Weldex — an authentic decorative finish for vintage homes
We first learned about Eichler Siding from readers Marty and Flip, who have original Weldtex ceilings in their 1950 home. They wanted to add more Weldtex ceilings in other rooms in their home and after some searching, came upon Eichler Siding, which now has a second website, VintagePlywood.com to showcase their Weldtex-style paneling product.
Marty writes:
We purchased the house my parents built in 1950 and have been working hard on the renovation. Wanted to share the ceiling story and a supplier website that we found in California. Can’t wait to get the new ceiling up downstairs.We have some pics of the original striated ply ceilings from upstairs that we are going to continue with through more of the house.
We are so pleased to hear you’re doing a story on the striated plywood and Eichler Siding. Jeff and his wife provide a quality product and are fellow small business folks. They were easy to work with and it was a coast to coast shipment that arrived in good shape to us in Florida from San Fran! Attached are some photos of the original ceiling in our house and we found a huge bonus surprise behind some junky wall paneling, pickwick pine paneling!!!! Our ceiling project is still a work in progress so we don’t have any of the new stuff up yet but we can tell it will be a fantastic match.
I researched the history of the striated plywood and it is a very interesting story. The old advertisments for it are awesome, gave us some cool ideas.
Looking forward to your article and as always I will continue to ‘renovate safely’ 🙂
Coinkindinkly, we also just spotted Weldtex ceilings in a 1960 time capsule in Tulsa, Oklahoma — see it here — this time with a natural wood finish. Stunning!
Where to find Weldtex wood panels today
Eichler Siding got its start in 1987 after owners Jeff and Annette Nichols noticed a niche they could fill in the market. At the time, homeowners looking to repair and restore the original grooved siding on their Eichlerand other midcentury homes couldn’t find a source for the specialty grooved plywood they needed to get the job done. Eichler Siding came to the rescue — manufacturing several popular siding patterns as well as taking custom orders.
In 2012, the company began producing Weldtex striated plywood again — the first time this style of plywood had been produced since the 1970s.
From their website:
PRODUCERS OF MID CENTURY MODERN PANELS EICHLER, STRENG BROS., CUSTOM SIDING
And Now Weldtex, Combed, Striated PlywoodFor over 25 years we have produced Eichler style siding for San Francisco Bay area homes and beyond. We deliver locally, and we ship nationwide via common carrier. We also can produce a variety of custom grooved interior and exterior plywood panels for both mid-century modern homes in the Eichler style or replicate plywood groove patterns that are no longer available.
Additionally, as far as we know, we are the only producers of “Weldtex” also commonly known as “Combed or Striated Plywood.” Invented in the 40’s, Weldtex is a very unique panel that was used as accent walls, wainscot, or even an entire room. We have shipped Weldtex to New York, New Jersey and Southern California.
Weldtex, Combed Plywood
Available in plywood panels and solid stock lumber (oak, birch, ash, etc.) for door panels or milled into clear cedar or redwood for tongue and groove exterior siding.Weldtex Panel Weldtex, which was originally manufactured by U.S. Plywood, has not been made since the 1970′s until now!
Sizes available in 3/8″ thick panels:
- 15 7/8″ x 96″
- 23 7/8″ x 96″
Note: Though we do not produce a 48″ wide panel, due to the nature of the unique Weldtex, or combed pattern, when you join two long edges together the joint appears to be seamless. So in reality you could cover an entire wall with the panels and never know that there were narrower than 48″
“Weldtex panels let you arrange horizontal or vertical stripes: checkerboard, diamond, and even herringbone patterns. You’ll discover countless decorating schemes!” (from Life Magazine ad, circa 1957)
Edge view of 3/4″ solid stock walnut showing the depth of the Weldtex pattern.
Edge view of 3/8″ plywood, these are available in 23 7/8″ x 96″ sheets.
Here’s a sample of 1×6 tongue and groove clear “A” grade redwood with the Weldtex texture milled into the face. We also added a V-groove at each joint to match the existing pattern a customer in Tulsa, OK has. The same material can be milled without the V-groove for a more continuous look. We can also mill this out of clear western red cedar, or pine for an interior application, like a wainscot installation.
History of Weldtex:
- Read this history of Weldtex in a paper written by Mary Ottoson, M.S. Historic Preservation at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
I can think of about a hundred ways you could use Weldtex — from building furniture, to using it as siding or wall treatments. Heck, I bet it would even look good in a tiki bar. It is so exciting to have this vintage material with such an interesting history available to buy again.
Mega thanks to readers Marty and Flip for sharing their photos and tipping us to this interesting product!
Links:
Jeff Nichols says
If you are interested in reading even more on Weldtex, combed plywood, here’s a link to a great article created by CA Modern Magazine, published by the Eichler Network. http://eichlernetwork.com/blog/dave-weinstein/siding-modern-flair-reborn
Stacy says
I have a whole new appreciation for this siding in my home. After reading this article, I think I will make it the focal point of my upcoming redecoration! Any tips on restraining would be appreciated. sdlane@aol.com
Justin says
Any tips for refinishing Weldtex would be greatly appreciated. I have some in my house that has been painted and I would like to strip and reurn it to the natural finish. Thanks.
pam kueber says
well there you go – thanks, justin!
Greg says
I think he was looking for help…
Greg says
Haha, that sample of siding for Tulsa, OK is something Jeff put together for my house. Some of our Lortondale houses in Tulsa have this finish.
Pam says
Love Weldtex. I’ve seen older homes with it used. I’d love to purchase for our game room ceiling. Nice durable stuff!
V. W. says
I’ve seen Weldtex used in a wide variety of ways in older houses. It’s a very interesting, durable, and versatile product.
The house I lived in as a kid (built in 1956) had this product as an accent wall in the spare bedroom. My bedroom had a wall with a different pattern with small diamonds cut into the plywood instead of lines. Has anyone seen the pattern I’m talking about? My bedroom was the only place I ever saw it.
Pam S says
Our 1952 house in Vancouver, WA is sided entirely with 3/4 inch solid tongue-and-groove combed cedar; there is also a large planter/room divider that is covered with 16″ squares set at right angles. I’ve looked online often, trying to find a source or reference to it. Agreed with previous poster that it’s all over out here in WA, several 50’s houses on this street alone have it for exterior siding, or decorative elements. We believe it was originally stained, but has been painted since. Some of our neighbors still have the stained versions visible, which is a beautiful effect. Anyway, it’s great to know it’s being produced again and that we know what to call it when we need some! Thank you.
Joe Felice says
Back in the ’50s, there was a company who used this process on shingles for cedar exterior siding. My ’52 ranch had that siding. It actually held up well as long a it was kept painted, but painting was a pain, because it had to be done by brush to get in all the little grooves. Took me 4 months to paint my house in 1978. Of course, that was just on weekends. It was actually therapeutic and I enjoyed doing it, though I could have spent the time doing other things.
Joanne says
We have a chair rail in my kitchen and I’m thinking wainscoting!
Jnkn3 says
I am so excited. I have a 1950s house and the ceiling in my sunroom is made out of this plywood. I have always thought is was very cool, My husband thought we needed to take it done because some of the tiles have been damaged over the years and it looks bad in several places. We can now replace them! Yeah!
Carol S. says
Do you have any extra pieces of this paneling left? I need a piece about 16×16 to patch a hole in the paneling in our 1950s sunroom. Can’t get a response from the SF company and am getting desperate and running out of options. I would pay for the remnant and shipping to Des Plaines IL.
pam kueber says
Carol, no buying/selling here on the main blog or it becomes chaos. I will leave this up for a day or two so you can see it then delete.
Jeff Nichols says
Carol sorry for the delay we’ve been really busy. I’ll follow up today.
Marty Tetlow says
Hi Carol, I can help you out too. I’m just a homeowner and will have some extra. Pam, how would I get my info to Carol? Super happy Jeff has been busy, great company!
pam kueber says
Set up a craiglist listing. Carol: Search for craigslist listings. No buying/selling here on the blog or it becomes chaos. I will be deleting all these comments shortly.