How to Install Sheet Paneling

Whether you are using solid board or sheet paneling, the basic installation techniques and procedures are the same. Careful measuring and precise cutting are of utmost importance if you want your work to be professional-looking. Accuracy is needed because this is already the finality of your work. You have to be sure that all cutting works should be precise; otherwise, you will be wasting sheet materials if they do not fit onto the wall you are going to cover.

Installing the panels

Installing sheet paneling—from fitting the first panel to attaching panels securely to the wall surface—is an exacting work, but it’s not difficult. Before you begin, be sure to read all the instructions I listed here on cutting and attaching the panels to the wall. Examine carefully the wall preparation before you apply any adhesive, if ever you want to glue your panels, or before you nail the solid boards or sheets to the furring.

Cutting the panels

Before you begin cutting, check to see if the ceiling height varies. Then allow for a ½ inch clearance where the paneling joins the floor so the panels won’t buckle as the house settles.

To avoid snapping a panel as you’re sawing, support both halves on two or more sawhorses (or their equivalent); lay several furring strips or 2 by 4s across the horses for extra support.

Use a saw to cut wood and simulated-wood paneling wood materials. Choose a saw for fine cutting—10 to 15 teeth per blade inch. On both portable and bench-type power circular saws, use plywood-cutting blades.

Cut the panels face up if you’re using a handsaw or table saw, face down with a portable circular or saber saw.

One way to avoid splintering the panel edges or tearing the veneer is to apply masking tape along the face of the cutting line. Be careful when removing the tape; its sticky side may be strong enough to splinter the wood. Another method is to use a sharp knife and straightedge to score the cutting line.

If you’re using a handsaw, start the cut at the panel’s edge; to score the panel, hold the saw’s blade edge nearly level with the surface and use forward strokes only. As you cut the panel, hold the saw at 30 degrees angle. If it’s hard to keep the saw on a straight line, clamp a straight board along the cutting line and let the saw ride against it.

Scribing paneling

The first piece of paneling that you’ll fit into the corner of a wall probably won’t fit exactly the contours of the adjoining wall or floor. Nor is the paneling likely to be level of plumb. The duplicate the irregularities of the adjoining surface on the paneling’s edge, use a compass or a scribing tool.

Prop the panel into place about an inch from the uneven adjoining surface; use shingles, if necessary, to shim the panel into level or plumb. Holding the compass’ points parallel  to each other, draw the compass along the surface so the pencil leg duplicates the unevenness onto the paneling.

Cutting out doors, windows, and other openings

Fitting paneling around any opening requires careful measuring, marking, and cutting. Before you measure for switches and outlets, remove their faceplates.

One way to measure and mark panels is to use a steel tape, keeping track of the measurements on a piece of paper. Starting from the corner of the wall or from the edge of the nearest panel, measure to the edge of the opening or outlet; then starting at the same point, measure to the opening’s opposite edge. Next, measure the distance from the floor to the opening’s bottom edge and from the floor to the opening’s top edge; remember that you’ll install the paneling ½ inch up from the floor.

Marking the side of the panel that will face you as you cut (face up when using a handsaw, table saw, or keyhole saw, face down when using a portable circular saw or saber saw), transfer these measurements to the panel; be sure to measure from the correct edge of the panel. When marking the back of the panel, remember that measurements will be a mirror image of the opening.

Another way to measure and mark panels for cutting is to make a template from the protective sheets that come with many manufactured panels. Because these sheets are the same size as the panels, you can tape one to the wall as though it were a panel. Mark the opening on the sheet or cut out with a razor blade. Then lay the sheet on the panel; using the template as a pattern, mark the panel.

To make cutouts in panels for small openings such as outlets and switches, drill holes in the panel in each of the corners of the opening you’ve marked. Then cut the opening, cutting from the front of the panel if you’re using a keyhole saw, from the back when using a saber saw.

Attaching sheet paneling

When you’re attaching sheet paneling, whether you’re using adhesive or nails, keep in mind that you must securely attach all edges of the paneling. This is no problem when you’re applying panels directly to a wall. Nor is it a problem when you apply panels to a framework of studs or furring strips spaced regularly at 16 or 24 inches, center to center—you butt the panels along the center of each framing member.

But if you’re nailing directly to bare studs, you’ll have to add 2 by 4 horizontal blocking between the studs to provide a nailing base of the edge of the paneling. Nail one block a quarter of the distance down from the top plate, and one block halfway between floor and ceiling, and another block a quarter of the way up from the bottom plate.

Fastening with adhesives and nailing are the two basic methods for applying most sheet paneling. Using an adhesive is the favored method—it’s fast and clean, and it doesn’t subject panels t hammer dents or nail holes.

adhesives. Follow the adhesive’s manufacturer’s directions when you’re applying paneling with an adhesive. Work with one panel at a time—don’t apply adhesive beyond the area that one panel will cover.

Here’s the typical procedure: On furring or exposed wall framing, apply adhesive to the framing in squiggly stripes; for direct-to-wall applications, apply in uniformly spaced stripes 12 or 16 inches apart.

Drive four 1-1/4 inch finishing nails through the top edge of the panel. Position it on the wall; drive the nails part way into the wall to act as hinge pins. Pull the panel’s bottom edge about 6 inches out from the wall and push a block behind it to hold it there; wait for the adhesive to get tacky—8 to 10 minutes.

Then, remove the block and press the panel firmly into place. To force the adhesive into tight contact, knock on the panel with a rubber mallet or hammer against a padded block. Be careful not to mar the surface. Drive the nails at the top all the way in; then nail the panel at the bottom (you’ll cover the nail heads later with molding). Thin paneling materials require either gluing or nailing within ½ inch of the edges of the paneling to prevent curling.

nailing. When nailing the panels, be careful not to mar the surfaces. To keep nails as inconspicuous as possible, either use nails that are color-matched to your paneling or use finishing nails. Drive them into heavily textured areas as grooves where they’ll be least noticeable. For lapped panels, drive nails through flanges.

If you want, use a nailset to recess the nail heads; then blend them to the surface, using color-matched putty or repair stick. Use 1-1/4 inch nails for panels less than ½ inch thick; for 5/8 or ¾ inch panels, use 2-inch nails. Space them about 16 inches apart.