looks fine with 1/4 inch drywall. no mess. no problems around outlets. and no broken 70 year old crown mouldings or casing as i butted up against it. so i don't have to attempt to match up broken peices (impossible) nor replace it all (costly). thanks for the input - the easy way is the best way - in this old house.
Reply to
robson

we'll see what song you sing when you get done

of course i cant see what you actually have to work with either...

randy

Reply to
xrongor

In my home I just ripped it out to the studs. From there I decided to insulate the walls, take out the old wiring and put in new (also added a few outlets) Met some termite shells from years ago. Removed the damage that they did....

Decided to put in new install (not remodel type) windows.

All in all, I am very happy about taking out the old crap. It was allot of work, but in the end the home is more efficent (insulation) termite damage that may have never been seen was taken care of (a stud here and there was just about eaten away, not good)

It really depends on how you like to do things... Usually the right way is not the quickest or cheapest way. But in many cases the results will come out even better than expected. If this is a home that is a "transitional" home that you want to get rid of in a few years, do whatever is quick and cheap. If this is a place you plan on being for awhile, do the right thing.

Reply to
BocesLib

I've helped remodel a friends house twice putting the new drywall over the old and it looks great. BTW we used 1/2" both times making the walls an inch thicker.

We also drywalled over the ceiling. We used liquid nail along with crouse thread drywall screws on the walls and ceiling. The liquid nail might be over kill on the walls but HE has the money...LOL

Also they make plastic "j-mold" that will fit over unfinished drywall edges, GREAT for door openings and can also be used on windows if you don't want to extend the wood frame (if you have wood frames) if not it solves the unfinished drywall edge problem.

As another poster mentioned they make spring loaded kits to extend the electrical outlets. If you can't find them at Home Depot, etc. try a glass shop that does glazing, they use them for mirrored walls.

Reply to
Ron

Just a simple question. How common is the use of tentest on interior walls? I had never heard of this before.

Reply to
Alan

i think it was used (around here anyways) up until the 1950's. you used that or lath and plaster. the joints were covered with a strip of wood

Reply to
robson

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