Beginning wainscotting - advice needed.

[JoceAndChris]

Hi hope all are well.

Chris is embarking on panelling our bathroom as part of a whole new bathroom scheme. We have some 1930s wooden panelling down one end we'd like to replicate.

A couple questions and probably some more to follow.

Is MDF sufficient?
What type of wood if not MDF?
How thin could the panels be - they'll be biscuit jointed side to side, mounted on battens and then with the framing built on top.
Has anyone done this, if so I'd love to see!

I should point out the bathroom isn't heavily used as we are just two people and often have a water shortage as we areent on mains.

I'll upload a pic of the 30s panelling that forms the outside of our airing cupboard abutting the bathroom.

Thanks xxx

 

[JoceAndChris]

Should also point out the panelling will be painted, and it's height will up to two thirds of the wall ( in line with where the glass begins) and painted above.

 

[Lime]

I would use proper wood and marine ply for the panels in a bathroom or anywhere else for that matter.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks Lime! Do you mean like a redwood for the proper wood?

 

[plasticpigeon]

Hello Joce! Has someone hacked your account!!! MDF, sham framing! I'd have thought nothing but the finest regency pitch pine with hand cut mortice and tenon joints and inset panels would have been good enough for Beacon Cottage! I agree with Lime that marine ply is good for the panels, both because it is more water resistant and also because ply won't expand and contract with changes in humidity. Yes redwood pine for the framing would be better than mdf! I made a sort of framed bath panel. I really lost motivation so in fact there are no proper joints, just screws and I made the panels as doors that can come out (not hinged) as we are very pushed for storage hence they are not quite as level as the might be. I put corner pieces behind the framing to keep it all solid. It is ok, but would have been better with proper framing , but I do not see my house as as thing of beauty or necessarily a long term residence as I want to move out of Birmingham at some time but it looks fine. I also realise that the proportions could have been better if I had made the bottom rail of the framing deeper. I couldn't put a skirting board on as I wouldn't have been able to shut the door.

 

[88v8]

That's very handsome Mr P. And the tiling.

I made some panelling for the previous house. Ply, iirc. Screws.
The panels were very very slightly free to move in the framing. In a bathroom there's going to be damp and thermal cycling, so even with ply there will be some movement.
The key tip I would give you is to paint the panels fully, ie incl the topcoats, and let them dry hard before inserting them into the framing. And paint the framing adjacent to the panels, and just lap back the frames towards the centre after it's installed.
That way, with the paint extending behind the frames and the painted panels very very slightly free to move, the expansion/contraction won't lead to a bare crackline in the paint. And it will never need repainting.

Another question, given it's the bathroom, is what paint?

Ivor

 

[JoceAndChris]

That's a very useful tip Ivor, thank you! Will do that!

Plastic - :lol: yes maybe standards have slipped a little? I just see it as a decorative finish rather than a permanent alteration of the house, though maybe that's a wrong attitude? But, this panelling will be fitted around the bath, and butted up to tiles which will go behind the shower ( we have to have a shower over a bath) - so it's very much made for the units we'll order.


IF I could do my dream bathroom it wouldn't be this. I'd make this little space a slate tiled wet room for a spacious shower. Then I'd have my fantasy free standing copper bath in an extension we'd build in some currently dead space on the side of the house. If we have the money to do that one day I can imagine ripping this panelling out! A shower above a bath is a huge compromise!

I really love what you've done with the bath panel above, it looks great. I'd be really pleased with that. Can't see the faults you've pointed out at all.

Sorry to hear you say you're disenchanted with Brum

 

[JoceAndChris]

PS Ivor - have just ordered Farrow and Ball estate eggshell for interior wood in "Green Smoke". I may use casein distemper in an off white or green grey on the plaster above. It's lime plaster but patched with gypsum, in parts, and currently painted in ordinary emulsion.

 

[Flyfisher]

I would use proper wood and marine ply for the panels in a bathroom or anywhere else for that matter.

Yes and no. Basically yes but marine ply is very expensive, not that easy to source and, I'd say, over specified for house building applications (the clue is in the name ).

The more usual stuff for this sort of application is 'WBP' ply, which is readily available from any decent builder merchants. WBP means 'water and boil proof' and refers to the testing regime but in practice it means an exterior grade plywood and will be fine for a bathroom.

Of course, if you have some marine ply lying around (or have deep pockets with nothing else to spend it on) then it will also be fine in this application, but it's really not necessary.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks Flyfisher! That's great! We did look and we're pretty off put by the price!
Will look at exterior grade ply! How is your fabulous house project going FF?

Chris has made a mock up in MDF and I can't see a lot wrong with it! He's going to make a mock up in wood as well.
Ignore the sizing and also this is photographed wet with one coat primer.

 

[Flyfisher]

Looks good, and to be fair, plywood would look just the same when painted. If you've already got MDF then, for an infrequently used bathroom, it'll probably be OK as a temporary measure (a couple of decades instead of many). I'd want to paint it inside and out though to thoroughly seal it from any moisture. It does have the advantage of being fairly dimensionally stable though, so not much movement if you can keep it dry. If you don't tell anyone they'll never notice what you've used .

Our project is still ticking along. This year has been mostly outside landscaping as we hosted a niece's wedding reception in a marquee this summer so had to at least get the outside looking reasonably smart. Next job is a bathroom and then some serious interior decorating, but I have to admit that we've been slowing down ever since we finished all the seriously structural work and having acclimatised ourselves to living in some disarray we're finding it very easy to be distracted nowadays. In fact, I'm typing this from the Carribean . . . .

 

[plasticpigeon]

It does look good. Mdf though!

 

[mims&pip]

PS Ivor - have just ordered Farrow and Ball estate eggshell for interior wood in "Green Smoke". I may use casein distemper in an off white or green grey on the plaster above. It's lime plaster but patched with gypsum, in parts, and currently painted in ordinary emulsion.

Great colour choice, Joce*

We have some similar panelling/wainscotting here, although as it was fitted by the previous owner I can neither take the credit nor confirm its construction. Pip would most likely advocate the use of marine ply in a bathroom as he trends towards the belt and braces approach, but I'm guessing the stuff we inherited is predominantly MDF. Will find a pic and add it later. The plan was to do something similar in one of the reception rooms here, but as we hope to move in the next few months we've given up on that idea :roll:

PP, I think your bathroom looks lovely, btw!

Mims x

*It's what we've painted the exteriors of both our last and our current houses and we love it

 

[JoceAndChris]

Mims- thanks! I'd love to see piccies of both the panelling and the Green Smoke, if you've time! I haven't even bought a tester pot of that colour, I've just looked at lots of images and decided I need a panelled bathroom in that! :lol:

Sorry to hear you'll be moving. Wishing you lots of luck - where to?

FF - wow, sounds like you got your priorities right! We might have had a few hols in the Caribbean for some of the decorating stuff we've done here :roll: Still I love it as you know and hopefully the Caribbean can be visited in the future! Glad your structural stuff is mainly done! Ours too now! What a relief!

 

[mims&pip]

No worries, Joce - will try to get some piccies of both added tomorrow evening!

We're actually looking at moving to somewhere more easterly - probably either Lincolnshire or north Norfolk. My maternal family were from Norfolk, but I'm not really acquainted with the county, and we've spent some time in Lincolnshire over the years but haven't really identified our ideal location - between the wolds and the coast perhaps - so plenty of exploring both is on the agenda over the next few months......

Mims x

 

[JoceAndChris]

How exciting Mims! I like it here in South Lincs as can get to so many places easily -London is 1 hr 10 from Grantham, the beautiful Vale of Belvoir and Stamford are nearby, and Chris works in Nottingham now.

But where you're talking about is very beautiful. Louth is lovely, and Brigg apparently, though I haven't visited.

 

[eezageeza]

You could also consider moisture resistant MDF (MRMDF) as a bit of a compromise between the ordinary stuff, and WBP ply.

 

[Roger H]

I've gone for MDF on the advice of a cabinet maker friend. He advises it on the ground of stability. This was for t&g though - previous t&g opened at the joints in bathrooms - this has worked a treat.

 

[mims&pip]

How exciting Mims! I like it here in South Lincs as can get to so many places easily -London is 1 hr 10 from Grantham, the beautiful Vale of Belvoir and Stamford are nearby, and Chris works in Nottingham now.

But where you're talking about is very beautiful. Louth is lovely, and Brigg apparently, though I haven't visited.

Yes, it is rather exciting Joce! We've not ruled out South Lincs either :wink: I especially want to be closer to the sea than we are currently and would prefer to be somewhere that would enable us to drive down to family in East Sussex in less than the current travelling time of 3 hrs 30......Pip is either going to carry on in his presesnt employment which involves quite a lot of travelling round the UK, or we will start another business if we find somewhere with land/outbuildings.

Anyhoo, here are those pics as promised. When I took the front door pic I had only just started the onerous task of painting the many doors and windows here (you can just catch a glimpse of the previous shade of yellow!). Eighteen months on and I've nearly finished, lol! Apologies for the bathroom shot - taken shortly after moving in - the colour is the previous owner's choice (as was the blind!) and the moulding detail is not really visible. It continues round the room (and bath panel) but for some reason my photo only captured the window area :roll:

Mims x

 

[JoceAndChris]

Both pics look absolutely lovely Mims! The colour just looks perfect for a period feel in so many situations! And what a pretty looking house, you must be sad to leave, but if it's time it's time. Good luck with the house hunting and potential big changes ahead!

And yes, many thanks for the thumbs up on the MDF, we rally are pleased with the mock up and think we may well go down that route!