Wall panelling opinions?

[Doug71]

I have a biggish (for me anyway) wall panelling job coming up and would appreciate peoples opinions on it.

It's basically a dining room in a big old house, guessing 20' x 15' and will include some kind of fire surround, alcove cupboards, window shutters etc. Probably be tall, narrow panels with an ogee type mould around. It's not quite going full height of the room as the ceiling is a long way out so will be finishing a bit lower down. There is no budget or price, I will just be doing it on a day rate and the customer is happy to follow my advice on construction.

I have done quite a bit of panelling in the past from proper panelling (panels in grooves) to mouldings just stuck to the wall.

The first job will be battens around all the walls to straighten everything up but after that I'm undecided on the method of panel construction.

I initially thought of doing this as proper panelling (tulipwood and mdf) but it is a big job so then thought just MDF frames and panels would be fine. Now I'm thinking just fastening MDF sheets to the battens and fixing maybe 12mm MDF strips to the face to give the illusion of panels? It will be painted so any method will look the same once finished.

When I've removed old panelling in houses in the past I have sometimes found the panels just nailed on the back of the frame or held in a rebate with a few nails so it's not like it was always done properly.

It would be MR MDF and there are no damp issues in the property.

Any views, opinions or experiences of the different methods which might swing it one way or the other for me? I want to make a good job but not spend the customers money needlessly.

Thanks, Doug

 

[AJB Temple]

I have done my entire kitchen in MR MDF sheets with applied panelling cut with a track saw fitted with a fresh fine blade. The latter saves a lot of time cleaning with fluffy MDF edges. The latter is the main issue and it is well worth getting as good an edge finish as possible before applying the strips as this saves a lot of time at the painting stage. I glued and nailed (with a pin gun) the strips on. Try to plan it so that the sheet edge joins are covered by the panel strips. I also used a simple spacing template.

 

[AJB Temple]

WIP picture above, prior to floor finish etc. There is about 60 square metres of panelling done this way. Was pretty quick. Painting took longer than making the panels. I wish I had paid more attention to edge finishes as they required too much sanding in situ.

 

[Droogs]

If your customer is having a painted finish then line the walls with MRMDF panels and apply "framing" on top. I would edge the frames with 20mm thick solid, so that you can get a crisp moulding shape and an easily primed surface compared to an edge of mdf (which requires a lot more work)

 

[Distinterior]

You can get a "ready to paint" edgebanding tape that could be applied to the MRMDF edges.....That would remove a lot of the edge preparation required prior to painting...??

 

[Doug71]

Thanks guys.

I wasn't really clear about the moulding, it will be something like this pinned/glued on after to match their panelled doors so there won't be that much MDF edge on view.

https://www.dressermouldings.com/store/panel-moulds-beads/type-9-timber-panel-mould/
@AJB Temple what thickness MDF did you use on the walls and did you fix it to battens?

 

[AJB Temple]

I used 15 mm because in my experience anything less than that can go a bit wavy. The applied sections are 10mm from memory. I was making the entire kitchen from scratch so I ordered a lot of MDF and ply and other stuff in bulk. It was a very cheap way of doing a panelled wall finish.

Yes I fixed it to battens.

Good quality MDF machines quite well to take a moulding profile I find but I wanted a very plain and simple look here. Mouldings can date quickly. Not all MDF is made the same as I am sure you well know.

 

[scholar]

A good subject and I will be interested in your solution (I have a lot to do).

I have successfully made flush panels out of 6mm mdf with a bead moulding, then glued with biscuits (this was for a tricky light well area of a loft above a skylight, which dictated making the panels that way).

Anyway, I fixed the panels to brick using Pinkgrip DryFix foam - this worked a treat. Here is a test piece of 18mm mdf stuck to bare brick for another area of panelling needed under the stairs, which will be done as per @AjB Temple’s design. The fixing is rock solid - you can ensure flatness etc by a grid of small screws with heads levelled as required which then form a stop for the back of the board being fixed (the Pinkgrip does not expand after the initial application to the board - it’s really very good stuff - you should watch the video for how to use it).

For external walls where I plan further panelling, I intend to line the wall with Marmox board then fix the mdf as above.

Not particularly relevant to the OP’s job in hand, but just for completeness, here is my test piece of the 6mm panelling I mentioned. It was all spray- painted and turned out quite well.

Look forward to seeing what you do.

Cheers

 

[Doug71]

Thank you @scholar you have made me realise it would make sense to insulate the external walls behind the panelling, another job to add to the list.

I have yet to check all the measurements and walls for plumb etc but depending how far out they are I might end up making a stud wall to take some insulation and fasten the panelling to.