Tne Onrcrrunl WooDWoRKtNG AND Home ... - Wood Tools

A Quick Gover-Up for a Paneled Roomfl I trtart to dnnge the appcnrattrt'I I of a parrcled room irt rtt1, 111t115g,nrid I'm onsidt'rirtt, prrttitt! uD\trallp@cr. Can I papcr iuu tltr pnrclirr.qor uill I have to rerrrovt' it?Jeffrcy Andersonuia tlrc lrrtcrnctPanelingCoatpaneling withprimer/sealer, WallpaperpasteYou can wallpaper over thepaneling, but first you needto fill the grooves or they'llshow through. Traditionally, thisnreant filling the grooves with jointconrponnd, then sanding and prinringthe wall.Thatis messy work.A clerrr lrrd casy w.ry is to coverthe parreling with a heavy wallpapercalled lining prper. Itls sold in rollslikc rcgul:rr w:rllp:rpcr. but lirrirrqpaper is thicker. Inside the p:rper aresynthetic fibers runnins lensthwise.When you apply wallpaper paste(sorry, itis not pre-pasted), sonre oftining paper(hang horlzontally) -..-.---the moisture soaks in, causing thefibers to shrink ancl shorten.Thispr"rlls the lining papel taut, so itbridges the grooves in the paneling.Wrllprper stores in my area sell a5(r-sq. ft. double roll for around $10.To use the lining paper, start bys:urding the prneling or applying adeglossini4 solution to give the sur-face sonre "bite." Then apply aprinrer/sealer. Next, paste andapply the lining paper according totl-re instructions - it usually goeson horizontally. Follow that witl.r acoat of priner over tlre lininqpaper.Then hang the w:rllpaper ofyour choice. Or, if yor.r prefer, youcan paint the lining paper.Getting the Most Frcm an Insulation SystemSiding\__-/Wall studPlastlcvaporbarrlerlnsulation R-value = 15.0Rigid foam R-value = 3.75House wrap R-value = 1.0Total wall R-value = 19.751I\IHighdensityinsulation(R-1s)Housewraporbuilder'sfelt(up to R-1)Gl n "lrtsrilatiort that Works" irtI I yttur Sqttt'nrbcr/()rtoltcr 1999f i.r-srrc you talkcd about li.qb, I,dcttsitl insulatiort ratcd at R-19. I'ntItnvin,q rto luck-findin,q it, do yott knou,u,|rcrc it's auailablc?T.htnnas KaiscrDctntit, MII Se,reral readers have run intoLf problcnrs locatinq thc high-Fl d"nriry insulation, andrurrfortunately it's because we nradean error.There are high-densityfiberglass batts available, but thehighest rating is currently R-15,not R-.1 9. Standard insulation battsare rated at R-1 1.The R-19 fisure represents theminimum total recornmendedl{-value in most areas for a 2x4exterior wall. Obviously, if even thehigh-density irrsulation is rated atjust R-15, somethins nrore rsneeded to achieve the R-l 9 total.Thatt where the rest of the "insulationsystenl" corres into play.As showr.r in thc drawing at lcft,an exterior r,vall needs insulationplns three nrore conrponents:exterior sherthing, house wrap, lnclrrn interior vapor brrrier. Tcuethcrthey keep outside air and rnoisturefronr gctting in. and stop inrcriorrir lnd rrroisture lronr cscaping.l)lacing insulation between thewall studs does the bulk of the job.And for years, it had to do thewhole job. Exterior sheathine wasusually wood planks or plywood,rnd neither is a good insulator. Nowrnany builders use rigid foam rnplace ol, or over, wood sheathing.Foam's R-value varies by typ.and manufacturer, but you canfigure on getting about R-5 perinch ofthickness. So ifyou use standardR-11 insulation in the walis,you need over 1'l:"-thick sheathingto reach the reconrmended R-l9value. Using thc rrcw high-dcrrsiryR-15 batts, yolr can get by withthinner sheathing.That keeps overallwall thickness down.I6 woITKBENCH ! MAr\crH I Apr{rL 2000