Blackbutt T&G

[gemi_babe]

Ok guys/girls I have just been informed by someone who has experience with these old mill houses (feel like I'm talking simpsons LOL) that my walls are infact blackbutt T&G.

What I was thinking of doing was something along the lines of bagging like they do with bricks.

My reasons you may be thinking???
the walls look lovely but create alot of dust from the shrinkage and swelling over a period of about 80 or so years.

I have thought about pulling them down but thats alot of work. I have thought about plasterboarding over it all but that would loose the effect.
I just want to seal it all up to stop the dust.

Any suggestions?

Do you think I could pull it all down, sell the boards to cover the cost of plasterboarding?

Is there a market out there for used blackbutt T&G??

I don't really want to pull it all down.

Any suggestions?

Regards,
Kylie

[vsquizz]

Kylie, awhile back this subject got a bit of a flogging for an old Queenslander. Do a search because there was some good advice if I remember correctly. I think the original question was to do with removing paint from T&G walls.

Personally I would steer away from pulling too much down at once. The wall may become unstable, I kid you not. Having said that, the way to do it properly is to pull down sections, insulate and seal, put up builders foil as a dust barrier and then put the T&G back up. Huge job and lots of boards to try and recover, old nails to pull etc. Only way to work out if its feasible is to test a section but you need advice from a structural engineer or first rate builder beforehand. Depends on the construction type.

The dry walling, plasterboard, panelling thing is the way to go. You can build timber feature into it as well with a little imagination and planning.


Have fun:rolleyes: Cheers

[Ben from Vic.]

Seeing as how you mentioned that you didn't mind a bit of hard work :rolleyes: , you could plaster the top half and use your T&G (verticaly) as paneling for the bottom half-ish.

With sarking (the blue foil paper) behind it, this time.


Ben.

[himzol]

Blackbutt tounge and groove, is it me or does anybody else think that is so wrong :rolleyes: :D :D

[vsquizz]

Himzol, Blackbutt, WA Blackbutt, SwanRiver Blackbutt (E. Patens) Common in WA Wheatbelt early weatherboard construction. Still a lot around. Kylie is right to ask if there is a market because demolished carefully and nails removed its worth very good money per/cube. (Lotsa work though) ....and it wasn't all Blackbutt it was often just called that by the early millers for any decent grained Euc they good get their cotton pickins on when clearing grain growing areas. They would occaisionally differ the name and call it Mallee...beaudy.


See the thread on timber names. Blackbutt - common name for more than twenty odd Australian Eucs depending on where you live.:D (This is great)

Cheers

[gemi_babe]

Thanks vsquizz but it only suggests paint stripping and gyprocking. The boards I have are not painted.
I don't want to pull it down, would rather add to it to stop the dust.

What about a big truck load of gap filler for wood? I could put it on with a trowel(sp?) :rofl:

[vsquizz]

Yep; http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=10730&highlight=Painting+ProblemsThe advice by Mick is what I was talking about so pulling it down is out. Therefore the only options are;

a) Try and seal it up with a flexible compund??? don't ask me
b) To seal it by lining over it with new T&G, hardie board, gyprock etc

a) is going to cover the great look to some extent & b) is gunna cover the T&G completley.

You say its not even painted so maybe cleaning, a light sanding then an oil finish may retard the movement by stabilising the timber:confused: . At the moment its probably so dry in summer that the first decent moisture change gives you the movement. Less movement = less dust. I guess unless you seal it proper you are always going to have something to put up with. What is the external cladding type??


Cheers

[echnidna]

A few times I have used gap filler on baltic linings that have shrunk with age. Then painted over it. Can look very good but it is time consuming , but probably no more than removing the old boards then sheeting the wall.

[himzol]

Sorrry folks,

Sad attempt at humour, it was a long day which started with a blackout and got worse from there.

Himzo

[journeyman Mick]

Sorrry folks,

Sad attempt at humour, it was a long day which started with a blackout and got worse from there.

Himzo

The power supply or you? :eek:

Kylie,
friends of mine in Brisbane covered the T & G boards in their Queenslander with hessian. I believe they dipped it in plaster and tacked it up against the wall. I remember that the finished effect looked quite nice. Apparently in the past this method was used by the financially challenged ( :D ) as a method of sealing substandard construction. You might want to experiment on a small section first.

Mick

[journeyman Mick]

Kylie,
actually thinking about it a bit more, I don't think they used plaster at all, I think it was wallpaper glue. This would stick really well and have enough flexibility so it wouldn't crack with the movement of the timber. Painted over, it looked very nice. I guess in the old days they used hessian bags and probably stuck them up with mud.

Mick

[gemi_babe]

hmm that interests me Mick... I'm up for something different. ;)

Might do a google see what I come up with :D

[vsquizz]

hmm that interests me Mick... I'm up for something different. ;)

Might do a google see what I come up with :D

Try soggy weetbix with a colour tint. Drys as hard as nails, at least it does when my kids redesign with it:D

Cheers

[wombat47]

There are many ways of covering walls - some a matter of necessity and others the result of a creative mind (not mine unfortunately).

Many years ago I visited the home of an elderly relative in rural Victoria whose free standing slab kitchen was papered with sheets of newspaper, applied with a flour and water paste. It had been repapered many, many times over the life of the building.

I've seen a 1960's suburban house in which the dining room was papered with sheets of newspaper, finished with a clear lacquer. The red and black furniture looked fantastic.

A couple of years ago my brother-in-law decorated his restaurant walls with pages from old magazines - the old 4 colour printing gave much more subtle colours than modern magazines would.

Fresh cow dung mixed to a creamy consistency with water will dry to a rock hard and water resistant finish. The smell goes away after it dries.

I'm sure weet-bix would give a similar finish (and more pleasant to apply) but I would mix it with wallpaper paste to deter insects from breakfasting on the walls. I know vsquizz was joking but, hey, it's a natural product and should give an interesting texture to the walls.

Hessian can be nailed or stapled to the wall and plastered over. Folds or drapes can be incorporated into the hessian.

You might like to look around at http://www.caneloproject.com/ for some interesting features which have been incorporated into plaster.

Other papers, such as brown paper, kraft paper and tissue paper, can be applied to give texture. I really like the "leather" look - go to http://www.trompe-l-oeil-art.com/paperplique.html and have a look at some of their pictures. There are other sites which give instructions for applying torn paper to walls.

These types of finishes all look good with paint effects such as sponging (which is dead easy).

[himzol]

The power supply or you?

The power supply, - sat around for two hours doing B-all, then had to run around like a blue A$$ fly trying to catch up the rest of the day.

Himzo.

[echnidna]

If you use hessian, hang it wet and stretch it firm. As it dries it shrinks and you will get a good straight substrate. When dried you could render it or apply wallpaper to it.

[gemi_babe]

ooooo I like some of those murals... wish I could draw/paint :(

Can't find much on how to do hessian walls... probably a sign :rolleyes:

I don't fancy cow dung on my walls... :eek:

Would plaster mix slopped on stick to wood? like rendering?
I don't know why I'm stuck on this idea :confused:

[jackiew]

Would plaster mix slopped on stick to wood? like rendering?


A couple of internal walls of my house are plastered ( The rest are masonite :eek: ) they have a backing of thin strips of wood with gaps between - old fashioned wattle and daub construction - lots of old ceilings are like this too. So yes plaster mix will stick to wood but I suspect that you need the ratio of gaps to wood to be around the 50:50 mark.

[echnidna]

Plaster will stick to the timber but as the timber expands and contracts with humidity changes it is likely to crack at the joints between the boards.

Hessian lined walls were common a century ago. They were superceded by lath and plaster.

You could use render plaster over hessian reliably.

[journeyman Mick]

The old lath and plaster ratio was probably more like 3:1 timber:gap and the plaster was reinforced with long fibres possibly of horse hair or hemp. I wouldn't trust plaster straight onto your timber walls not to crack with any movement.

Mick

[vsquizz]

I'm with Mick. I reckon plaster will be trouble. Can you post a pic of the wall in question Kylie?

Without looking at it this would be my course of action FWIW.

1. Sand back with ROS to clean up and remove any residue. Has it had any finish before?

2. Clean down with turps allow to dry

3. Fill any big gaps, edges etc with a flexible compound such as silicon but I'm not sure how you colour match?? (black?). They may be other products. Some repairs, trim, coving etc might need doing.

4. Oil the daylights out of it with something like tung oil, maybe four coats and that would cost a bit. How many m2?

This wont solve the problem but I reckon it will reduce it heaps. Thats what I've found with old T&G floorboards that have been allowed to really dry out anyways. As for the cost of a Tung Oil product well I think your up for some bickies either way.

Sincerley hope this helps

Cheers