Old House Wood Plank Walls

Usually found in the main room of early colonial homes the oldest wall panels were rough or hand planed boards or planks.

Old house wood plank walls.

Wood walls have a long history. Box house is a good descriptive term as the method of construction reminds me of old wooden shipping crates. If the wood paneling is dark to begin with add paint in a lighter hue or vice versa. Entire rooms were paneled.

American historic carpentry is the historic methods with which wooden buildings were built in what is now the united states since european settlement. Throughout most of the house the shiplap was nailed to the outside of the exterior walls and the inside was lath and plaster. Regional variations of plank construction there are regional variations but the basic wall structure consists of random width vertical planks nailed to a sill or horizontal board at the base of the wall and then nailed to another. In other cases drilling holes in the walls or removing a couple courses of clapboard to blow insulation into the stud bays may work with no problems.

Later vertical boards were nailed to studs often with a decorative bead or chamfered v along their edges. Start by painting the panels in a color preferably one from a historic palette so that the hue appears authentic. To give new wood paneled walls a rustic farmhouse feel like the ones at right simply add and then subtract color. In early colonial times boards and shingles that skinned over a house s skeleton often formed the interior surfaces as well.

Whether you want to add paneling to your house or need a few ways to update your existing walls get inspired by these wood paneling ideas and see how the pros do it. Planks made up the partition walls. Walls that were not plastered were often. If paneling was applied to only one elevation invariably it was the fireplace wall where paneling served as an extended surround and a handy place to conceal niches or shallow cabinets.