How To Remove Paneling From Walls

Get Rid of Wood Paneling Yourself to Update Your Home

Gear up to take your dwelling out of the 1970s? Get rid of those dark forest walls to burnish up your space.

How to Remove Wood Paneling from Walls Without Causing Harm

Fix for a simple update to your house that will make it look refreshed and make new? Removing or replacing quondam wood paneling can be a low-cost manner to practise the trick. But there are some pitfalls to be aware of that could not merely affect the price merely the amount of effort required. To assist y'all ditch the wood-wait, we spoke with Julian Pastin at Rebuilding Commutation and Chris Military camp at The Painting Company.

FAQs

What'southward the Price to Remove Forest Paneling?

Typically, removing wood paneling is a low-toll projection, and could be every bit cheap as the tools you use. However, the cost can vary based on the type of paneling you're dealing with and whether information technology's attached to drywall or nailed directly to studs.

Pastin says that the three most common types of panels are shipboard (likewise called shiplap), tongue-and-groove and barn siding. Each have dissimilar characteristics and are attached to the wall in different ways, which can affect your removal costs.

What's the Cost to Remove Shipboard?

The cost for shipboard removal depends on whether it'southward attached with nails or panel gum. Console gum tends to be more than expensive, as the risk of damage to the surface beneath the panels is greater.

• Very common in houses from the 1970s-80s.
• Size of panels varies, only typically 4x8 sheets.
• Tend to accept a design embossed on the forepart.

Is information technology Expensive to Remove Tongue-and-Groove?

Natural language-and-groove tends to be the cheapest to remove.

• Comes in varying widths, typically vi-eight inches wide.
• Locks together along the length of a wall.
• Call back of the knotty pine you would see in a log cabin.

How Tin can I Estimate the Cost to Remove Barn Siding?

The cost to remove barn siding depends on how it is fastened. Boards attached with panel gum may cause more than impairment than nails, making the project more expensive.

• A thicker piece of plywood that typically has some grooves in it.
• Standard size is 4x8.
• Manufactured to exist used on the outside, but can exist used within likewise.

Does it Matter What'due south Backside My Forest Paneling?

The material backside your wood paneling and how it is attached can affect the price of your project.

Drywall or Plaster

• Removal is easiest when the panels are attached with nails.
• If the planks are attached with paneling glue, you run the risk of damaging the drywall, leading to increased costs.

Studs

• When panels are nailed direct to the studs, the cost of removing the paneling will go upward as new drywall will need to be installed subsequently.
• Pastin notes that this is most probable to happen with barn siding considering information technology is a heavier style of panel.
• Inexperienced DIYers may want to consider hiring a contractor for drywall installation.

How to Remove Wood Paneling in 3 Piece of cake Steps

Step ane: Prep Before Removing Panels

As with any project, make sure you lot have the right equipment beforehand. Here'southward a quick list of the tools you lot'll need no affair what, plus a few more recommendations depending on what is behind the woods paneling.

Get the Right Tools for the Job

Tools	/////Materials
Flathead screwdriver	Drywall putty
Pry bar	Sandpaper *
Pliers	Drywall *
Hammer	Mask
Chisel	Work gloves
Heat gun *	Drop cloths

* If necessary

The all-time disposal selection depends on the amount of woods you lot're tossing. If you lot're removing panels from i small chamber, you may be able to throw it out in your weekly trash.

For larger areas like a basement or multiple rooms, renting a dumpster is often the virtually convenient pick. Typically, a ten k container will do the flim-flam for one room, but if you're removing wood paneling from a bigger space, it's normally best to utilize a 20 yard dumpster instead.

Rent a Dumpster for Old Forest Paneling

Companies like Rebuilding Exchange will too accept the wood and refurbish it for various projects — from tables to cabinets and plenty of things in between. Pastin says that tongue-and-groove paneling tends to be the best for repurposing, but as long as the wood is in good shape, most places will accept the donation. "Equally long as information technology is in decent sized pieces and not covered in drywall or plaster most places will notice a way to utilize information technology."

Julian Pastin, Store Director | Rebuilding Commutation

"I would always recommend calling beginning. Yous want to brand sure they are accepting that material. Sometimes we might just have too much of it and can't have more."

Prep the Room You'll Be Working In

Y'all're trying to make your walls look not bad, simply don't mess up your piece of furniture in the process. Consider removing smaller items from the room, and covering larger ones with a coating or tarp. Think, there'south a good chance you'll kick up a lot of dust.

• Before you lot dive in, y'all'll need to remove any baseboards or molding and calorie-free switch or outlet covers around the woods panels. Store them advisedly in a safe place, every bit you will probably want to reinstall them later on the wood panels are off the walls. Insert your screwdriver between the baseboard or molding and the paneling. Gently pry until in that location is a flake of wiggle room.
• Remove any nails using your pliers once they are exposed.
• One time all of the nails are removed, slide the baseboard and molding away from the wall, then gear up them bated for later use.
• Unscrew and remove whatsoever outlet or light switch covers that demand to be removed.

Pro Tip

Start at the corner of a room to assist avoid splitting your molding. Also, if y'all feel resistance when sliding the baseboard or molding out, check to make sure there are no nails you missed.

Step 2: Check What Is Behind the Panels

The moment of truth. Is there drywall behind your wood panels, or just studs? And if it is drywall, knowing how it's attached will determine which steps y'all demand to follow moving forward.

• Start in a corner nigh the floor, and use a hammer to gently tap your pry bar into the seam where the walls meet.
• Loosen the panel by wiggling the pry bar.
• Remove whatsoever nails that come loose. (Helpful hint: if in that location are no nails on the wall, your panels are most probable glued to drywall).
• Pry the panel back slowly to decide if the paneling is attached to drywall or wall studs.
• With drywall, yous can tell if information technology'south fastened with nails or glue fairly easily. "If it's very difficult to get a pry bar under there or it won't pull out at all in one case you do, it's almost probable glued," Pastin says.

Step 3: Tear Out the Panels

Now that you lot know if you have drywall or wall studs to work with, you tin can let the fun begin by removing the panels. These full general steps use to all 3 types of paneling, merely knowing which type y'all're working with is very important.

"With tongue-and-groove, it's easier if you lot pry up the tongue side first," Pastin says. "The other types don't matter as much what side you're working with. No thing what, going deadening is cardinal if you desire to keep the wood intact."

Julian Pastin, Store Director | Rebuilding Exchange

"If y'all're not lucky, somebody either glued the console or glued it in add-on to nailing. If it's glued to the wall, information technology can exist very challenging to remove and is probably attached to either drywall or a plaster wall. You're probably going to pull some of the plaster or drywall away with it, which would accept to exist repaired."

How to Remove Wood Panels from Wall Studs

• Pry back the panel using your pry bar and hammer. Remove nails with pliers as they come loose.
• Remove the console from the wall after all nails are out.
• Place panels in a pile away from the project, or throw them in your dumpster.
• Echo until all panels take been removed.
• Patch nail holes in wall studs with drywall putty.
• Install drywall over wall studs if necessary.

Pro Tip

While this is a quick job, be careful not to harm the wall studs by moving too quickly.

How to Remove Wood Panels from Drywall Attached with Nails

• Pry back the first panel using your pry bar and hammer.
• Remove all nails with pliers as they come loose.
• Proceed until all nails in a panel are removed, then ease the panel off of the drywall using your pry bar.
• Use either your chisel or pry bar to loosen panels around the removed ane by wedging the tool between the wood panel and drywall. Echo steps 1-three.
• Toss removed panels in your garbage bin or dumpster.
• Repeat until all panels accept been removed.
• Patch blast holes and any damaged drywall with drywall putty.

Julian Pastin, Store Manager | Rebuilding Exchange

"If there are still nails in the wood once you remove information technology, just put it on a sawhorse and gently tap them out."

Not Sure If Removing the Panels Is Right for You?

In that location are other options to mask or fifty-fifty repurpose those panels without taking them off the wall. Army camp offers a few tricks to updating the forest without removing it.

Pick 1: Paint It

Sometimes a simple coat of paint tin can go a long way. Camp says painting wood panels is an easy task when done properly.

"Painting forest paneling is i of the easiest ways to update a room. It paints very well, only yous have to make certain you lot accept the proper time to do information technology right," Camp says.

Camp offered a simple 4-footstep guide to painting old wood panels. He recommends a minimum of two days for the projection, no thing how big or small the room is, to let enough drying fourth dimension.

• Sand the panels to remove the polyurethane or clear-coat sealer.
• Employ primer to the panels.
• Caulk the joints and any nail holes.
• Paint the panels — typically with two coats.

According to Camp, proper sanding and picking the right primer are the most of import steps. If not properly sanded, the paint can pare back. And without a skillful primer, the paint may not apply as well.

Chris Camp | The Painting Visitor

"I would recommend a primer called Stix for DIYers. It's got great adhesion and will encompass pretty well. It's too latex-based, then it cleans up pretty well."

Choice 2: Wallpaper Over Information technology

Pastin notes that some people may opt to simply cover up the paneling with wallpaper. He suggests a product chosen wallpaper liner, which you can find at near major domicile improvement stores.

Option three: Camouflage It

Exist creative. Pastin said that he has seen people use the panels to their advantage, such as taking a bookcase without a dorsum and putting information technology against the paneling so that it appears the wood is the back of the bookshelf.

"In that location are enough of things you lot can practice," Pastin says. "You just have to think a bit outside of the box."

Your New Wall Canvas is Ready

With the panels off, your walls now accept endless possibilities. Perchance you can paint the walls to change the vibe of the room. Mayhap it'due south fourth dimension to display those family photos you've been wanting to hang upward. The choices are all yours. Have fun, knowing you put in the piece of work to make the walls your own.

Interested in other projects that will modernize your space? Check out our suggestions for other dwelling house renovation projects that add to the value of your home.

What Do You lot Retrieve?

Getting rid of wood paneling at your home? Tell us near your project on Twitter or Facebook, and use#dumpstersblog to join the conversation.

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