Can anybody tell me what these walls are made of? They feel very thin and plasticy, almost like PVC. The house was built in 1950, the walls are probably from the '70s or early '80s. They aren't very sturdy -- there are a few holes poked in the walls and some water damage on the walls near the floor, water seems to rot the walls. They seem to just be glued to the wood frame behind them, though I'm not sure.
My wife and I both really dislike the look and lack of sturdiness -- we'd like to replace these walls (in the basement laundry room) with something nicer, probably just greenboard and paint with some trimming (that'd be a lot of area to tile...) What's the best way to do it? Tear the walls down, or try and build over them? They aren't a possible source of asbestos, are they?
Its about 1/8th inch and its usually nailed on with small finishing nails for paneling, or, it can be glued to the wall already, (depending on how lazy the original occupants were at remodeling).
Seeing that you have 'stips', I am betting that the nails are located along the strips and when you tear them off, the marblelite will fall off the wall...so, be careful.
Or...
It may also have furring strips behind it, (1" x 3" boards going horizontal up the wall-spaced).
If its not glued on, it will be easy to tear off in large sections. Now, it may have lathe and plaster behind it, so, if it does, its going to be a big mess to tear out, but, when I remodel I always like to strip everything to the walls and start fresh, (especially if its YOUR place!).
Have fun and be creative...Its your chance to SHINE!
Do not try to put anything over this material. It will just compound your problems. I would not worry about asbestos. This is likely a laminate surface over hardboard or masonite, neither of which are hazardous.
Posts: 488 | Location: Rogers City, MI | Registered: Sep 25, 2007
It is just a 1/8" paneling material; we had the same thing in our kitchen in the old house. Ours was glued on; we removed it, patched the drywall and painted, looked much better when done.
Posts: 52 | Location: St. Albans, WV | Registered: Feb 06, 2006
Remove all the cabinets, outlet covers and any trim and rip this stuff out. Use paperless sheet rock instead of green board. Make sure to keep it 1/2" off the floors. Insulated any outside walls.
joecaption
Posts: 10714 | Location: Halieford VA | Registered: Jan 31, 2004
Thanks all for the helpful responses, what a great forum. We began ripping up the vinyl floor tiles (not shown in pic) and discovered a second layer of vinyl tiles underneath that contain asbestos in the tiles and in the tar sticking the tiles to the concrete.
So we're going to have the flooring removed professionally (I don't want to mess with removing it myself, not with all the HVAC equipment in there) and then get to work on tearing out these walls and putting up paperless sheet rock. The bathroom on the other side of that wall has the same wall material, so we may remodel that at the same time. Big project...
