Thread: fake timber panel walls

Sorry to burst your bubble, but no. Absolutely not.

MDF cover sheets are not suitable for any purpose other than packaging material and disposable templates; they don't have the waxy smooth surface of "fit-for-sale" MDF, they're fuzzy, unsandable and unsealable.

I strongly recommend you run far, far away from this project, I don't foresee anything good coming your way from it

Wall paper...

I am assuming you are donating your labour for this project? if not maybe choose a more budget appropriate lining

bugga, ok cheers, yes donating my labour

would quality MDF sheets make a difference?

Proper MDF is probably workable, I do like the wallpaper suggestion from russ

they are trying to coverup the besser blocks in a large room, how youd fix wall paper I dont think so, another option would be a tinted colour plaster or concrete slurry render

No....fix the MDF to the wall, then paper it.

Render would probably be the least effort, just depends if they like the look

My only question - mainly because I haven't tried it - would the water in the glue for the wallpaper cause an issue on MDF? i.e. cause it to warp - particularly as it's only going on one side?

If we do go MDF and anything it will be sealed both sides and all edges before anything.

As long as it's fixed solidly to the wall I think it will be fine

You said Besser Blocks, is this a newish wall with the appropriate concrete mix in it? Or hollow, maybe a retaining wall. Check that whatever you line it with is not going to be affected.

Some walls need to be sealed before lining

Why not Gyprock? An 8’x4’ sheet is cheaper than a sheet of 6mm MDF, and to affix it you just need to throw dabs of glue at the wall and press it on. Jointing tape is cheap and you need to throw a skim of plaster over the joins but it’s fairly easy; certainly not rocket surgery. Then you can just paint it.

Originally Posted by Tonyz

they are trying to coverup the besser blocks in a large room, how youd fix wall paper I dont think so, another option would be a tinted colour plaster or concrete slurry render

either of which is a fair amount of work for you.

Tinting "plaster" to a consistent colour to do a whole room requires multiple batches of "plaster" all exactly the same tint. Doable, but a huge amount of work for you, especially if you are donating your labour. More usual would be to cover the "plaster" with two coats of paint -- paint on sealer followed by the appropriately tinted top coat.

do not use concrete slurry render. The material I think you are referring to using is a render consisting of a mix of lime and cement and sand, screeded onto the wall. It is not a concrete slurry. From memory it's a two stage process: the first stage has a lot more sand in the mix; the 2nd stage has a lot more lime in the mixture.

Given your time constraint -- your free labour is a time constrained cost -- Chief Tiff's suggestion of Gyprock has a lot to merit it. Cheaper than MDF, relatively easy to fix, and can be papered over or painted. Disadvantage of gyprock is that it's easily damaged.


other thoughts -- is there a reason that the besser blocks can not just be painted?

Have you considered "cement bagging" the besser blocks.
I've not seen it done, but getting on for 30 years ago I saw the results on a house in Canberra. Cement bagged walls can be painted over, but it's probably best to pay a professional to do the "cement bagging". Which might be outside your client's budget.