Covering a Wood Wall

[BTVS77]

Hi,
I'm a newbie home owner and renovator. We have bought a house that is dominated by a lot of wood on cathedral ceilings and one entire wall (up to the cathedral ceiling). We are putting in a false ceiling to hide the wood on ceiling and to allow us to put in insulation but are unsure what to do about the wooden wall.

It seems to dominate the whole house and makes the lounge very dark. Its the first thing you see walking into the house (WRC, split level). Should we paint over it or would we better to cover in gyprock and paint that??

Eventually we will knock this wall out (3-5 years) and have an open kitchen / dining / lounge entertaining area onto our deck. But I need some ideas to lighten up the room. I also want to go with the easier option, i.e. I dont want to paint it if it will look awful.

Thanks

[bennylaird]

Seems a shame to cover wood features. Maybe post a pic so we can get an idea?

[Trav]

You will always be able to tell that it was a wood wall when you paint over it as the gaps between the boards will still be visible. However, that will be the easiest solution.

Fixing plasterboard will be a bit more complicated as it will stand proud of the rest of the wall - although it will look better in the end.

If it was me, I would simply paint it. You're planning to knock it down later, so save the money and simply paint it. But make sure you undercoat first as most paint wont stick to wood finishes. Try taubmans 3 in 1 as a pretty decent undercoat for most surfaces.

Trav

[ivanavitch]

I think a painted timber wall has more character than a bland flat lump of plaster. A painted VJ wall in a Qldlander is streets ahead in looks to one which has been plastered over.

[numbat]

We had the same problem when we first moved into our house - quite a bit of timber panelling on the walls which really sucked the light. We removed it and had it replaced by plasterboard. Once painted with a light colour is solved the dimness problem.

In our case - the rest of the house was plasterboard so this suited the style of the house. You can choose to paint the timber but we didnt and are glad we didnt.

Cheers

[bigdazza]

I think a painted timber wall has more character than a bland flat lump of plaster. A painted VJ wall in a Qldlander is streets ahead in looks to one which has been plastered over.

I agree. Remember for a really top notch finish to no more gaps the panelling joints.