Anyone with T&G pine on the shop walls?

[Keith Weber]

I'm building a new shop right now, and a few months ago, I caught a 40% discount on 1" x 6" x 16 ft. T&G Pine Carsiding, so I bought enough to do all of the shop walls. Has anyone done this in their shop. I've got two concerns:

1) I like the look of the wood natural when you first put it up, but I don't like the look after it dulls and darkens with UV light exposure. I was thinking of putting a clear finish on it, but I don't want something that will yellow with light exposure. The red oak flooring in my house looked awesome when new, but yellowed over the years (factory finish). I'm trying to avoid the yellowing on my shop walls (if possible). Any suggestions?

2) I was planning on installing horizontally, partly because I think it would probably look better in my long and narrow 12' x 50' shop, and partly because I get secure blind-nail mounting with studs every 16". Recently, somebody brought to my attention that horizontal would create a dust trap in the grooves. Does anyone have horizontal boards in their shop? How bad is the dust problem?

Thanks!

Keith

[Mike Archambeau]

Some of the water based finishes will stay clear. Most of the polurethanes used on wood floors will yellow. As will most of the oil based varnishes. Pine, like cherry will darken with exposure to UV light. So even if you choose to go with a water based finish, expect the wood to darken. Have you considered staining it with a semi-transparent stain? That would keep the wood from changing color. Sikkens makes some nice finishes. http://www.nam.sikkens.com/product-category2.cfm?product_category=interior

This one is non yellowing: http://www.nam.sikkens.com/product.cfm?product_id=11&product_category=interior

That is going to be one good looking shop

[John Neel]

I have t&g mounted vertically. It was installed in 1939 and was painted white by a previous owner of this house. I would prefer it natural, but I still like it, even painted. Sometimes I think I will strip a few boards to match the new boards in the 5' wall section I replaced when removing a trophy case. I have left those new boards unpainted and unfinished. It has been 5 years and they look as they did when new. No sunlight can hit them. The horizontal molding at the bottom is certainly a dust trap. Dust also gets in the little openings where the grooves aren't sealed by the molding.

John Neel

[Joe Chritz]

As mentioned you can put a non-yellowing finish on the pine but it will still do what it will do, just a bit slower.

Minwax polycrylic would be a good choice here but for as much as you need there isn't much cost difference for one of the target coatings offerings like EM6000 that I normally use for a waterbase finish.

I assume it will be spray finished, thats a lot of brushing if not.

I imagine that will be a very nice looking shop for sure. Also I expect it to capture dust no matter what direction the boards run so put them how you like the look.

Joe

[Myk Rian]

Wear gloves every time you handle it. Fingerprints look terrible.

[Mike Cruz]

I have it throughout my barn. All the stalls, inside of exterior walls, ceiling to hayloft, and the inside and outside of the tackroom. Yeah, that was fun... :rolleyes:.

Everywhere but the inside and outside of the tackroom is 2X6 T&G....MUCH easier to install because there is more leeway to the T's and G's than on the 1" stuff. I used poly. Durable and easy to clean. Yes, it yellows, but, it's yellow pine...;) For the tackroom, I used the 1" stuff from HD. Between bent boards and not perfectly straight walls (darn near perfect, though...I built 'em! But we're talking about 2x4 lumber, so how straight can it be...) and low T&G tollerances, it definatly took two people to install 12' ers.

As for horzontally, yeah, it is a dust trap. With a good finish, meaning smooth, it sweeps off pretty easily, though.

One challenge/recommendation: When applying your finish, be sure that when you sand between coats, that you pay attention to those little chamfers. That is where the dust collects most. The smoother that is, the easier it is to clean. In the spots where I THOUGHT I didn't really care, and breezed over it, dust removal is that much harder.

It'll look fantastic, though. I think you'll love it!

NOTE: I have to admit, I stuggled with hiding the nails at first. Between the difficulty with hiding them, and the boards being under so much pressure (bending them into place) I ended up face screwing them with black screws. At first I hated it. But, don't even see it anymore. When I do, it doesn't bother me one bit.

[Keith Weber]

I hate when you do something stupid like accidentally close your window during the Preview post phase and lose everything!!!

Anyway, thanks for the replies. I'm actually excited about seeing it done eventually. As a few of you have said, it should look really good.

I'll check into the water-based finishes. I've never used them before. Unfortunately, spraying won't be an option, it'll be done by brushing. I don't want the overspray getting on the floor or my tools. The shop has windows that gets indirect daylight after it bounces around the main building for a bit, but direct sunlight never goes into the shop. The main lighting source will be 6, 4x32W T8 Fluorescents. I'm not sure how all of that will affect the UV-effect on the pine.

The carsiding is also 2-sided. The one side is traditional chamfered, but the other is... well... it's hard to describe... so <10 min later> attached is a Sketchup depiction. I like the look of the smoother side, and I think it'll be easier to clean, sand, and be a little less of a dust trap. Blind nailing will be a little tricker with that side, but I'm hoping to rig up a jig that I can attach to my Senco 15 ga. tip.

I never thought about possible struggling putting it up solo and dealing with twist. I figured that a little pressure would push everything into place. I guess I'll have to see. I spent a lot of time re-stacking the pile nice and straight, so most of the boards under the top couple of rows appear to be pretty straight yet. I'm guessing sledge hammers don't work as well with 1 x 6 pine, as they do with 2 x 10 spruce.

Keith

[Clay Baldwin]

I had a lot left over from building our timberframe home, used it for the ceilings. Did my whole shop in it, so far so good. I left it natural, been up two years now and haven't noticed any fading. Here's some pics at the first stages of setting up shop.

[Mike Cruz]

As for putting in bent boards, think of it this way... If it is bent up, when you fasten one side, someone can "hang" down on the other end while you are fastening. On the contrary, when the curve of the board goes up (both ends touch but the middle doesn't), you may need to wedge a board between the ceiling and the middle, to push it down. Just be careful not to dent the tongues. Use a piece of scrap cutoff to protect it.

Agreed that the plain chamfer would be easier to clean...and less busy.

I just remembered why I ended up screwing them in. :D :eek: Picture fastening one end of the board with a nail. Then you are trying to bend a 1 x 6 board in the 6"direction. Not only not that easy, but it requires a lot of pressure, and the other end wants to pull up.

Here is one of the walls. Hope you can (or maybe I should hope you can't!) see the screws. You MAY have to live with them...

Oops, I forgot to rotate the second one...hehe. Also, if you look hard enough, you may be able to see some small holes next to the screws. That is where I tried to face nail them first. This was the first wall I did. I abandoned the nailing 1/2 way through this wall.

[Mike Cruz]

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I'm not quite sure if finishing BEFORE you install is that great of an idea. Those T&G's fit awfully tight. If you got finish on the tongue or in the groove, I think you'll have a heck of a time getting them together. Just a thought...

[Keith Weber]

Agreed that the plain chamfer would be easier to clean...and less busy.

Actually, when I said that I liked the smoother side, I was talking about the rounded over side, not the chamfered side. I think what I like about it is that it's different than the chamfered thing that you almost always see, and I figured that it would be easier to clean because, although the groove is wider, it's also a smoother transition, lacking the hard inside corner of the chamfered side. I'll put a bunch together and see which I like better.

I hope I can get away without face nailing. I don't care much for the rows of holes look that I've seen in a few houses, but I'll have to live with whatever I'm dealt when the time comes.

Clay, I love the unfinished look. I'll probably just leave mine natural for a while and see if I like it that way better. I can always coat it a few months down the road after a light sanding if I figure I need it. Also wish I had your tall ceilings, but I could only squeeze 8' 2" to the joists for the floor above with mine.

Keith

[John Mark Lane]

I've used a lot of this stuff on various houses/spaces. My basement "playroom" is done in it (about 20 feet by 16 feet). I've never installed it horizontally, as I always wanted the increased illusion of height. The oldest application I did that I can remember was about 30 years ago in a barn apartment I lived in.

It yellows. No matter what you coat it with, other than paint. In the end, in almost every application I've used it in, I've ended up painting it. I recently helped a friend do his den in it, and I suggested he "bleach" it with a white stain. He did it, and it looks great. I don't know if it will darken or yellow, but I don't think it will as much anyway.

I tried the water based clear stuff and for me anyway, I just couldn't make it work right. I found it hard to work with. It didn't want to spread right or cover well. Unfortunate, because I like the idea very much. Maybe it has improved, it's been five or six years since I tried any.

If I already had the stuff, I would just install it and leave it unfinished for a while and see how you liked it. You can always paint it....

As for bending it into place, I always found a few well placed hand nails (as opposed to the nail gun, which I usually use) helped a lot. These go in on an angle on the edge, to be covered by the next board. But an occasional face nail to hold it once in place also helps. The cumulative effect of the overall installation tends to hold it all down. I also use a lot of liquid nails, spreading a line along before each board goes on. Never had a problem doing it that way.

BTW, Clay, that's a nice looking shop. What's on the floor?

[Jim O'Dell]

When I first started my shop rehab, I wanted to put up tongue and grove on the walls. My thought was to get some of the pallets of wood scraps from Lumber Liquidators, resaw and plane to about 3/8" thickness, then route the T's and G's myself. I wanted to install it at an angle, changing directions at times to make a V shape on the walls. LL quit selling the woodworking packs, so it never came up again. I still think a mix of different hardwoods done this way would look very interesting. But I like the look of the pine also, especially since it is a lot lighter. Jim.

[Rich Aldrich]

I have some T&G walls in my house for 10 years and used Minwax Polyacrylic. It does darken, but very little. It is good stuff.

After I did the house, I wish I would have done my shop walls in T&G or shiplap. We have a local sawmill with excellent material and decent pricing.

I will do it in my next shop:rolleyes::D.

[Bud Millis]

I did my shop a couple a years ago. I put a coat of shellac on the T&G and it hasn't faded at all. I'd do the same again. Its light and bright. Did the walls and ceiling.