I am adding beadboard as wainscoting to a room and am considering using
Nantucket Beadboard, which is MDF. The walls are now skim coated
drywall. Their instructions say to use adhesive to attach the board to
the wall but I do not want to do that. If, at some point in the
future, another remodel is done, I don't want to have to destroy the
wall to get it off. I'd prefer, since it is getting painted anyway,
to face nail the panel into the studs with finish nails. The walls are
pretty flat and plumb so I don't think nailing strips will be
necessary. Does nailing and no adhesive sound like it would be ok to
do?

Second, is it better to use one thickness of panel over another? They
have 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2". I'm thinking of going with the 1/4" to
minimize shrinkage.

Which brings up my last question, what is the best way to handle the
face and corner joints to avoid gaps?

Thanks,

George

i'm not sure what you mean about srinkage,because mdf will not srink.i
used the 1/4" in my bathroom with no problem.it came in strips about 4"
wide,a double beadbord if you will.as for the corners and face
joints,the best way to handle those are to scribe them and if there are
any irregularities then use caulk.

woodarama wrote:
i'm not sure what you mean about srinkage,because mdf will not srink.i
used the 1/4" in my bathroom with no problem.it came in strips about 4"
wide,a double beadbord if you will.as for the corners and face
joints,the best way to handle those are to scribe them and if there are
any irregularities then use caulk.

I used 1/4" MDF beadboard in our kitchen. Good scribing and a bit of
caulk work just fine for the corners since it is painted. I cut the
beadboard at the grooves and butted it together so the joints do not
show. I also cut it so that the grooves/beads were aligned with studs
and used a finish nail gun to hold it in place. Both the chair rail
and baseboard fly over the beadboard and I have had no bulges at the
seams or anywhere else. By the way, you can nail it all along the sill
plate under the baseboard.

Jim