There are lots of reasons to love shiplap – it’s a beautiful way to add character to your home, to liven up your walls, and an easy way to bring in some earthy, rustic elegance to your home’s interior. It’s also a really easy DIY project that doesn’t require too much effort or too much money! Here’s a helpful DIY guide from our cash for houses real estate team in Dallas and Fort Worth.
A Quick Guide to Shiplap
If you love the look but are unsure of what shiplap is, it’s pretty simple to explain. In interior design, it’s a type of wooden wall siding where you use long boards placed horizontally along the interior of your wall. These are most often painted white, but many people use soft greys, creams, blues and greens as well. They’re installed with a slight gap between each board, which evokes the rustic appeal of external shiplap, which is often used when constructing barns, sheds and homes. It’s a classic look that adds plenty of charm to your home’s interior, and many people use it to emphasize a feature wall – a fireplace wall or behind a bed – if they don’t feel up to doing the full interior.
The Supplies You’ll Need
- Sufficient plywood in 6-inch strips
- Level
- Stud finder
- Pencil
- Wood glue
- Nail gun
- Caulk and caulk gun
- Miter saw
- Jigsaw and clamps
- Primer
- Paint color of your choice
- Roller and paintbrush
- Two ladders
- Spacers for the gaps
What Wood is Best?
Plywood works well for interior shiplap and it’s pretty inexpensive. Be sure to choose a fairly thick plywood so that it doesn’t chip or splinter when it is cut down into boards. Always get a little more than you think you’ll need!
Step One: Prime
Start by cleaning your wall with warm water and a little dish soap. Once it’s dry, you can start by priming your wall. If you are painting your boards the traditional white, then primer will be enough for the wall (this means you won’t have to paint in the little gaps after). You can skip this step entirely if you already have a white wall. If you are painting your boards a different color or you are trying to cover a very bright or dark wall in white, then you’ll have to paint the wall in your chosen paint color after priming to ensure a seamless look.
Once the wall is painted and you’re waiting for it to dry, you can prime and paint your boards.
Step Two: Mark Your Studs
Now you’ll have to use your stud finder to find and mark your studs (in pencil) down the entire wall that you are going to shiplap. This makes it easy when it comes to nailing in the boards, ensuring that the boards are properly secured and won’t slip out or shift.
Step Three: Start Your Shiplap
Always start at the ceiling rather than the floor as it’s easier to notice uneven boards higher up. You’ll need a little help here to keep the boards straight while you start hanging them, so it’s a good idea to call your partner or a friend to help out on the second ladder.
First, align your board with the ceiling and use the level to make sure that it’s straight. Once you’ve done so, use the nail gun to nail it into the stud wall at the locations you’ve marked. If you want them to be even more secure, first add a streak of wood glue down the center of the board before you nail it in. Don’t use too much as this will leak out the edges.
Once your first board is up, place a spacer below it and line up your second board. Remember to stager your boards so that each is offset from the other, just like it is in exterior shiplap. Try to get the same offset for each successive board. Nail it in place just like the first board until you reach your baseboard.
You’ll need to use your miter saw to cut down the boards to the right length you need (due to the offset) and to accommodate any windows, doors, electrical outlets or other features. You can use the jigsaw for any delicate, precise cuts.
Remove your spacers once the boards are in place.
Step Four: The Baseboard
There are two options for dealing with the baseboard. You can either cut your shiplap board until it is narrow enough to fit between the baseboard and the previous shiplap board or you can remove the baseboard, install your shiplap board and replace the baseboard on top of that.
Step Five: Caulking
Your shiplap is now fully installed, so you can clean up and put away all the power tools and saws. Caulking is a time-consuming task but it’s important, giving your shiplap an elegant and professional look, so it’s worth it! Caulking should be applied to all the edges against the baseboard and the shiplap edges to smooth them out.
Cut the caulking tip at a 45 degree angle, squeeze steadily and move along the joint slowly. Wet your finger with some water and smooth the joint, using a damp cloth to wipe away any excess. It’s also a good idea to use a little putty to fill in all the nail holes.
Once it’s dry, use a very fine grain sanding paper to smooth the surface.
Step Six: Prime and Paint
Wipe your shiplap down with a damp cloth to remove any dust. Once dry, start priming your shiplap. Place drop sheets on your floor and use masking tape around the edges of your feature wall to prevent primer and paint from getting on the walls, ceiling and baseboard.
Use small amounts of primer as you go to prevent streaking and drips, and to prevent your primer from getting on the wall below through the shiplap gaps. Once dry, paint with your chosen color using the same technique and not overloading the roller or paintbrush. You’ll likely need two coats of paint even with the primer.
Step Seven: Enjoy!
And that’s all it takes! Now you can sit back and enjoy your charming new feature wall.
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