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We are intered in buying a house built in 80's. But we don't like much the wood panelling in its living rooms. It makes the house looks dark and old. We would like to paint it in white or other neutral color. And then replace the carpet with the hardwood floor.
However my agent said it is a waste of money to replace this wood paneling since it was expensive to be built.And I checked on the youtube on how to paint a wood paneling and it seems those wood panel look even older than this one.
Does anyone here have some any advice on this? Is the labor of paint on this wood panel expensive?
Thank you.
If the paneling is the GOOD STUFF like is used to line corporate libraries and boardrooms you'd be A FOOL to paint over it. If it is crap that is basically like contact paper stuck to some cheap substrate you might be better off in the long run ripping it down and painting some smooth drywall.
Paint is OK but you may find the adhesive has ruined the sheetrock behind the paneling. And some of those glues were tar based(black) and they will bleed through any paint(this is the voice of experience here). If this is the case, they make thin pieces of sheetrock that are easy to put up and give you a new surface to texture/paint.
The only way to tell what you have is to look carefully. Find a seam and pry it up just enough to see what's back there. If it's going to be a lot of work, just put it back together with a little construction adhesive and lean something on it till the glue is set. If the paneling was done professionally, you will also have to take out the baseboards and door trim. You can figure this out by looking carefully before you do anything. If you nick or crack anything that shows, you can cover it up with shoe polish, the wax stuff. Fill the crack/blemish and then buff.
If the paneling was that fake cheap stuff, I would either take it down or paint it. If it's the good stuff, I would move Heaven and Earth to keep it. JMHO.
Labor varies by area. Call a couple of painting contractors and ask them what it could cost to paint and what products they recommend. I bought a 1970s ranch with dark wood floor to ceiling paneling in the family room. I had the whole interior painted with oil based paint but left the wood trim the original color and the wood beams the original color. When I sold it 7 yrs later everyone thought it had been freshly painted because the paint held up so well.
We just bought a house with paneling also. Behind the paneling is some nice 70s style wallpaper! Yellow, brown & orange (which is also the paper thats lining the drawers in the cabinets!)
We talked about painting it but ultimately have decided to just rip it out and start fresh. Its in the living room, dining room, hallway, bedroom, closets....Oi Vey!
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(which is also the paper thats lining the drawers in the cabinets!)
