Wall materials other than sheetrock

[Rich Riddle]

I need to figure out a wall material other than sheet rock to put up in a long hall. It seems as though purse marks keep marring it all the way. I had considered putting in brick face that would act much like sand paper on the purse, but that's a lot of work and SWMBO might not like that idea. Could wainescoting or something similar survive? Any ideas will be appreciated.

[Todd Burch]

Kinda depends on the style of your house. When I build, if I can can swing it financially, I won't have any sheetrock, but only horizontal T&G wood siding on the interior, painted.

Todd

[Mike Cutler]

Yes, Wainscoating, or a chair rail can solve your problem. You just need to pick a suitable wood with a high Janka hardness rating, and apply a repairable finish.
My kitchen floors are bubinga, and the entry way is brazilian ebony. Both were selected to hold up to our Vizslas. Gunnr is a full tilt boogie dog, and so far she hasn't made a dent in either finish with her toenails.
I've heard of a prominent horse trainer, whose barn is built from Jatoba to hold up to the abuse from the horses.
If your wife's purse can inflict more damage to wood than a dog or horse, I'd be looking at a new pocketbook.

[Larry Whitlow]

Buy your wife an expensive Gucci purse. She will probably be more careful. It will cost more than new walls, but won't take as long.

[Thomas Canfield]

I have seen some flooring installed on walls. That would give you a prefinished surface intended for fairly hard use.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Fabric backed vinyl wallcovering would be the safest bet.
It's made to stand up to that type of traffic.

Most paint stores will have samples you can look at to order from.
It comes in both 27" and 54" width.

[Jerome Stanek]

There is a product called durasan that is pre finished that we used in a lot of business lobbys

[Mac McQuinn]

Something in the Green area would be Cork, I've seen it used on floors and it appears to be very durable. I personally would finish it with a non-toxic finish.
Mac

[Mark Bolton]

Not to sound mean but I think Larry has the best solution. Your blaming an inanimate object for the actions of the most advanced species we know of. My suggestion was going to be a fabric panel installed in a manner that would make it easily replaceable but its not a very realistic solution and likely wont fit any residential decor. There is no finish that I know of, even hi-performance aluminized flooring finishes, that are going to look good at hip to shoulder level for long with heavy wear. A floor can look great from 5-6' (eye height) but if you were looking at it at eye level and low incidence light it would show much more.

The bonus to plaster or drywall is its simple to repair. There is no wood finish that is as easy to refresh as a bit of spackle and a fresh coat of paint.

As has been said, a depending on your homes style, maybe the answer is to celebrate the damage. Oiled or waxed pine that looks better and better the more beat up it gets.

Nearly any material you put up is going to wear and the question becomes how easy is it to refresh the surface. Unfortunately a painted surface falls into the top notch for the vast majority.

Maybe you let it get to a point where she is so frustrated with it she opts to change her trajectory? :D

[Todd Burch]

Maybe you let it get to a point where she is so frustrated with it she opts to change her trajectory? :D

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. And what's up with the continued battering via the purse? That's not normal.

[Mark Bolton]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. And what's up with the continued battering via the purse? That's not normal.

I could easily see in a somewhat narrow-ish hall, and with some of the purses I see today (very large), and a hurried pace, the walls getting marred. I guess we'd assume these are not gouges but more just scuffs in the paint similar to what you see down low in some areas with repeated shoe scuffs.

I can understand looking for a more resilient surface but I just dont think there is one that will fit the aesthetic, durability, and re-coat-able, option. A hardwood, or any wood surface for that matter, will likely look better for longer but when its time to repair it sucks. Flying on a coat of paint is a couple hours work even with a little spackling.

[Rich Riddle]

The hall is about three feet wide and quite long with two 90 degree turns. Her purses are rather large and that's being kind. It's more scuffs than anything else and they tend to occur between knee height and waist height. There are LOTS of marks. I have mentioned many times about the continued battering, but in marriage one picks his battles; this isn't one.

I was thinking some sort of brick half way up the wall could more or less stand up to the abuse or even return it to the purses. It seems the consensus that any type of wood won't stand up to the abuse.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Brick on both sides of a narrow hall is going to look like a passage way into a dungeon.

Plus that...after removing one whole wall of fake brick from a kitchen once, I can tell you that's not a job I'd wish on anyone.
I only mention that because if there's even a one in a million chance you eve want to sell the place - the first thing the realtor is going to tell you is "Lose the passage way to the dungeon".

If scuff marks are the main problem, just repaint the bottom half of the wall with a semi gloss and stick up a chair rail to divide the upper and lower.

[Jim Matthews]

I would recommend a skim coat of plaster over a "Blue Board" backer as used in shower stalls.

You only need to retrofit the stretch of hallway where the purse leaves marks.
The undamaged run could be left as is, and blended to fit the new area.

If you're just looking to reinforce the waist-high run where the damage is done,
consider applying MDF wainscotting - it could be held on with just a bead of silicone adhesive.

That way, if you tire of how it looks you could just pry off the offending section and repaint the new piece.
http://www.wainscotingamerica.com/design-order/raised-panel-wainscot.php?gclid=CLHy9MLviLcCFcud4AodgjwACA

Remember, a man with a happy wife can sleep with both eyes closed.

[Rich Riddle]

I would recommend a skim coat of plaster over a "Blue Board" backer as used in shower stalls.

You only need to retrofit the stretch of hallway where the purse leaves marks.
The undamaged run could be left as is, and blended to fit the new area.

Remember, a man with a happy wife can sleep with both eyes closed.
A happy wife? A novel concept but she has a tremendously difficult career and grumpy husband. She's a saint, and that's why I haven't made issue of the continuation of marks.

The stretch of hallway where she leaves marks is the entire length of the hallway. The wainscoting does offer ideas and the link did serve a good source of ideas. She really likes the Craftsman style and they had an example of wainscoting in that style. It appeared very nice but I would likely have to paint instead of finish. Not sure how the purses would mar a finished product.

[Rich Riddle]

Brick on both sides of a narrow hall is going to look like a passage way into a dungeon.

If scuff marks are the main problem, just repaint the bottom half of the wall with a semi gloss and stick up a chair rail to divide the upper and lower.
I found this picture when looking and think it sums up your thoughts about a narrow hallway with brick.

261995

[Jerome Stanek]

Maybe something like snap lock flooring as wainscote. We use a lot of Marlite in drug stores at the entrance it hols up very well.

[Brian Elfert]

The stretch of hallway where she leaves marks is the entire length of the hallway. The wainscoting does offer ideas and the link did serve a good source of ideas. She really likes the Craftsman style and they had an example of wainscoting in that style. It appeared very nice but I would likely have to paint instead of finish. Not sure how the purses would mar a finished product.

I've got an ongoing project of rebuilding the interior of a motorhome. My friend who is helping me convinced me that polyurethane or other finish would hold up better than paint. He said that paint would show damage a lot more. Paint does have the advantage of easily repainting the surface.