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Woodworkers - need help with accent wall finish


tigerwoodKhorns

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I have several walls in my house that I want to finish as accent walls in wood. 

 

One option is reclaimed wood, but I want a somewhat smooth finish.  If I buy reclaimed wood, I will need to run through a planer or sand quite a bit, but will it retain its look?  See the first picture.

 

If not, what type of wood do I need to use for something like the second or third picture? 

 

 

Reclaimed wood 3.jpg

wood wall finish 2.jpg

wood wall finish 3.jpg

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3 hours ago, tigerwoodKhorns said:

One option is reclaimed wood, but I want a somewhat smooth finish.  If I buy reclaimed wood, I will need to run through a planer or sand quite a bit, but will it retain its look?  See the first picture.

That's part of the problem, reclaimed wood if planed and sanded alot will not look the same as before you planned. Everytime I planed old reclaimed wood it lost all the color and texture it started with and looked like new wood for the most part.

I would think you need to start with something fairly new to get it like the second 2 pictures, like suggested slabs from a sawmill would be ideal but would need a pretty good bit of work to get really smooth but would be amazing. 

Almost any boards no matter the species planned and ran through a joiner could make either of the second pictures, the jointer would make the edges fit perfectly to be seamless for that look. The species only matters for the look of the grain, the color you like could be had with almost any wood, you can change the color but not the grain pattern.

 

If you like the reclaimed look (I do) you could just sand to get off the really rough parts and go with that, it's a really nice look if that would fit what your going for, in the order of your pictures is the order of my favorite look, best on top and i like the second also. The third is cool also but  a more finished archecital look to me ?

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34 minutes ago, 7heavenlyplaces said:

Barnwood looks great planed 20-40% and stain color augmented thereafter. 

I have no experience staining like that but have see pictures of old wood recolored to look like it was still the old finish, and it looked really good. I don't get to use real aged barnwood much it's becoming hard to find and can be more expensive than new wood in some cases. I do love the look.

 

There are many tricks and I have alot to learn.

One thing I did try was burning the wood with a torch like they sweat pipes with, then lightly sanding. It turned plain old appearance grade pine 2"x12"s a darker color with no stain, and if overdone just sand a little more and it gets lighter.

I was making a bar top for an outside covered bar, so I put probably 12-13 coats of marine spar varnish, 5 years ago and it still looks the same after much abuse, it held up better than I expected..

 

before and after pictures, I don't have a better pic after but you can see the color

yard 2.jpg

yard 4.jpg

yard 6.jpg

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2 minutes ago, Ceptorman said:

I saw an accent wall in a new home a while back that looked very nice. They ran the wood flooring right up one of the walls. It looked better than it sounds.

I've seen laminate flooring used for accent walls as well.  it does look nice.  I have one room in our house that I was eventually thinking about trying this in.

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17 minutes ago, CECAA850 said:

I've seen laminate flooring used for accent walls as well.  it does look nice.  I have one room in our house that I was eventually thinking about trying this in.

I work for this company and there are many choices to choose from.  Avoid the big box home centers as they have a lot of crap. I'd recommend Prosource Wholesale Floorcoverings in Vegas for a good selection and low price.

https://shawfloors.com/flooring/laminate

 

Shaw also makes hardwood in lots of styles as well.

https://shawfloors.com/flooring/hardwood

 

Here's a couple of nice videos...

 

 

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9 hours ago, dtel said:

I have no experience staining like that but have see pictures of old wood recolored to look like it was still the old finish, and it looked really good. I don't get to use real aged barnwood much it's becoming hard to find and can be more expensive than new wood in some cases. I do love the look.

 

There are many tricks and I have alot to learn.

One thing I did try was burning the wood with a torch like they sweat pipes with, then lightly sanding. It turned plain old appearance grade pine 2"x12"s a darker color with no stain, and if overdone just sand a little more and it gets lighter.

I was making a bar top for an outside covered bar, so I put probably 12-13 coats of marine spar varnish, 5 years ago and it still looks the same after much abuse, it held up better than I expected..

 

before and after pictures, I don't have a better pic after but you can see the color

yard 2.jpg

yard 4.jpg

yard 6.jpg

 

Wow. That pine came out beautiful. 

 

Would Deft work instead of the marine varnish?  This is for interior finishing so the durability is not as important. 

 

 

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1 hour ago, TasDom said:

I work for this company and there are many choices to choose from.  Avoid the big box home centers as they have a lot of crap. I'd recommend Prosource Wholesale Floorcoverings in Vegas for a good selection and low price.

https://shawfloors.com/flooring/laminate

 

Shaw also makes hardwood in lots of styles as well.

https://shawfloors.com/flooring/hardwood

 

Here's a couple of nice videos...

 

 

This may be the way to go.  I don't know why I didn't think of just using hardwood flooring.

 

 

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OK, I like this stuff, but what is "engineered hardwood"? 

 

https://www.flooranddecor.com/engineered-hardwood-wood/tobacco-trail-acacia-handscraped-locking-engineered-hardwood-941143803.html#start=33

 

The description claims that it is hardwood but durable. I just do not want to purchase a laminate or fake wood. 

 

I also like this, it is Hardwood, but I think that I prefer the one above. 

 

https://www.flooranddecor.com/solid-hardwood-wood/natural-tigerwood-smooth-solid-hardwood-100120740.html#sz=240&showBrand=true&start=1

 

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Engineered often means a substrate of mdf or similar composite with  a layer of real wood on the top,  but thicker than a veneer.

 

A friend of mine manages a Shaw plant here in Tennessee that makes that kind of flooring.

 

Bruce

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My experience with engineered hardwood is limited to flooring. In terms of 3/4" thick flooring, the top 1/4" (above the tongue/groove) is solid hardwood and is the same thickness of solid wood that can be sanded and refinished. The bottom 1/2" is generally plywood for stability. MDF is not acceptable IMHO.

 

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17 hours ago, mungkiman said:

My experience with engineered hardwood is limited to flooring. In terms of 3/4" thick flooring, the top 1/4" (above the tongue/groove) is solid hardwood and is the same thickness of solid wood that can be sanded and refinished. The bottom 1/2" is generally plywood for stability. MDF is not acceptable IMHO.

 

 

Hmmm.  I want to be able to put a brad in the tongue and groove section to attach to the wall.  Will it take a brad or does it need to be glued?  If so, how do I glue it to the drywall? 

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31 minutes ago, 7heavenlyplaces said:

Probably neither  brad nor glue🤔.  Securely screwed to studs (with star-head finish screws), brads are too unsubstantial and glue will likely fail (eventually).  Secure mechanical connection is best.

 

The installation videos above state to use brads (to the studs) for solid hardwood and glue for laminate.  I prefer to use brads if I can. 

 

I really do not want screws to show.

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34 minutes ago, tigerwoodKhorns said:

 

The installation videos above state to use brads (to the studs) for solid hardwood and glue for laminate.  I prefer to use brads if I can. 

 

I really do not want screws to show.

Get a keyhole router bit and hang it to screw heads of screws that have been secured to the wall's studs.  The keyhole will be on the back side and nothing will show.  How many keyholes will it take?? It all depends on how heavy that panel is.  I've used several techniques to hang things so that no fasteners or evidence of fasteners are seen...and no plugs to cover the heads of fasteners, either.  Also, how snug you will have it to the wall is dependent upon how far out from the wall the screw-heads are prior to mounting the panel.

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2 hours ago, tigerwoodKhorns said:

 

Hmmm.  I want to be able to put a brad in the tongue and groove section to attach to the wall.  Will it take a brad or does it need to be glued?  If so, how do I glue it to the drywall? 

It will take a nail that's long enough to gain purchase in studs. I personally wouldn't rely on glue.

 

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2 hours ago, HDBRbuilder said:

Get a keyhole router bit and hang it to screw heads of screws that have been secured to the wall's studs.  The keyhole will be on the back side and nothing will show.  How many keyholes will it take?? It all depends on how heavy that panel is.  I've used several techniques to hang things so that no fasteners or evidence of fasteners are seen...and no plugs to cover the heads of fasteners, either.  Also, how snug you will have it to the wall is dependent upon how far out from the wall the screw-heads are prior to mounting the panel.

 

Interesting idea, but I think that the material is only 3/8" thick. 

 

Brads in the tongue that are long enough to hit the studs is the way to go if the material can take it. 

 

 

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