I have a home built 1907 to 1914. The interior walls are like layers of shirt cardboard, covered with a brown layer. What is this type of wall material called? Primer doesn't prevent a brownish bleed-through. It cracks and when I pull of old paint layers I can see the original paint - so even the original paint didn't stick well to it. What kind of paint should I use to prevent bleed-through and get it to stick and not buckle and crack? Thanks

can you post a pic?

Thanks for replying. I don't think a picture would show much. I can see the waxy dark brown (like dark chocolate) surface. All the panels are warped and wavy (which I kind of like). They don't feel solid like wall board or plywood. They feel like lots of layers of shirt cardboard with the dark covering. Our contractor said we could never blow insulation into the walls because it would blow out the panels. He called it sackett board but I've read some about that and it doesn't seem the same. It's attached to studs with large flat headed nails and the edges are covered with wood trim. Thanks again.

I have 4 photos. 5936 bleed shows a brownish color bleeding thru at least 2 coats of primer and many finish coats.

This one shows cracking. Cracks are about 3-4 inches long.

The paint is buckling. It kind of makes a ridge. These cracks can be a foot long.

This shows the brown bare wall. It has almost a waxy feel. This next paint job, I'm going to rough it up some more with sandpaper and see if that helps.

Hi. I'm afraid that even if you were to repair these walls, you may still be faced with further damage somewhere else (in another area), down the road. I think that if you were extremely careful with the blown in insulation, you could do that, however, you would be going to a lot of trouble with something that may be eventually replaced, anyway.
While it may not sound like something you would be interested in hearing, your best bet would be to tear down the walls, and replace with sheetrock. This may be of some added time and expense, however, you will no longer have to worry about buckling walls, and you should gain some piece of mind. I hope this helps. Tim

Helo All,
I have to agree wirth Tim on this subject as houses were built in those early days with out the thought of using insulations and the paper/cardboard was meant to be like using plastic over the insulation today. It was intended to be a wind break behind the lath and plaster. However there were scrupulous builders who just went on and finished the walls with only the backing of the carboard and built up layers of paint or even white wash to save them selves a buck or two. So though it will be a rather costly affair your best bet will be to strip all of this mess from the studs and apply insulation in between the fire stops that you will find in the walls as this structure was built in what is called a balloon style of framing structure where the studs ran from the foundation all the way to the top of the side walls of the house. Also from the picture of the ceiling it would also need replaced.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones

The walls aren't just cardboard-ish. They are covered with a shiny brown thick paper. Is that what you would expect? The room has plate rail throughout and 4" mahogany strips vertically about every 2.5 feet. The trim makes a grid on the ceiling. The offset between the wall and the face of the strips is less than 1/2". We've never looked behind the wall to see if lath is already there. If we removed the wall, added lath, then plastered, the new wall would stick out further than the trim, right? With all the trim to work around, this could be a monster of a job.

Katherine

Hi. Your best bet would be to hire a local contractor, to examine, and determine the best course of action to take. A professional would be able to show you what to do. After taking notes, you will find it much easier, and a much less daunting task. I am 100% sure you have the abilities to perform the necessary improvements to your home. By doing this task yourself, you will greatly improve both your home's value, and your self-confidence, with regards to home improvement matters. Thanks. Tim