Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Another Wood Panel Problem

Last year I put wood paneling on the lower half of a bedroom and painted it with latex house paint. Much to my dismay, my fairly decent carpentry has all come apart at the seams. The chair rail is fine and the base boards are fine, but the wooden slats (purchased as a kit from Lowes) appear to have shrunk leaving small gaps all around the room. I followed the instructions and the boards were acclimated to the house for weeks. (I tend to get ideas and follow up on them much later…) Anyway, does anyone have any advice on how to correct my shrinkage problem? I seem to recall that last summer the boards expanded again to fill the gaps, but I can’t say for sure…

Thanks in advance,
-Mike

Are these slats tongue and groove?

Yes, they are tongue and groove...

If only the tongues are exposed, I would paint them. If the wall beneath is exposed, reinstalling them more tightly would be in order.

Some have a little bit more (1/8 inch) than the tongue exposed, but not much. Painting will definitely help and I intend to do that soon. I’m not sure reinstalling would help because I put them in so tightly the first time. My main concern is the pending expansion as the weather turns warmer. If it does expand this summer to close the gaps, is there anything you can do to minimize the next winter shrinkage? For example, would a fresh coat of Kilz and a new coat of paint help to stabilize the wood and prevent future contractions?

-Mike

It seems that you would have to remove the slats, paint all six sides, then reinstall them to make any difference at this point. Moisture will transpire through the latex anyway. This what causes the expansion and contraction, not the temperature.

Did these just slip together without nailing the tongues?

They slipped together with nails in each board, but not through the tongues. If they expand again to close the gaps, should I nail through the tongues as well? Or will that split the wood when they contract? The tongues are not very thick.

By the way, thanks for all your help with this.

-Mike

No, don't nail them further. The original instructions should have been enough. It seems that the assemby should have endured the changes in humidity.

That is a lot of wood movement to go from snug to 1/8" open.