Help: How to repair cracks in plywood walls

[Chris E.]

I have a room in my house where the walls just seem to be made of
sheets of plywood nailed to the studs. No drywall, plaster, etc.
When we moved here, it was freshly painted and looked OK, but since
then, vertical cracks have begun to appear where the individual pieces
of plywood meet. This doesn't look very good. We wanted to paint the
room but I'd like to somehow fix the wall first so the cracks don't
just reappear 6 months down the line.

So how should I approach this? I would love to rip out the plywood
and put in drywall or something, but there are six windows in the
room, not to mention baseboard heating, and I really don't have the
experience or comfort level to remove all of that and put it back
correctly. I have no idea how the plywood pieces are *supposed* to be
joined -- even in the places that aren't showing cracks, the joints
don't look very good. They are definitely visible up close and not at
all smooth like I would expect a professional job to be. Is there any
way I can salvage this? If necessary I can post some photos to
illustrate what I am talking about.

One other question: How are you supposed to handle the case where the
plywood meets a door opening? Currently it looks very ugly -- when
the door is open, the edge of the plywood immediately adjacent to the
door jamb is visible. It seems to me there is probably a way to
correct that but I don't know how. Even if I were to put a casing
around the door opening, it would be on top of the plywood and that
edge would still be exposed. Does this make any sense?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

-chris

[Tom Baker]

goo...@connick.com (Chris E.) wrote in message news:<8f56a071.04011...@posting.google.com>...

I think you are seeing the effects of wood shrinking. It will probably
swell in the summer. You could try adding trim over each joint to
cover the crack. Anchor the trim to one piece of ply and let it float
over the other to allow for movement. It might not look so good.

TB

[big jim]

you can install drywall over plywood, as long as you know where the
studs are.

you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

Do it right, no screwing around. This is your home we're talking
about. a major investment. Get a "How To" book, they're a dime a
dozen at home depot. this ain't rocket science. You figured out how
to post on a news group, I can count on one hand how many people I
know who can actually do that.

big jim

[peter]

The cracks come because the plywood expands and contracts with
the weather. It is possible to put something in the cracks that would
compress and expand with the changes. Good caulk should do this.

From your description, however, it sounds like the job is not
a good one so trying to make it look good will be a hassle.

You can put drywall over the plywood. You're right, it will
take some skill and ingenuity to make look good around doors and
windows.

If you don't think your skill level is up to the job, it's
probably not. Drywall take a while to learn to do right. If I had
this problem, I would hire a professional drywaller but tear out the
plywood myself, thereby keeping costs down.

One good reason to replace the plywood is that drywall has
fire-protection value that the plywood does not.

Peter