wall boards instead of sheet rock?

[dablack]

Ok guys.  I'm doing plumbing right now on the rebuild.  Sheetrock isn't far around the corner.  Sheet rock is about .32cent per sqft for just the sheets.  Add in the taping and mudding and it isn't cheap. 

I'm thinking I could do maybe 1/2" boards instead of sheet rock.  A mix of 4, 6, 8, and 10" wide.  If I install them straight off the mill, would they dry pretty straight on the wall?  The studs they would attach to are 16" OC. 

I was thinking pine or............... s w e e t g u m!

Thoughts? 

[fishfighter]

If they will be green, I sure most will split being that thin.

[Magicman]

I used and am using T&G wall boards on the Cabin, and are from 4" to 12" wide.  I sawed them 1" which came down to ~7/8" after planing.  I would be hesitant to use it without KD.

I think that you have in mind sawing it ½" and nailing it up.  It would serve as a wall covering for now and could be covered with whatever at a later date/time.  I have used Pine exactly like that in the past and it did very well. 


 
All of the wall paneling in this cabin is ½" Pine nailed directly to 16"OC studs.  The cracks opened up to about 1/8".  I am sorry but I do not have any digital pictures.

[tmarch]

You can cut to 1/2" then dry inside the house, doesn't take long with thinner boards and you will be able to detect any twist or bow that might occur during drying. 
Just watch for bugs, you don't want something eating your house around you. 

[dablack]

Right!  The house will be conditioned and after just a week inside, it will be much dryer.  I'm fine with it opening up 1/8".  I will put it up tight and get what I get if it gets much worse. 

We are going to be moving in with very little sheetrock done.  The thought of taping, and mudding after moving in, doesn't work for me.  I think putting up the boards will be much easier and much cleaner.  Also, pretty easy to do piece meal.  I'm thinking I can get enough at first to close off the bathrooms and the master bedroom and then finish out the rest as I can.  I will also need some to go behind Andy's cabinets. 

Talked to a local sawyer and he is wanting .52 cents a sqft for 1/2" thick pine.  I was hoping for a little less.  After a rough calculation, that much money would buy me a small manual mill.....

[drobertson]

Austin, it would work, but there will be shrinking you know, 5/8 might be my choice rather than 1/2",  How they are sawn will determine how straight they remain, and knots will cause crooking at times,  Air drying or kilning might be the better option for interior uses.

[dablack]

I will see how much the price will change with 5/8"

I will for sure air dry them inside with weights on top for a week or so before putting them up. 

thanks
Austin

[tmarch]

I'm in the process of putting some reverse board and batten on a wall.  What I'm doing is cutting to 1/2" then plane to 3/16 after drying.  Putting a live edge baseboard and live edge at the ceiling then floating the boards between them.  Both top and bottom will be on top of a 3/4" 1X2. Then possibly a chair rail D log attached after things settle in.  Hoping that by drying before installing will eliminate any bowing or twisting.

[pineywoods]

I just finished sawing 1600 sq ft of 1/2 inch pine wall paneling for a guy building a hunting camp. I questioned his choice, but he insisted, so, his logs, his money. His approach just might work. All the paneling is 1/2 X 16' wide, nailed directly to the studs. He claims to have already built another camp using that technique and it worked fine. 16 inch wide boards ain't that big a deal around here. The local commercial mills won't take logs that big, so us wmz types get dibs on them. I have a 30 incher laying in my yard. One big log make a whole bunch of 1/2 inch boards...Check around with local loggers, might be the same situation there...

[dablack]

I just checked to see how are Marion was from Rusk.  3.5 hours.  I was hoping you were a little closer.  I didn't know you were so far north. 

PM sent. 

[47sawdust]

Short term you would be alright,long term you will regret it.You will have a lot of shrinkage and the rough texture will be a nightmare to clean.If you really can't do drywall,perhaps matched boards would work for you.1x6 T&G v-groove would be my choice with drywall ceilings for contrast.Put your ceilings up first.with careful layout you can eliminate taping with batten strips over the tapered edges.
Best of luck,
Mick

[Joe Hillmann]

It is up to you but in case of fire Sheetrock is much safer.  If a fire starts on one side of the wall it can't get through it until t has boiled all the water out of the Sheetrock and the Sheetrock crumbles (Sheetrock is 70%-80% water, that is why it is so heavy).

If a fire starts on one side of a wall with 1/2 inch planking with gaps it will burn through it in seconds.  It is just something to consider.

Also If you run the Sheetrock vertically so you have only side to side joints and no end to end or end to side joints you can tape and mud it in two coats, then primer and a final touch up of mud after the primer if it is needed.  You can go from bare Sheetrock to finished painted walls in 3 days.

[Bruno of NH]

I would plane the boards let sit in the house to dry some. Put black roofing felt over studs and insulation so when the boards shrink you have a nice shadow line. You can't see the studs or insulation .
T&g would be my first choice but I know how money can work in to things !
Jim/Bruno

[dablack]

Thanks guys.  Lots of good advice. 

My wife's favorite show is fixer upper on HGTV.  A couple in Waco TX fix up houses for their clients.  They are usually working in older homes and sometimes they find the shiplap behind other wall coverings.  We both love the look of the shiplap.  Boards with narrow gaps give the same look. 

I hadn't thought about putting them through a planer.  That might be a good idea. 

I had thought about the felt.  Just makes good sense. 

thanks
Austin

[homesteader1972]

 A thought is to do both, sheet rock on the top wood on the bottom (wainscoting). I did that in my last house, and if you measure well before you buy the drywall, you can buy 8 and 10 foot lengths, running them horizontally, and you will have very little tape and mud, and little waste. But, that's if you want all wood trim, around doors, windows and ceiling. All wood trim isn't as dusty as drywall dust, but it is more time consuming in the end, if you want it to look nice. Having some drywall will also make your rooms brighter too, while having that warm feel of wood. I wouldn't put up green wood though, you will likely wish you would have waited till it was dry.

[Farmerjw]

When we added onto our house, I had green pine coming straight off of a WoodMizer mill (buddy that is long gone now.  The girls and I planed them then using the table saw and a dado blade, cut ship lap.  They have been up for over 14 years.  The ship lap kept the gaps from showing and a lot less work than tongue and groove. 

[ozarkgem]

 

  

 
Here is how I did my ceiling. 1x6 . I made a jig and set the boards on about a 45 deg angle and took a electric hand planer and ran down the edge to make the bevel. It is fast. My lumber is 2 yrs old and air dried outside. It has shrank a little with the wood stove but not too bad. Rustic. Oh yea I straight lined each board before running the planer down it.

[dablack]

Thanks for all the great ideas guys. 

Homesteader, that is a great idea, but I know the boss wants in on the ceiling too. 

Farmerjw, I'm glad to hear it has worked for others.  That quick shiplap was a smart move. 

Ozarkgem, Thanks for the pics.  That looks really cool.  I think we are going to go with a white wash or even just straight paint. 

Austin

[21incher]

As long as you have no foam insulation walls it should be ok. If there is any foam board the building codes call for a layer of sheetrock or fire retardant material first. I would let it at least air dry below a moisture content that would support mold before closing walls with it.

[Alligator]

I've done 2 accent walls in 2 different houses. 1 for me and 1 for a friend. I used the same design, but different lumber processing. My friend's was done s2s, only squaring the edges. Mine I did T&G s3s with the rough side out. They were both ERC. They turned out nice and very aromatic. At the time I smoked and I was told that if I didn't have one lit all you could smell was the ERC. This is the pattern I used. The wall Was 8'x16'

[drobertson]

Austin, here was a test sample I did over a year ago after seeing a post on shrinkage on lumber, this was green pine sawn into 1x8"
this is after around 8 months? in one of those portable sheds, as you can see, and most likely already know, gaps will occur.

  

  

  

 
And the measurement of the boards, just a hair over 7-3/4" very typical on three boards, thickness was real close but just under 1"

[drobertson]

Issues with posting pics? not sure whats' up here, second time tonight, anyway the gap is shown, boards shrunk nearly 1/4" from the original 8"

[dean herring]

Ozarkgem,what are your ceiling beams, I really like them. Are they kiln dried  looks very nice. Do you have any more pics?

[PineNut]

If fire is a consideration, I would recommend sheetrock. I have seen several houses in which the interior was completely burned out and then the fire went out on its own. One house had the sheetrock covered with paneling. The paneling burned off the walls and then the fire went out. Just be sure that the sheetrock covers the ceiling also.

[ozarkgem]

Ozarkgem,what are your ceiling beams, I really like them. Are they kiln dried  looks very nice. Do you have any more pics?

Local Cedar. I put them on the mill and put a flat on the top. They are just screwed to the ceiling. I am not finished with them yet but I will email some pics to you if you want.