Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Apr 15, 2000 06:55am | #10

   *
   We're installing flat sawn red oak tongue & groove wainscoat on the project. Our spec. doesn't specify back sealing of the material before installation. (Its 1/2" x 5"). It's dry material and I'm concerned about cupping/warping. The spec refers to AWI Quality Stds. but I don't have a copy and don't know if this procedure is called out in that either. Any opinions or experiences would be helpful.

   Thanks,

   Eric

1. 
   Guest_ | Apr 10, 2000 03:19pm | #1

   *I've made a lot of mistakes with wainscotting, the biggest being that I didn't let it acclimate to the house long enough before installation although I did seal the back. The sealing is an important part of the installation to prevent a host of problems, but don't trust that it's dry enough unless you're willing to come back and do it again.SHG

1. 
   Guest_ | Apr 10, 2000 05:02pm | #2

   *SHG,Thanks for the response. The stock was milled back in November. Been racked in the shop since then. Should be bone dry. They're staining and sealing prior to installation. I shamed them into back sealing I guess because when I went out to check up on them they were coating both sides. Carps are having a little trouble with some of the stock that has cupped since milling. I'm sure we'll work that out too.Thanks again,Eric

1. 
   Guest_ | Apr 10, 2000 05:13pm | #3

   *I have installed a sh*tload of Wainscot, as I do historical remodeling. Here are my tips:1. Let the stuff acclimate to the home/building where it is to be located. I'd give 10 days stickered in a pile.2. If the stock in flat grain, then the panels should not be too wide. Flat grain expands and contracts twice as much as verticle grain, and 4x as much as quarter sawn. Wider stock means cups and splits.3. Real deep dados on the stiles and rails, so when it shrinks you'll have some cushion. I install some foam rope (like you would use for weather stripping on the bottom dado, so it just doesn't sink.4. Moisture meter the stuff, and make sure it is bone dry. Of course, if you are working in Alabama, bone dry might not be a good thing. But I would meter the stuff.5. Yeah, back seal the stuff, to avoid one side absorbing more moister than the other.6. Most folks use construction cement to attach the panels. I let them float.

1. 
   Guest_ | Apr 11, 2000 01:30am | #4

   *Eric,

   As a matter of course its always best to seal as many sides as possible in any application of wood. Usually after you take the time to do this, you fail when you cut the wood to fit and don't seal the cut ends. The simplest way I found to handle this is to have some shellac on hand when doing the installation. You can just wipe some or (spray some) on the cut ends and install the piece.

   View Image © 1999-2000"The first step towards vice is to shroud innocent actions in mystery, and whoever likes to conceal something sooner or later has reason to conceal it." Aristotle

2. 
   Guest_ | Apr 11, 2000 05:10am | #5

   *Eric,We have never back-sealed anything on the interior of a house, and we never will. We have also never had a problem by not doing so. It's a good idea for exterior wood where the weather is a factor, and sometimes that doesn't do any good either.Ed. Williams

3. 
   Guest_ | Apr 11, 2000 06:18am | #6

   *Would the fact that Joe is in New York and Ed. is in Texas have any bearing here?Rich Beckman

4. 
   Guest_ | Apr 11, 2000 12:33pm | #7

   *I can't actually vouch that back sealing does anything, but it's so little effort that it seems crazy not to do it rather than risk failure, especially with t&g. Joe's reminder about the cuts, by the way, is important. The end cut is going to take in more moisture than any other, so it's pointless to seal the back and leave the end cut unsealed. But if you've every seen a carpenter handle a paint brush, it's a scary thought. Not that they can't be trained: "The fuzzy side goes away from you..."SHG

5. 
   Guest_ | Apr 11, 2000 03:01pm | #8

   *Paint brushes got fuzzy sides???

6. 
   Guest_ | Apr 12, 2000 02:10am | #9

   *It should,Different areas of the country have different levels of humidity. However, I know that in New Mexico and Colorado, where my siblings live, they don't, as a rule, install air conditioning. It could be that in Texas where both the summer and winter can be cruel, we have year-round climate control. Therefore, the climate doesn't have that much of an effect on the interior of our houses. We keep our houses here between 68 and 72 degrees year round with the help of HVAC. I feel that back-priming interior wood working is not worth the expense here. But it could be worth the while someplace else.Ed. Williams

7. 
   geoff_murray | Apr 15, 2000 06:55am | #11

   *I've done a bunch of restoration work around here lately (Victoria, B.C.), 100 year old homes or so and very little (none) of the trim inside or out was back primed or sealed. And it didn't show any worse for wear, or any problems that this could have prevented.Much of the success of the materials holding up well is that it was all very good, clear, tight grain fir or cedar or cherry. And generally it was installed with room to move or drain, not with everything caulked tight. We have a very wet winter and medium to dry summer, so there is expansion/contraction considerations.Now we back prime all exterior application, and try to allow the wood to move and breathe. Generally we don't back prime or seal interior trim, and as long as it has been acclimated and well installed, it has been fine. I've never seen a floor layer back seal his flooring.An exception is applications in bathrooms especially or any place where high moisture is expected.