Wood paneling

[Jon Erickson]

I am going to panel the bottom half of the bathroom in my house with some really nice hickory that just finished drying. I have two questions.

I was going to make random width V tongue and groove paneling in an effort to not have much waste. Should i stay at one width or will random look ok in a small bathroom (5'x5')

Should i take the drywall down that is there and then put furring strips up to be able to have something to nail the panleing to or would placing the paneling on top of the drywall and finish nailing the panels that fall onto the studs and applying liquid nails to the paneling be enough to hold it?

I will take any suggestions on how to put up the paneling as this is my first go round with it.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Jon

[Jack Wilson50]

If the paneling is not to thick, I would leave the drywall up and just trim out the top, them put a baseboard on the bottom. That is what I did in my basement bathroom, it was only 1/4" thick paneling.

[Kevin Bourque]

You could always cut the drywall out the width of the furring strip and then inset the furring strip into the channel.
Personally, I would make sure all the paneling is installed "cup in" and glue it and toenail it in place.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Should i take the drywall down that is there and then put furring strips up to be able to have something to nail the panleing to or would placing the paneling on top of the drywall and finish nailing the panels that fall onto the studs and applying liquid nails to the paneling be enough to hold it?
The pre made T&G stuff you find at Lowes and Home Depot says nail every third piece and let the others float so they can expand and contact.
That's what I did when I used it over an old drywall wall. I also used a few dabs of Power Grab on the pieces I nailed.

[Jon Erickson]

Thanks for the suggestions. I like the idea of cutting firing strips into the drywall and leaving the rest there.

[Peter Quinn]

I'd use 2" rips of 1/2" plywood, just remove the drywall necessary to place these (cut it out with a rotozip or drywall knife using the strips as your template, don't be too fussy). I'd skip the construction adhesive, hickory wants to move. They do sell an "elastometric adhesive" that bonds but moves, that might be an option if you can find it. Don't know the brand we use at work, never paid that much attention. Maybe a little silicone if you are careful with it? I like the random width V paneling. It looks great in a rustic or knotty grade, we have 30LF of it in the show room where I work in Common WO. Three different widths IIR. penetrationI'd gap the hickory at least .040" and nail the tongue side only except at the ends. You probably only need a nailer at top and center if you nave a plate at the bottom you can hit. Hickory is not a particularly stable wood, so get good penetration on those nailers, staples might even work better if they will sink flush. You might even want to glue a second piece of 1/2" to the back side of the nailer to make it 1" thick between studs, just let it go into the wall, nail it on with brads. This will give your finish nails more holding power, and you will need holding power to keep hickory flat in a bathroom if humidity and/or is present. I am currently making a small run of hickory "engineered" flooring as a replacement for some solid hickory that went bonkers over radiant heat last year. Hickory is beautiful, but not so stable.