I have read your website and you provide some very helpful information and tips for remodeling.My house was built in 1973 with some of the rooms fully paneled with each room having different colors of 7/32" paneling. Some rooms have the original stained "trim", i.e. door, baseboard, crown molding, bi-fold louvered closet doors. I am thinking about removing the paneling and installing drywall and I would like to save as much of the "trim" as possible. Hope you can provide me with some help: (1 - Can you recommend a way to prevent removing the paneling and installing drywall - I want smooth, painted, wall finishes. Is filling the paneling grooves and applying some type of covering for painting possible or too labor intensive? (2 - Can I paint the stained "trim" without sanding or removing the finish, which would really be labor intensive?
Answer:
Not only will you end removing the paneling, you'll probably also remove and replace the vapour barrier on the perimeter walls and then apply drywall (horizontally of course)so you can prime and paint. You don't have to remove the finish on the stained trim but you will have to rough it up so your new primer paint will something to hold on to. Now you can paint that too.
