Do you think this idea will work

[lupinfarm]

Oldsch...Both sound like great options...the 2nd one more so as I may have to take them or at least some of them down to remove badly installed and mouse pee infused Fiberglass Pink insulation. The PO`s installed it without a vapor barrier on most
of the outside walls and it is really dirty. I am going to be installing new insulation to try and improve on the R factor. But sanding might be a better option as I would like to keep the "Old Charm" of them. I will have to see when I take down the drywall that is up at the moment. If only the PO`s hadnt insulated it would actually have made my job easier. Problems, problems,problems.
Hi Warren...Hope you and yours had a great Christmas. Yes I am going to put up drywall, if only to satisfy the building code.
I will know better what to do when I can start the tearing out the old drywall, weather is just to windy and cold right now, and
with no vapor barrier and really poor insulation removing the drywall right now will make the kitchen even colder and windier.
Its really frustrating having to wait until April, but family was supposed to come for Thanksgiving( cancelled in the end due to
being laid off work) I didnt have time or funds to start on the kitchen.

[Lynners]

I've been watching a lot of This Old House lately, and they used black felt paper (?) behind some wainscot so that any seasonal gaps would just look like a shadow.

On another episode, they used a wire brush sander on some old lumber to get the grunge off of it but keep the patina.

[lupinfarm]

Hi lynners. Haven't watched this old house since the 80s not sure if
It is carried on PBS Boston. The ideas sound do-able and cheap.

[wletson]

they used a wire brush sander

Be carefu if you do this. A steel wire brush on a drill could really gouge the wood if you aren't careful.
Brushes like this come in different types of material that may be less abrasive.



A sanding wheel, with sand paper floppy thingies on them might work well too.

[Sombreuil_Mongrel]

Theoretically, at least, applying battens to the back would be fine, but very hard to carry out since there's no room to actually nail them on from behind.
Splining would entail cutting grooves in edges of all the boards and making loose "tongues" (splines) to fit them and seal off the gaps in a less obvious way. The splines could even be painted black so they fade into the background and reinforce the look of individual boards.
Casey

[HB]

If you go ahead with Casey's recommendation (a good one, by the way) just be careful to gauge the alignment of the grove to accept the spline from the rear of each board since they're probably not all the same thickness. If you measure from the front on some and the rear on others, you'll find that they won;t line up very well when you go to put them back on the wall. By measuring all from the rear, you'll be assured that the rear of the planks wil all be in the same plane, making it easier to re-attach to the wall, assuming that the wall is relatively flat.

Another potential solution would be to use a very high elasticity caulk in the gaps. I've had luck filling fairly large gaps using a constuction caulk/adhesive called SIKAFLEX. I get mine at Home Depot, usually in the MASONARY aisle. I guess the company mostly makes masonary caulks.

I've used this successfully in gaps up to a half inch wide next to 18"+ wde boards. the caulk compresses and streches beautifully in response to seasonal movement of the planks adacent to the gap.

I installed the caulk in mid spring and mid autumn in an attempt to place it at the midpoint of board movement.

It is advertised as a sandable caulk, but in reality, it's too pliant to sand well, so you have to get as good a finish off the gun or putty knife as you can.

Good Luck.

HB