I just put up new paneling in my laundry room. I used glue on the back and nails all around and for some reason a few panels are buckling on me. Why? Did I not do something right? I paneled over sheetrock, so there is a solid back.

Also, do I now have to replace these pieces of paneling or will they eventually flatten back out when the humidity lowers?


Many Thanks:)

It does sound like moisture. Likely the panels were dryer than your home and did not absorb enough house humidity to become stabile before you nailed then down. They will flatten out as your home drys but may buckle again. Not much you can do at this point but wait and see if they settle down, short of ripping out.

Yes, it has been humid the past couple days. So, that explains the buckling... At least it only happened to a few and not all - knock on wood!

Let me ask you this then... I have a few good pieces of paneling sitting in my garage. Am I better off replacing the paneling that buckled on me? Or should I wait to see if it goes down? Maybe I didn't get enough glue on the back of those two pieces?

Many Thanks!

I'd wait a few weeks to see what it does. If you have AC run it for a day or two to dehumidify the air. Removing will really screw up the drywall but it will be reuseable. Did you catch studs with all your nails ot just drywall?

I caught a lot of studs and used glue on the backing. I didn't use nails on the inner part of the panel though. I only nailed on top and bottom of panel. Should I try to place a few nails in the middle of the panel if the buckling goes down?

You should nail on each stud. Wait until the paneling dries and flattens then hit all studs no more than 1.5' spacing between nails as you go up the wall.