I am so grateful to the previous owners of my new home for leaving me with a blank canvas, because I have BIG plans! I like separate spaces, so my first project as a homeowner was adding shiplap to one wall in the dining room to separate it from the living room. To accentuate the illusion of two rooms, I painted the living room a light gray (BEHR Double Click) and the fireplace white.
Let's get started!
1. Plan your project. Sorry to say, but there will be math. It really helps to draw it out. Start by measuring the length and width of your room, then draw the square representing those measurements. If there is an obstruction (window, light switch or electrical socket), you will need to measure those and put them in the drawing accurately. This will help you decide how wide you want your shiplap panels to be. 6"-8" is typical, but it really depends on the dimensions of the wall and the look you want to achieve. Luckily, the measurement between my ceiling and the top of my window sill is 16 1/16". This made me decide on 8" panels. We will be putting nickles in between each row for spacing, and the nickels are 1/16", so it works out perfectly for the first two rows! You will need to account for that 1/16" space between each row in your drawing.
What you'll need:
1/4" wood panels (I used Maple). You will need to figure out how many you need based on your measurements. The panels I got from Home Depot were 4'X8'
Circular Saw with use of Kreg Rip-Cut Circular Saw Guide or Table Saw
Jig Saw
Hacksaw
Brad Nailer with 1-1/2" brad nails
A handful of nickels
Wood filler and caulk
Primer and Paint (Note: SW Alabaster is a great white for shiplap. I like the satin finish)
One strip of PVC moulding the length of your whole project from top to bottom (I found one at Home Depot that was 2" wide with a 1/4" lip on one side - Perfect!)
2. It's time to cut your wood! If you have not discovered Kreg tools yet, this is an AWESOME one! This is the Kreg Rip Cut. You mount your circular saw to it and it guides your saw in a straight line for cuts up to 24" wide! I suggest cutting all of your panels into the 6" to 8" strips first, then you can make each one the length you need. If you have a table saw, you will use that to make all of your cuts. For now, on the rows where there is an obstruction (like an electrical outlet or trim under a window sill) just cut the boards as if you are going to cover them up. NO INTRICATE CUTS DURING THIS STEP, ONLY RECTANGLES.
3. You want to stagger the boards, so the vertical seams don't match up from row to row. You will start at the top and work your way down. I'm assuming there are no obstructions on the top row, so you should just have 2 or more boards butted up against each other the entire length of the project. For example, my project is 8 ft wide, so I cut (2) of my 8" panels to equal 8' total (one was 5' and one was 3'). I used the same measurements for the second row, but switched the order of the boards, so the rows would be staggered.
4. Secure the boards to the wall using the brad nailer. The first row is super easy, because you just press the top of each board to the ceiling and nail it! I just put 1 nail in each corner of the board to secure it.
5. Next up, second row! You will need some help from here on, because you are going to fit nickles between each row to make sure the spacing is the same all the way across. You can also use tile spacers for this if you prefer. Now, work your way down until you hit an obstruction! It's ok if the right side of your project is not perfect, because you will be covering up that edge with a piece of trim later.
6. Ok, I've hit an obstruction - the window sill. After multiple attempts (and ruined wood planks) to cut this board to fit around the window sill exactly, I decided to make a stencil! I recommend that you do this for all obstructions.
Stencil how-to: Measure each side of the obstruction and draw it on a small piece of cardboard. Cut out your drawing and trace it onto the board.
7. Using your Jig Saw, carefully cut out the stenciled shape. Then keep going! Note: In order to keep the whole design on track, I had to rip the boards under the window sill, so the bottom of the boards on that entire row would match up.
8. Last row! I had 2" left between the second to last row and the baseboard, so I had to rip the remaining boards to 1-15/16" to account for the nickle spacing.
9. Home stretch! Fill in all the nail holes with the wood filler and caulk the left side of the project where the planks meet the adjacent wall.
10. Prime and paint the planks
11. Using your Hacksaw, cut the PVC trim the length from your ceiling to your baseboards and attach it to the edge of your project using the nailer (I pressed my level against the side to make sure it was straight).
VOILA! You have shiplap!
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