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1/4 mfd bead board

NEXTLEVEL | Posted in Construction Techniques on December 29, 2007 04:09am

We are presently remodeling a double wide mobile home.  Yes, we will do just about anything.  Actually, the home is in great shape with many external improvements.

The owner wants us to put 1/4 mdf pre-primed bead board over the existing paneling.  I have never put this stuff up and was wondering if anyone out there knows the best way to fasten it to the wall.

I can hit all the studs but I don’t know whether to use the brad nailer or use paneling nails.

James

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Replies

  1. Piffin | Dec 29, 2007 05:05pm | #1

    Does the stuff even exist?
    Seems to me that the patern would run 3/16" deep leaving the sheet pretty weak to handle!

    If you only use the pinner, you would need glue or the smooth pins would pull right out. Then you get to the Q how well is the previous attached...will adding the weight of the new make the old peel away from the studs?

     

     

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    1. Adrian_W | Dec 30, 2007 06:52am | #7

      I've seen a 1/4" MDF beadboard....the stuff I've seen was dne in 4 x 8's, with a bead pattern basically scraped down the length every few inches....not very nice. No lap joint, you just cut it to fit and face nail it. I won't use it unless forced, I can get a nice 3/8 x 6 or 8" MDF plank with a lap joint, and that is what I use.

      This is the Adrian from Nova Scotia....posting from away under some old log in.

       

       

      1. Piffin | Dec 30, 2007 07:49am | #9

        There was a guy near here with a CNC machine routering out those in 1/2" stock that didn't look half bad. He moved on down the road though 

         

        Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

        1. johnharkins | Dec 30, 2007 10:54am | #10

          I just used a product available at HomeDepot
          name could have been Cottage ceiling board or the like
          packaged maybe 3 wide by five deep 8" long
          beautiful heavy primed 1/4" by 3" tongue & groove
          this ceiling area was mixed cathedral & some under living spacemajority was soundboard over 2 X material then 1 X 4" strapping 8d nailed to 2 Xs then beadboard pinned w/ 3/4" to strapping at about 20" centersI think I glued the first piece but the t&g was so tight you could snap it in & let it go with no chance of it falling outI was very pleased w/ the product and for sure would use it again if someone wanted painted beadboard / better primer & a lot less dust than other mdf products i.e. 3/4" or 1/2" I have used

        2. Adrian_W | Dec 30, 2007 04:48pm | #11

          Come to think of it, those planks I was thinking of may be 1/2", not 3/8.

           

    2. User avater
      Gene_Davis | Dec 30, 2007 08:11pm | #12

       

      Does the stuff even exist?

       

      I watched it installed on either an episode of TOH or Bob Vila.  Construction adhesive and a few pins.  Came out looking really good, actually.

      My cab door suppliers offer 1/4" ply or MDF center panels with various "panel routs" to mimic molded beadboard.  The detailing is very good, but the depth of the grooves is shallower than on E&CB pine or cedar or fir boards.

      1. NEXTLEVEL | Dec 31, 2007 03:49am | #13

        Thanks for all the replies.  This product is not flimsy by any means.  There will be a 3 1/2" base and a crown.  I am going over existing mobile home paneling that is stapled very well.  I think I will try the narrow crown stapler and the brad nailer and see which one works best.

        If I use glue then I will  be gluing over the existing paneling.  Since it is fastened well I suppose that will not be a problem.  I could go with the 3/8 beaded plywood but then I would encounter a lot more work in the priming and sanding.

        James

        1. BUIC | Jan 02, 2008 10:13am | #18

            If you're going to use a narrow crown stapler, try using divergent staples.  The chisel cut on the legs are in opposite directions.  When you shoot them each leg goes away from the other. It's like you're toenailing with a staple.

            I use these alot. They get a great bite when there's not alot to grab under what you're installing...buic

    3. rlrefalo | Dec 31, 2007 06:09pm | #15

       Used it alot . !/2 inch thick , nice bead detail. Made in both mdf and ultralight(supposed to be waterproof). If anything it's too perfect, I like the variation of individual boards. But it does go up real quick. You can get the bead running in either direction too. But to the OP use adhesive and try to keep as many nails hidden as you can, ie, behind chair rail and base. This material lays pretty flat , so you shouldn't need too many nails.

      1. Piffin | Jan 01, 2008 03:23pm | #16

        I know about the 1/2" and that it is fine.Finding it in 1/4" was what I questioned.
        Gene has seen it though, but I am sure the detailing cuts cannot be as deep as the good 1/2" stuff.regardless of the thickness he uses, it will be too heavy for pins unless they are ring shank like panel nails are. Pins or staples only with no glue means it will be falling off the walls soon. 

         

        Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

        1. rlrefalo | Jan 01, 2008 06:32pm | #17

           Guess I didn't see that. Yeah 1/4 inch can't be too good.

  2. User avater
    MarkH | Dec 29, 2007 05:25pm | #2

    Panelling nails are very hard so they penetrate masonite easy, and they hold very well.  So my vote is for panelling nails, and adhesive.  The masonite beadboard has very shallow groves but still I would not nail in them so as to avoid damaging them.

  3. User avater
    Matt | Dec 29, 2007 05:36pm | #3

    I haven't used the masonite (MDF) version only the 1/4" plywood beadboard. 

    Assuming it's gonna be painted, I'd use a 1/4" crown stapler.  Don't do this unless your stapler has a depth adjustment, as you are going to have to get it set just right.

    Or, how about nailing it up with a finish nailer and then hand nailing it off fully with the panel nails?

    1. MSA1 | Dec 31, 2007 06:39am | #14

      I thought the stuff was junk. The trim nailer blew right through it and since it was prefinished it was really difficult hiding seams.

      I installed it on a bar for a GC I subbed for occcasionally. The HO bought it and the GC didnt like the install. I told him I just put in what he gave me I wanted to use real wood.

      We wanted to just nail top and bottom under the trim but the bar front was angled (negative 15deg) so it would've sagged. There was no backer, just studs.

  4. MattSwanger | Dec 29, 2007 05:44pm | #4

    Whats the new trim going to be like.  Base and crown?  Just base? 

    If both I would use a medium crown stapler on both top and bottom.  Lots of glue in the field and a few fasteners up the seams.  Narrow crown staples are a good suggestion by Matt. 

     

    Woods favorite carpenter

     

  5. mike4244 | Dec 29, 2007 07:54pm | #5

    I installed mdf beadboard a couple of times. I used panel adhesive and brad nails top and bottom to hang it. The 1/4" mdf is very fragile, mitering outside corners won't work. The corner will crumble. I used an  outside and inside corners ,something I never did before.I tried scribing and fitting inside corners, was a waste of time,probably should have caulked instead of a molding.

    mike

    1. Dan019 | Dec 30, 2007 05:55am | #6

      I did a job for a HO back in Oct. using the same mdf bead board. This guy was re-doing his basement after some flooding and basically didn’t have the time to finish it. He did it the same way as some have described, nailing it off with the panel nails and no adhesive. With the elevated humidity levels from the flooding the panels expanded and buckled out and there was no way of getting them to lie flat after that.So when I put up the remaining panels I used liq. Nails (or equivalent) and finish trim nails from my paslode b/c that’s what I had with me, although pin nails would have worked better.The way to do it is put on the adhesive and then shot in your nails in an “X” pattern. Basically you shot in 2 nails everywhere you would be shooting in a nail and they would be crossing each other. This way the nails cant pull out as easily and you only need them to hold the panel in place until the glue sets. After the glue sets, the panel and the wall basically has become one unit. This is assuming the wall structure you are attaching to is still structurally sound.DanBTW I re-did all of his work too, b/c it would have reflected badly on me. 

  6. mike_maines | Dec 30, 2007 07:17am | #8

    http://www.beadboard.com/Pages/frameset.html

    I'd use construction adhesive and an 18ga nailer.  Bigger nail holes are hard to hide on mdf, unless you Bondo them.

     

  7. cargin | Jan 02, 2008 03:36pm | #19

    NEXT

    My only concern is the adhesive. I have on occasion had trouble getting adhesive to stick to the prefinished panels in a MH.

    It was a bathroom though. It may have been soap film.

    Rich

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