paper over shiplap

[lakota]

The house in question was constructed in 1938. I have wall papered the den a number of years ago. There is cheesecloth tacked to the shiplap and at the present time the wall covering is mostly tight to the wall; howerer, the existing paper is beginning to crack along the seams of some of the shiplap.

What suggestions do you have for repapering. Is there a product available to put over the wood, do I need to strip the old paper, any other suggestions would be appreciated. We plan to ultimately cover the walls with the heavier embosed paper and paint.

Thanks
Lakota

[Chris Murphy]

There was another post about shiplap here on the BB, and here is my reply:
Re: Wallpaper Installation over Shiplap
I do not want to steer you away from Flexi-Wall, a long-time Guild supporter (and participant at the ATL workshop). If you want to treat the walls in the traditional fashion, which also has practical considerations, you'll want to redo the 'cheesecloth.' Shiplap- boards nailed horizontally as a base for walls & ceilings- expands & contracts with seasonal moisture, or lack thereof. The cheesecloth, or muslin or canvas, was tacked at the edges, and a manila paper (your brown paper) pasted and placed over the corners, like a joint tape. Sizing- an animal glue, now hard to find, or a diluted paste- would then be put over that surface: the cloth would shrink and tighten, and not be as porous. Wallpaper would then be applied, but generally overlapped at the seams, 1/8-14"; papers back then came with a selvedge that was over printed with the pattern. One edge was trimmed 'tight,' to a match point, the other was trimmed to that point plus the 1/8-1/4". As the walls moved, the paper would stay tight to the cloth, the cloth allowed the expansion/contraction of the shiplap. If you used the Flexi-Wall, I'd think you'd have to nail all the shiplap so that the movement would be minimal, or it'd crack right through the surface with time.
There's an expert in San Antonio, Bill Reimers, a Guild member who has published a short, but specific, manual on treating shiplap, for about $10-12:
William L.R. Reimers
The Paperstretchers
5502 Charter Oak
San Antonio, TX 78229
Telephone: (210) 684-8149
Fax:
Email: paprstrchr@sbcglobal.net
Website:
Member Type: Life Member
Chapter: San Antonio

[Boston Hangman]

Chris said:
If you used the Flexi-Wall, I'd think you'd have to nail all the shiplap so that the movement would be minimal, or it'd crack right through the surface with time.

I would think that you could go over with a thin sheetrock or similiar. I do believe you could end up with the above mentioned problem in a long term scenario.
I did work in an old "cottage " here on the North Shore of Boston.
The walls were all drywall over the original shiplap...as I am sure you are finding or found out ,this is crazy stuff:lol: real fun to do any work in the house, ie: electrical , plumbing etc.

Good Luck ,
Mark
p.s. do yourself a favor
look into that manual
William L.R. Reimers
The Paperstretchers
5502 Charter Oak
San Antonio, TX 78229
Telephone: (210) 684-8149
Fax:
Email: paprstrchr@sbcglobal.net

[Chris Murphy]

Well, yeah, you can sheetrock over it, thin, thick or otherwise. As long as it's not adhered to the shiplap, like with a construction adhesive, but rather installed with screws/nails that go into the studs, there'd be no problems (or no more than any other sheetrock situation).