What to do about old cruddy paneling?

[hackwriter]

I have a Cape Cod House which has paneling in the stairway that goes to the upstairs, and on one wall in the living room. It's not good wood paneling, it's crappy 1970's laminate garbage, and it's warping on some walls, and the nails are coming off of other walls. I could have it taken off, but because the wall only extends about 2/3 of the way down into the living room, there's a wall end with a banister, newell post, and whatever the rungs that connect the banister to the floor are called. So this is going to be a bear to remove.

I could re-attach the pieces that are coming off and paint them, but there are places in the stairway where the paneling was pieced together, and so there are horizontal seams. Is there any way I could tape and spackle these so that they wouldn't crack and paint over them?

Any other suggestions? I hate this stuff.

[Aarno]

Sure, you can patch those pieces up and paint them (etc.) but chances are it's going to look just that. That is, patchwork. But if you're looking to save time and money, that'd be the way to go - I suppose.

Personally, the way you describe that paneling, I'd be more inclined to get rid of it. If it's warping as you say, could be it's thin stuff and maybe it's not firmly secured to the studding. Or maybe there's nothing in back of the paneling to give it support. If the paneling is simply nailed to the studding, then removing it should be no problem. If the installer used construction adhesive, it'll be a little tougher to remove and tear away. But either way, it can be done.

As far as options, there are several. One is, of course, you can patch it - if you can live with that. Another is to replace it. Replace it with drywall or better paneling or whatever. Another option is to first secure it tight to the studding and then cover it. You can cover it with drywall, paneling, beadboard or other products as well. If you decide to cover it, and you have electrical outlets or switches in the stairway, then you'll need to purchase extenders. And if you have basecap molding, it'll have to removed too and then replaced after the wall is covered. But these are relatively minor problems which can be easily overcome. Seems to me that the first thing is for you to decide what 'exactly' it is that you want to do.

Aarno