HOUSE AND GARDEN 
June, 
DU 
433 
wood or steel, which 
costs one to three 
times as much. The 
finishing of these lin¬ 
ings b an important 
consideration ; two 
coats of paint give a 
good finish to the 
best wall-board, 
whereas three to six 
are necessary on 
steel. No priming 
coat is needed as on 
wood, and this cuts 
the cost of painting 
in two. With wash¬ 
able paints a smooth 
surface is given, 
which, unlike wall 
paper, may be wiped 
like woodwork and 
kept absolutely clean ; 
vermin find no place 
to lodge on wall- 
board, which is another great advantage. 
The fire-and-water-resisting cement forced into wall-board in 
the course of its processing forms an enveloping film not greatly 
unlike paint or varnish, which enables it to withstand water from 
one to four hours. Thus pipe leaks, which cause plaster to bulge 
and fall, have little or no effect upon wall-board, often not even 
discoloring it. Whereas plaster withstands a pressure of only 
fifty to seventy-five pounds per square inch, the best wall-board 
withstands three hundred pounds, so that a knock which would 
punch plaster will not damage wall-board. Should an excep¬ 
tionally severe accident occur, one panel is easily removed and 
another substituted, obliterating every vestige of the damage. 
Plaster cannot be patched so that it will not show. Whitewash 
or paint does not conceal it; only wallpaper will, and on a ceiling 
it is highly undesirable. 
To apply wall-board is a simple carpentry job. Clean, of light 
weight and easily handled, it cuts with a smooth edge like a 
piece of soft pine lumber and sands like wood, without fluffing, 
when a smooth, 
enamel surface is 
desired. Being 
readily worked to 
odd sizes or shapes 
with a fine-tooth 
saw and a sharp 
knife, no other 
tools are needed ex¬ 
cept a hammer and 
nails. The board is 
applied directly to the 
studding of a new 
house—no lathing 
being necessary — or 
over the plaster of an 
old house being re¬ 
modeled, and nailed 
around the edges and 
through the center 
with one-inch nails. 
Flat - headed barbed 
nails are preferable 
for the edges, and 
wedge-head nails for 
the center, the latter 
being countersunk 
and the depressions 
puttied. For work 
over old plaster two- 
inch nails should be 
substituted. On new 
work headers must be inserted where the studs are not properly 
spaced, so that each panel may be nailed securely on all four 
sides and through the center. Leave one-eighth inch between 
panels for possible swelling in damp weather, these spaces being 
covered by decorative strips or mullions of wood or wall-board. 
Brick or stone walls may be lined with wall-board when furred 
as for lathing. 
Wall-board naturally takes the form of panels, a scheme of 
decoration as old as art itself. In this respect it does not differ 
from the use of wood, steel or certain applications of plaster, 
particularly decorated plaster. Panels permit great latitude for 
effective treatment along either conventional or original lines; 
the possibilities seem to be without limit. Panels of any size or 
proportion may be employed with a simple cove- and picture- 
mounding or plate-rail, or in combination with a frieze or 
wainscot or both, whereas a beamed ceiling lends dignity and 
refinement to a large, high-studded room. The application of 
appropriate stencil work to the frieze presents a wide range of 
possible effects as 
beautiful as they 
are unique and dis¬ 
tinctive. 
Wall - board 
should be painted 
before the panel 
( Cont. on p. 457) 
In the bedroom the battens and wall-board were painted white. Flowered cretonne at the windows give 
a touch of color, and the room is restful and sufficiently pleasing for a summer cottage 
The various sorts of plaster or composition board are a reasonable and efficient substitute for plaster. They may be applied directly to the studding and, if battens are 
used over the joints, successful approximate paneling is realized. They are ready for use and need only painting, but the directions for cutting should be carefully followed 
