minimizing the seams when painting mahogany paneling?

Martin,

I did this throughout my entire house. All of the mohagany was already painted or papered. I did it virtually the same as sheetrock. I used mesh tape rather than paper, a little easier and not worried about joint separation. It worked wonderfully but it is a lot of work. The only place I see a faint rise is in the long hallway where you see the wall at such a shallow angle when the sunlight beams through the master and down this hall. Could be only I notice this, never heard anyone else notice this. If doing this again though I would simply feather out much farther on this wall or any wall you will see from such a shallow angle (vs head on). Other than that, it is virtually undetectable throughout the house and looks wonderful. I worked on any paneling where fasteners had popped, replaced 1/4 rounds where necessary, paid particular attention to the joints with the 1/4 rounds where I only mudded. I did not tape the wall corner joints as would be done with sheetrock, just compound as necessary and they look perfect. This was worth every (long) hour of my time, looks great, maintains the frameless doorways, etc.

(Next we will both be reprimanded by the 3 Minute Eichler Police. Steel yourself.)

Cabaña

Thanks. Exactly what I was looking for. :)

Spackling the seams twice or more worked well for me. Spackle and joint compound shrink a lot when dried, so it's necessary to wait a day between applications for good results. Texturing the paneling hides dents, scrapes and improves the looks. A lucky minority of Eichler homeowners still have the great looking original paneling....which must be some kind of miracle.

Officer Jake here ;-)

I tell my kids that cops are to keep you safe and to make sure you behave--so which part were you referring to. Maybe both.

Kidding aside, my only comment would be that if you aren't trying to maintain original paneling, your options are open to you. There is a lot of benefit to replacing poorly painted paneling with fresh sheetrock--an opportunity to run additional wiring or ground existing, check for evidence of termites, insulate (for sound on interior walls, for temperature on exterior walls)--and, yes, for fire safety.

It takes a fair bit of time and skill to make paneling look like it's not just painted-over paneling. Installing fresh drywall is not that expensive IMHO and results in a superior end product so my current opinion is that the ROI on drywalling is better than taping and repainting paneling.

Just my 2 cents.
Jake

I knew we'd get nabbed. (and by whom :wink: )

While your opinion has merit for many, aesthetically, some of us would not change the seamless look the paneling is designed to provide. To our eye, it makes a very big difference. Do you realize the points you make for dry walling are the exact same argument you would make to convince someone to remove the exterior siding in order to stucco. Wait a minute, maybe that is what you are suggesting.

We all know the list of things a normal homeowner would do to an Eichler - for very good eco-financial-safety-update reasons - is as long as my arm. And after hearing their reasoning for doing it, the only logical response would be "Oh, well that makes sense". Then, both you and I drive past those Eichlers every day, and as for me, I am sad to see what they've done to these homes.

I know you are here to protect and to serve Officer Jake, and I for one sincerely appreciate it, except when it's me getting caught.

Respectfully,

I'll recommend a suspended sentence :-)

However, I'm a little curious and would like to understand your comments better:

..."aesthetically, some of us would not change the seamless look the paneling is designed to provide. To our eye, it makes a very big difference."

I think you can maintain the Eichler aesthetics/detail when drywalling (by the way, Eichler drywalled some rooms in later models--say mid-70's). Let me describe what I did and then perhaps you can clarify for me where you see the painted approach as preferable to the drywall. Let me say again, this if for my own curiosity not to debate your choices.

In my two drywalled bedrooms, the profile around the doors/windows/closet openings closely mimics that of the original paneling. Because of the drywall bead, the frameless edge is square to the door/window frame proper rather than rounded, but otherwise identical. The interior frame is the original--stripped, sanded, and re-stained. There are no added trim pieces.

The original baseboards which I removed before drywalling were sanded, stained, then reinstalled. (BTW, these are reversible). I cut fresh ceiling trim pieces from mahogany paneling, stained, then installed them. (Just as the original, alas Eichler did not use solid mahogany ceiling trim in our homes). I ordered new solid mahogany doors (roughly $100 a piece), stained and installed them.

I am very happy with the result and have recommended this approach to others.

Comments?
Jake

P.S. I only drywalled those two bedrooms, not the whole house (I replaced paneling with paneling elsewhere in the house). However, I think the approach I used could work throughout.

I think you are right Jake. If you know the look you ultimately want to achieve, the differences are very subtle. I think some other issues are introduced in other parts of the house that you did not sheetrock. In my case, this was of necessity an entire house project. There was not a single unpainted or unpapered wall in the entire house. Hard to explain, but I think of the short wall at my family room/kitchen entrance where the wall is against the beam and the transition from the beam to the wall is so subtle, the 1/4 in round, which would be different with drywall. When my friend did it, all the doorways ended up with trim and understood this usually happens. There really is no difference at the baseboard. The other issue, at least for me, is texturing the drywall. While not necessary, this is certainly common and I understand it can be difficult to get the mud to be a smooth untextured finish across entire walls. Texturing is not so subtle to my taste. In our home, the paint rollers provide all the texture we care to see and the result certainly does not look like painted paneling. (That's why you go through all that work. Whew!).

Anyway, I agree difference are mostly subtle or can be overcome if the intention is maintaining the look.

Glad to hear my freedom is intact for another day. Also appreciate the civility and respectful tone of discourse. I am glad you are here.

Now I just wish all my outlets were grounded. :(

Cheers,

Cabaña

Hi Cabana,

Thanks for taking the time to detail your efforts. I'm always happy to learn from others' experience. You've obviously put a lot of time and effort into your choices and in shows in your pride/satisfaction with the outcomes.

I, also, have enjoyed our exchange. Fortunately, most Eichler owners I've met on and off the board are both courteous and friendly. Perhaps it has something to do with the kind of people attracted to Eichlers--ones that can see potential benefit (in engaging with architecture or community) where others see none?

Cheers.
Jake