If you need to find an inexpensive way to improve the look of a room paneling may be the way to go. It may not be the most desirable solution, but if you have some damaged areas of your walls, it is a good option to hid them. All you need is the right tools and materials, and of course, a plan in mind.



The options other than paneling are usually dry walling, which is messy and time consuming, or tiling, which does not work in every room, or wall paper, which is not very easy to do properly unless you use self stick.

Paneling is a nice inexpensive option, but it may not be ideal fro every situation, and it also depends upon the kind of paneling you get. You may have to do just as much preparation work to install paneling, such as removing stains, mildew, paint and caulk, as you would have to for the other methods.

If you are just trying to repair lumps or holes in your walls, with the proper tools such as a scraper, plaster, a knife, spackle, clothe sandpaper and paint, you can probably fix the problem if it is on drywall, tiles or vinyl. If you know how to do it and you have the Roth materials, you can fix dents, cracks and holes in walls. You may have to take these steps even if you decide to panel your walls.

There are those who choose paneling to avoid all of this work and are content to put the paneling over all of the cracks, holes, etc. If getting the job done quickly and cheaply is your only consideration, you can do it this way, but just remember that the problems will still be behind the paneling.

It is for this reason that paneling lowers the resale value of a home. Purchasers will not be confident about the materials used in the home. IN addition, lenders base mortgage and equity loans on the value, so your buyer may not get enough mortgage money, or you may not have enough equity to borrow on your home if you decide to.

Some rooms simply cannot do well with paneling, and others look just fine with it. Bathroom walls, for example, should be covered with tiles or paint. If you are recover int the walls in a bath, the best choice is tile, it is the best choice for both the walls and floors in baths since it is so durable. Tiles are one of the most long lasting materials outside of vinyl.

If you already have walls that are paneled, and there are some areas that have cracks or holes, you can consider just repairing instead of replacing the whole wall. You can repair paneled walls with little time, effort or cost.

There are so many different options when it comes to improving your home. Therefore, if you are improving your walls, you have to take many things into consideration such as the cost, the amount of work involved and the impact on the value of your home.