I often get asked about this Spirit Lead Me wooden sign. Click HERE for the source!
I have been admiring shiplap walls for awhile, and I finally decided to create one for our home. I enlisted the help of my husband, and we completed this large wall (9 feet x 20 feet) in one weekend!
There are several ways to create a shiplap wall (see my earlier post HERE), but we decided to go the easy route and bought pre-cut pine boards that have a simple tongue and groove system.
We found these boards at Lowes and bought 11 packages. We had plenty of extra small pieces leftover (the extra will be used on a smaller wall in our mudroom).
Don’t get overwhelmed at the thought of doing this project because it is definitely doable. We installed the shiplap with some hard cuts (two outlets, a light switch and a hood) in one day and painted the second day.
Here are the supplies you’ll need:
- Sanding Block
- Tape Measure
- Pine Tongue and Groove Boards
- Wood Filler
- Primer & Paint
- Jig Saw
- Chop Saw
- Stud Finder
- Pencil
- Nail Gun & Nails (we used 16 gauge nails)
- Caulk
- Level Ruler
The cost of the supplies for this wall was under $200. The wood boards cost around $100 and the primer, paint, nails, wood filler and caulk were under $100.
Begin by sorting the boards, because you will find flawed boards. Save the flawed boards to cut into smaller pieces.
Although most of our flawed boards were minor, there were a couple that looked like this.
To begin, mark the studs (using the stud finder and level ruler). Then begin at the bottom with the first row. Use a level to make the first row is straight (and continue using the level throughout the entire process).
When possible, use the full 8 foot board. However, when you do cut, use the tape measure to measure (twice) before cutting.
In order to keep seams consistent, make a game plan.
For our wall, we started from the bottom right with a full 8 foot board and cut the one on the left. Then we used a full 8 foot board on the left and cut the one on the right. We continued this patterned all the wall up the wall. The door frame obviously required another solution.
Use a nail gun and put two nails in each stud.
Use a chop saw for the easy cuts.
And a jig saw for harder cuts.
The jig saw is great for going around outlets, light switches and any other obstacle you may need to tackle.
You can buy electrical box extenders for outlets and light switches to bring them out over the ship lap. We left ours sunk in in because we are in the process of (slowly) replacing them throughout the home.
We created paper patterns for the really hard areas like around the kitchen hood, traced the pattern on the wood and cut with the jigsaw.
With some planning, patience and time, we had a completed wall!
The next step was filling the nail holes. I had my oldest help out with this, and we managed to fill 800 (!!) holes pretty quickly.
After the wood filler dries, we sand the holes and use a roller to prime the wall.
Once the primer is dry, add paint. Our wall required one coat of primer plus two coats of paint. Use a brush for the paint since the roller will not reach in the cracks/seams.
Here is a progress shot:
And the final wall:
We are now the proud owners of a shiplap wall.
Go shiplap something!
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P.S. Here’s all the stuff that was taken out of my kitchen for the final beauty shots:
