Masonite

[ETD66SS]

I'm one of those that hate drywall. I hate installing it. I hate taping it and mudding it. I hate priming it. I hate painting it and I hate the way it looks when it's done. I hate pretty much everything about it. So with that understanding, I would tell you to do anything but get involved with drywall or mud or spackle or any of that stuff.
Instead invest in a brad nailer or finish nailer, a nice chop saw with a fine blade and redo all the trim. Or cover it all with sheet aluminum. Or paint it for the million and first time.

I may just do this.

When I said new trim, I meant I will be making the trim. I logged many maple trees from my lot years ago, and last winter cut it up into boards on my brothers saw mill. It's nice & dry now, so I plan to plane it all down. He has a shaper too, so I can make the floor & ceiling trim. I just did not want to try to shape the corner trim, so wanted to tape & mud the seams. It sounds like that will be more work than just making new trim...

I also hate just about everything that has to do with drywall...

What I find very odd about the house is, the ceilings are drywall, only the walls are masonite.

 

[Iowachild]

Within the past year or so there was an article in either Fine Homebuilding or JLC about painting over the photo finish type of paneling by taping and mudding the corners and filling the grooves with hot mud, so I would think you could tape and mud your corners.

 

[ETD66SS]

Within the past year or so there was an article in either Fine Homebuilding or JLC about painting over the photo finish type of paneling by taping and mudding the corners and filling the grooves with hot mud, so I would think you could tape and mud your corners.

Hmm, I get the feeling maybe I don't have masonite?

When I pull a piece of trim off, the original surface is brown. The material is 1/2in thick, and it's quite fibrous. There is no sheen or photo finish to the original material. It's a thick piece of fiber/hardboard. And holes where nails are for hanging wall items look like that of holes in cardboard, you get that vulcano effect of paper fibers sticking up out around the perimeter of the hole.

The home inspector called it masonite, so that's what I was assuming it is. The more I hear ppl responding to my issue, the more I'm thinking you guys are talking about something else?

 

[kennyd]

Hmm, I get the feeling maybe I don't have masonite?

When I pull a piece of trim off, the original surface is brown. The material is 1/2in thick, and it's quite fibrous. There is no sheen or photo finish to the original material. It's a thick piece of fiber/hardboard. And holes where nails are for hanging wall items look like that of holes in cardboard, you get that vulcano effect of paper fibers sticking up out around the perimeter of the hole.

The home inspector called it masonite, so that's what I was assuming it is. The more I hear ppl responding to my issue, the more I'm thinking you guys are talking about something else?

Its Homasote

 

[dave1949]

Maybe you could remove the Homasote one wall at a time, put some new material on of your choice, fix up the insulation, vapor barrier, wiring, make new trim etc. as your budget allows.

It would be a shame to make nice maple moldings and trim and put it over Homasote.
Dave.

 

[ETD66SS]

Maybe you could remove the Homasote one wall at a time, put some new material on of your choice, fix up the insulation, vapor barrier, wiring, make new trim etc. as your budget allows.

It would be a shame to make nice maple moldings and trim and put it over Homasote.
Dave.

This house is supposed to be a 5 year plan and a stepping stone to build a new home at my 63 acres of land.

I understand abut doing things right, I get myself into trouble doing that a lot, but in this case, the walls look good as they are, I just wanted to mud the corners instead of making trim. To be honest, I do not like the look of that much trim in a house.

Also, all the dimples where this was nailed to the studs are filled in, what would have been used back in 1954, just some type of spackle?

 

[Scooby074]

Also, all the dimples where this was nailed to the studs are filled in, what would have been used back in 1954, just some type of spackle?

that would be my guess. a vinyl type spackle or whatever was similar back then

 

[dave1949]

This house is supposed to be a 5 year plan and a stepping stone to build a new home at my 63 acres of land.

I understand abut doing things right, I get myself into trouble doing that a lot, but in this case, the walls look good as they are, I just wanted to mud the corners instead of making trim. To be honest, I do not like the look of that much trim in a house.

Also, all the dimples where this was nailed to the studs are filled in, what would have been used back in 1954, just some type of spackle?

Well, then you have a plan to follow, I understand. Don't know what people would have used to patch fiber board. It was originally used as an exterior wall sheathing with shingles over it or the like in 1954.

I would try a small test area by sealing it with a stain killing primer, then mud over that and see how you like the result. That would be a $15 experiment and probably worth more than any advice.
Dave.

 

[herd]

My son has a house that was built shortly after WWII and it has the same wall covering. It is a fibreboard type product and will accept sheetrok mud and bonds well. I am not sure but Masonite may not have been developed until the late 50s.Also, since I have a good bit exp with sheetrock, it has been my exp that the mud will stick to almost anything that has been painted with latex, esp flat wall latex paint. Using a "hot mud" might help but is typically used to expedite curing time for the second applicatioin.

You can use fibreglass reinforced tape on your seams but will still need paper tape in your corners. I see no reason why you can't finish it out as nice as sheetrock, however, it may take an entire "skim coat" which would not be a bad think anyway (for uniformity).

FWIW, I have redone many a damaged wall with sheetrock mud and tape and made 'em all look like new. I much prefer rock over panelling. What makes a sheetrock dull is the paint, which so many people go for all "off white." My present house (and last house) is about 2000sf; I did the entire inside of this house myself, including sheetrock, painting trimming, wiring, etc. I had never allowed my wife to use many colors in our previous house, thinking of resale value and that "off-white" doesn't offend, it just doesn't inspire.

Well, on this one, I told her to choose any colors you want. Bottom line, I think we have every color in a bubble gum machine, and no walls are boring!

 

[Pops15]

This house is supposed to be a 5 year plan and a stepping stone to build a new home at my 63 acres of land.

I understand abut doing things right, I get myself into trouble doing that a lot, but in this case, the walls look good as they are, I just wanted to mud the corners instead of making trim. To be honest, I do not like the look of that much trim in a house.

Also, all the dimples where this was nailed to the studs are filled in, what would have been used back in 1954, just some type of spackle?

What you have is Homasote. It was made for interior use. Its very similar to fiber board exterior wall sheathing like Celotex except it doesn't have asphalt in/on it. The original nails were probably covered with drywall mud, or possibly spackling. Use USG or Sheetrock all purpose mud and paper tape. Stay away from the vinyl or fiberglass mesh tape! You might want to consider hiring a professional. Taping and finishing isn't that difficult once you've done it for awhile, but most weekend warriors don't feather their joints out enough. Also, a pro can do the job much faster than you'll be able to. Thats often an important consideration.
If you're only going to be in the house for 5 years why not buy new trim and save the custom stuff for the new house?
Pops