We have a bedroom with moulding on the wall that I want to remove but it looks like it is covering large gaps in the wall panels. How should I sort this out?
Hi @emmabes,
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is wonderful to have you with us.
If you haven't had your walls tested for asbestos, I'd suggest you cease work immediately and have a professional asbestos tester come out to assess these walls. Joiner trims like the ones you have removed were often used to cover joins between asbestos containing fibre cement sheets, so it is in your best interest to stop work immediately and have them assessed. If they are shown to be asbestos, then I'd suggest you contact an asbestos specialist for their assistance moving forwards.
If the tests reveal they are not asbestos, then your best option would be to remove the sheets and replace them with plasterboard, plastering the joins, then sanding, priming and painting. This will give you a flat wall like you see in modern homes. Check out How To Install Plasterboard for some guidance on the process.
Alternatively, you could plaster over those gaps using the same system of tape, base coat and then topping compound shown in the article above, but due to the width of the gaps and the lack of a recess on the sheets, like there is on plasterboard, it is unlikely you could get it perfectly flat. This means the joins would almost certainly be at least a little bit visible. This might be an option if you are happy to accept it won't be perfectly flat.
Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Jacob
