Pull the bottom edge of the panel about 6 inches from the wall and push a block behind the sheet.
Paneling on walls need to be nailed into studs.
Apply adhesive to the framing in a wavy pattern.
For example if you are working with tongue and groove paneling that aligns with the studs in your wall you can nail each panel into the wall right above the tongue.
Position the panel on the wall leaving a 1 4 inch space at the bottom and drive the four nails partway into the wall.
Most walls are framed with studs on either 16 or 24 centers.
Drive four finishing nails through the top edge of the panel.
Further more you can drill a small hole in the paneling to verify if the stud is there.
With unfinished walls you can nail the panel sheets right onto the studs or blocks of wood nailed between the studs.
When you don t have any other options you can sometimes tell where a stud is by knocking on the wall.
The top and the bottom of the wainscoting are held in place by a cap rail and a baseboard nailed into the studs.
You may need to cut your beadboard to fit these areas.
It shouldn t be all the difficult to locate the studs.
Drive the nails in at a slight angle to avoid splitting off the panel s tongue.
If one of the walls you are paneling has a doorway remove the trim around the door by prying it off.
When nailing into plastered walls you may need to attach furring strips first to give a secure place for the nail to grab hold.
The standard method of installation is to install two nails over each wall stud.
For solid board paneling choose tongue and groove or shiplap stock.
Where paneling is applied over furring strips make sure the furring is nailed or screwed firmly through the wall finish and into the wall studs with 10d common nails or 3 in.
Electrical boxes are usually nailed to the side of a stud removing the receptacle cover should verify that.
A dense muffled knock means there s a stud behind your knuckles whereas a more hollow sound probably means no stud.
For this approach the nail head is covered making it possible to use a greater variety of nail types.
Be sure to take into account light switches and power outlets.
A residential stud finder will do fine.
There may be a need for some preparation.
Nail directly into the studs when installing your paneling over existing paneling wallpapered walls or surfaces which will not support adhesive.
The studs in your walls are shallow enough to get picked up on their sensors.