Replace a wall

My wall was made from very thin panel board and was cracking, falling apart, and had water damage on it. We had the outside wall repaired and water tight. I needed to replace the inside wall now. This wall was 1/4″ so thin! I replaced with double the thickness, and added expanding foam!

The bad warping on my old wall.

You can see how wavy the wall was. Also there is a gap on the floor.

Who ever put this wall together used small strips to screw the panels together.

I removed the strip.

Rusted screws! Proof of some water!

Another rusted screw!

So that is what behind my wall looks like. Its the cement foundation. (This house was built in the 1920’s)

The back of the panel board is covered in mold, cracks, and wavy wood.

Every screw had rust on it!

I am only replacing the bottom half of this wall. This is a built in shelf, which disguises the foundation wall behind it.

Very poor quality wall cover and lots of damage.

The right side of the wall.

Look at that huge gap on the left side of my wall! terrible!

Huge gaps between the floor and the wall!

I started to open the wall to inspect more.

This is the thickness of the panel board they used to cover my wall.

I think the little strips are made from the same wood.

This is the wood I used to replace the wall.

I made my measurements and started marking where to cut.

Always double check!

I used my router and cut a grove in the wood.

I adjusted the router to cut the tongue out to match this grove.

Well, its close. I made an adjustment for the final piece.

Here are the first 2 boards cut and the tongue and grove made.

I am also working on the bed project because I will now have my bed on the built in shelf and have my desk under. See how I made the Metal bed legs and how I made the wood bed top.

Now its time for some sanding.

Wow that made a big difference on this wood.

I started with Primer / Sealer to seal the wood. Then I painted with Eggshell white paint.

Ready to paint.

For this I stood the boards up and painted them standing. I wanted to seal all sides with the primer.

Primer time.

1 coat done on one board.

Now to start removing the old wall. Before I was just exploring and measuring to make my plan.

Yucky!

That’s a nasty piece of wood.

So there is a gap under my shelf!

This wood was in really bad shape!

It looks like a leather strap runs through my wall.

Its a concrete wall.

I am glad the existing right side of my room has a grove!!! wow I can make a tongue that can fit into the existing wall!

I added inflating foam around the wall gaps.

I wanted to insulate and prevent bugs from having a hiding place.

Everything around is sealed.

I got out some scrap wood to make spacers for the wall.

I made quick cuts to make small pieces.

The 3 wall pieces are cut, primed and painted!

The spacers are primed.

I pick out the correct screw size.

I drilled the holes and started the screws to make it easier to install.

The first piece added. This will space the new wood wall away from the cement wall.

I cut a test tongue to fit into my existing grove. It worked!

This is the Left wall piece. I added all the proper spacers.

As you can see, It sits much more flush.

Its flush all the way down.

Looking good!

Now for the rest of the wall pieces. Some places needed thinner pieces so I just used screws as spacers.

Everything fits together very well.

I added a piece of trim molding in place to see how it will look.

The tongue piece fits perfectly so I screwed it into place.

All my tongue and groove pieces are glued full length for strength.

Getting ready to cut the trim molding.

I used my metal bed frame to hold up the trim for cutting.

Cuts are made.

Good angles!

It’s installed and nailed into place now!

There is a slight angle cut there to match the existing molding.

I did the normal joining cuts for molding.

My new wall is done!

I now have my TV mounted to the wall above my desk and it supports it well.