Creating a custom shiplap wall doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. Learn how to make your own faux shiplap and plank a wall for $30!
Disclosure: I was provided paint from Sherwin-Williams for this project at no cost to me. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Please see my full disclosure policy for more details.
Good morning 🙂
I hope your day is off to a great start but if not, there’s always time for more coffee 😉
We have been living in our house for a little over a year now. That meansit has taken over a yearto plank/shiplapanything. Well, I did make this shiplap sign, but that doesn’t count.
When I started the design plan for Evie’s farmhouse nursery, I knew I wanted to make a shiplap feature wall. The rustic wood and texture give the walls dimension and adds a visual focal point for the room. Also, it’s pretty 😉
I knew I could buy 8ft shiplap boards at a home improvement store. But, for nearly $13 A PIECE, I couldn’t justify the cost. That’s when I turned the planning over to my FIL. He said, “oh yeah we can use {insert name of wood I’ve never heard of}”. Sounded good to me!
Today I’m very excited to be sharing how to plank a wall like we did in Evie’s nursery for $30. Okay, so it was a couple more dollars but a round number sounds better, right?!
Supplies:
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- Underlayment Plywood
- Nail gun nails
- Construction Adhesive
- 1/8 inch spacers (you can use tile spacers; we used strips of 1/8 particle board we had around)
- Crackshot Spackling Paste
- 250 grit sandpaper
Tools:
- Pneumatic Nail Gun
- Table Saw – to cut the board into planks
- Compound Miter Saw – to cut planks to length
First things first. Gotta find your studs in the wall. Luckily, since we had our home stripped to the studs during renovations (I’m not sure that luckily applies?), we had a detailed map of sorts showing where each stud was. If you don’t have such a handy map, bust out the stud finder!
My hubby used achalk line to mark a straight line from crown moulding to the baseboards overtop each stud.
Next, we used a table saw to cut down the large sheets of underlayment into roughly 6 inch planks. We ended up with planks 5 7/8 inches wide due to the 1/8 of material lost to the blade on each cut. Technically you can do whatever width planks you want. Wider or thinner planks would definitely be different and fun.
To hang the wood, we started with an 8 foot piece. First,apply some construction adhesiveto the back of the wood.
Since we knew the line under the crown moulding was straight, we were able to lay the first board flush against the crown moulding. If your ceiling isn’t completely straight, you may have some additional cuts to make.
Place the board tightly against the wall and the crown moulding. Once in place, use the nail gun and nail twice (roughly top and bottom of the board) along each stud that the board is over.
With the first board up, measure the distance between the end of that board and the wall. Take another 8ft board and cut it down to the length you just measured. Follow the same steps from the first board (apply glue, fit onto wall, nail onto studs).
Next, for the secondrow,use the leftover piece from the 8ft piece you just cut. Place that piece below the first board you nailed in.
Before nailing inthe second row (and any subsequent rows), use your spacerto assure equal gap width between rows. Slide the spacer between the boards to make sure the board is level and equally spaced.
Then, repeat the same steps above. Measure the distance from the end of the second board to the wall and cut an 8ft board to that length. Start the 3rd row with the leftover piece.
Eventually you’ll end up with a pattern (which you don’t want). So, after you do each row, take a step back and make sure the boards look staggered and not in a predictable pattern. If you notice a pattern, take an 8ft board and cut it to a random length you haven’t done and start a new row that way.
We continued on in that manner until the wall was complete!
Next,fill in all your nail holes. Once dry, sand the nail holes smooth so they won’t show through the paint.
Post-sanding:
Not too bad, right?? And it looks crazy awesome for how inexpensive the wood was.
You may come across an outlet or switch you need to cut around. When you do, cut your plank to the desired length, and then measure out the location of the electrical box you need to cut around. We got EXTREMELY LUCKY in that the bottom of the box lined up PERFECTLY with the bottom of a plank, so we did not have to cut a square out of the middle of a plank. Once we had the measurements on the location of the box, we simply marked out the outline on the plank and used a jigsaw to cut the opening for the electrical box.
On to the paint…
After priming, I used my new favorite neutral color Alabaster by Sherwin-Williams topaint the whole room, including the planked wall. I originally was going to make the faux shiplap a different color than the walls but decided against it. And, I’m SO happy I did.
Now, if the wall you’re planking is a bright color (say blue), you mayyy want to paint the wallbefore you start adding wood (read – DEFINITELY PAINT THE WALL FIRST). Unless you have a paint sprayer…. We had to go back and paint in between each board 5002 more times after the initial two coats to completely cover the blue.
No matter how many coats of paint it took, I can’t get over how completely perfect the wall looks.
Depending on what room/wall/space you’re planking, you may want to add some quarter round trim to the edges. Since ours was just a wall, I didn’t think it needed any trim.
It’s hard to get a full shot of the whole wall because the room is so small. This was the best I could do…
It’s the perfect focal point for the nursery. I can just see her crib in front of the wall!
I added a new Outlet Platethat was a bit more rustic than your typical white plastic cover.
The rosy dresser really stands out against the neutral walls.
Ahh I want to just keep posting all of these pictures. Okay, just one more…
I’m thrilled with how it turned out, the ease withwhich the boards went up, AND the fact that I FINALLY have some shiplap in my house.
What do you think? Is it something you could try out in your home? If you have any questions about how it was done leave a comment below or shoot me an email.
A HUGE thank you to Sherwin-Williams for providing the paint for the nursery. Not only is the color absolutely beautiful but the Harmony Paint line is zero VOC, perfect for pregnant mamas like me and newborn babies. It also has Odor Eliminating Technology and anti-microbial agents that inhibit the growth of mildew. Who knew paint could do all of that??
UPDATE: Check out the full farmhouse girls nursery reveal!
Wishing you a joyful day!
