Need help covering tongue and groove... would polystyrene paper work?

missimaxo

Our house, at one time, was a 1970's 3 bed semi. It has been extended over time (before we bought it) and has a 2 storey side extension with the garage on the ground floor and a bedroom upstairs. It also has a sun room on the back which is open plan to the old kitchen.

Between the sunroom and the garage is a small area approx 1m long, which is a small corridor to the garage, and a downstairs loo (separated by a door). The bodgits who owned the house before this kindly tongue and grooved this entire area (walls and ceiling) - but not very well and it has alsorts of joins and duff bits. It also has pipes running through it (mostly boxed in). Underneath the tongue and groove there are no "proper" plastered walls... the tongue and grove is attached straight to the old external wall of the house/ battens.

To put it bluntly it looks awful.... but it is not an area you sit in - you simply pass through it. I would like to make it nicer but on the cheap. I can't afford to have it plastered as that woud require stripping the area of the T&G, putting up proper battens/ plasterboard and then paying a plasterer and for the size of the space I cannot justify the expense. I wondered whether I could put up that polystyrene wall paper (the grooves are quite small) and then lining paper and paint the area something light and neutral. Would this work or has anyone any better (cheap!) ideas?

Cheers :beer:

ilikewatch

Would it need to be skimmed if you did dryline it? If not it surely wouldn't be that expensive to do -

3 sheets of 8' x 4' plasterboard @ £6 ea. = £18.00
1 can of expanding foam to use as adhesive =£6.00
Total = £24.00

Sgt_Pepper_2

Polystyrene is a fire hazard.

Jaynne

ilikewatch wrote: »

Would it need to be skimmed if you did dryline it? If not it surely wouldn't be that expensive to do -

3 sheets of 8' x 4' plasterboard @ £6 ea. = £18.00
1 can of expanding foam to use as adhesive =£6.00
Total = £24.00

That's what I'd do though I'd batten (whats wrong with the existing battens?) rather than expanding foam it - barely any more cost. If you can't afford to skim it then why not just paper it with some plain paper.

If you really want to bodge it just screw the plasterboard straight on top of the T&G then paper and do the skirting/coving.

Gloomendoom

Sgt_Pepper wrote: »

Polystyrene is a fire hazard.

I've recently looked into this and it seems that modern fire retardant polystyrene tiles and lining paper sold for domestic decorative use are a fire hazard only when overpainted with gloss paint.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT7chxB45Ms

Following assertions that expanded polystyrene tiles were a fire risk, a series of tests were carried out by the Home Office, the Joint Fire Research Organisation and the Rubber and Plastics Research Association. They concluded polystyrene did not represent a significant fire hazard, was difficult to ignite and there was no rapid spread of flame.

The fire resistance of tiles is governed by the flammability of any covering material, paint being the normal covering. For this reason the tiles must not be covered with gloss paint; only emulsion or a fire-retardant paint should be used. Most tiles are now produced with a fire-retardant additive in line with current safety requirements.

missimaxo

Hmmmm.... I think I'll have to think further.

phill99

Sgt_Pepper wrote: »

Polystyrene is a fire hazard.

Modern polystyrene used in the home has fire retarding additives and is no longer a fire risk.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

phill99 wrote: »

Modern polystyrene used in the home has fire retarding additives and is no longer a fire risk.

But still looks as bodged as poorly fitted T&G.

keystone

ilikewatch wrote: »

1 can of expanding foam to use as adhesive =£6.00

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

keystone

Take it down an refit it so that it doesn't look like a bodge then paint it.

Cheers