Perhaps, you want to remove the wood panelling in your home and replace it with something contemporary and stylish. Though this isn’t a really difficult job to execute, removing the panelling without damaging it is the difficult part. It’s good to know how much work is involved in such a project before you set out to do it. So, think about these things before you go headlong into it.
How to remove wood panelling – few things to consider:
What does it entail and how much will it cost? It makes sense to have an idea of the project scope and estimate before you begin to change your panelling. If the part of your home with panelling is part of your home, perhaps there’s drywall or plaster below the panelling. However, if it was finished later, you will finds insulation and studs below the panelling.
To remove the panelling in such a situation, you need to take the help of a crowbar. Use it to pull the panelling back, sheet by sheet. Take down all the tacks that may be stuck to the wall, if not nailed. You might find it difficult to take down glue or any other adhesive used here, but an adhesive remover would help. You will have to get rid of panelling, since being processed wood, it cannot be recycled.
What if there’s drywall? If your panelling is set just over the studs on the wall, you will need to put in drywall after removing the panelling. This will entail a lot of work than just removing the panelling and giving your walls a fresh coat of paint. Hanging drywall is not just laborious and time-consuming but it’s also expensive if done by professionals. This is worth considering before you take down the whole room’s panelling.
What options do you have? You can paint or wallpaper the panelling areas after smoothing the surface of your walls with joint compound. For this, sandpaper the walls and test out a small portion to see if the wood grain takes to paint. After several coats of paint, the wood grain will be entirely covered in paint. However, if you want to wallpaper your walls, use joint compound to fill in the gaps in the panelling. Smoothen the area with sandpaper for a smooth effect.
Steps to remove wood panelling: Wood panelling makes any room look distinctive, however, if you too wish to remove it for something better, you can do so easily. Given below is the step-by-step method of removing wood panelling:
- Remove molding, if any: Ceiling or crown molding can make the task of removing wood panelling more difficult. It can cause unnecessary crevices and other kinds of damage if it is attached to the panels at the top. To prevent this, take a crowbar, and with its flat end, carefully take off any bit of crown molding you might spot. If you want to reuse the panelling, ensure you don’t damage it.
- Take off a small part: To know what’s behind the panelling, remove a small part and check. Begin in a corner close to the floor and go up one panel and remove it carefully using the flat part of a crowbar. You’ll find it studs held together by nails or tacks. Keep tapping the far end of the panel with your hammer until it slowly lifts itself off and separate it along its length. To be safe, wear gloves while you work.
- Pull loose panels with your wrecking bar: If you find wood panels coming off in bits, use a wrecking bar to pull them off entirely. Keep them as entire panels without breaking them so that it’s easy to clean. Use a pry bar to remove small bits until the entire wall is free of panelling.
- Remove all nails: Use your hammer to pull out nails in the panelling.
- Smoothen the walls with sandpaper: If you find adhesive stuck on your walls, smoothen them away using sandpaper. Any resulting debris can easily be swept away. Once this is done, you can prepare your wall for paint or a new effect.
By following these steps on how to remove wood panelling, you can easily take down your wall panels and give your walls a new look.
