My shiplap wall is done done done, and I couldn’t be more in love with how nicely it warms up the room. Now, if you want to tackle your own, this is the post for you because I’m here and ready to teach you how to shiplap your own walls.
I’m going to start with the fact that you can 100% do this on your own, and the following is not meant to discourage you but set you up for success.
To shiplap your walls at home and make them look like a professional did them, you need a lot of patience and a strong eye for detail. The smallest little things will make all the difference here. That means thoughtfully planning out your space, spending a ton of time making sure your cuts align perfectly, carefully caulking the seams, and so much more. If you’re committed to trying, needing to pivot, and trying again, you can 100% do this. There were so many “what the fucks” in this project that I can’t even count them. But I can tell you that I was fully committed to getting this done and doing it perfectly. This is why I got the result that I did – I didn’t give up, was excited by the trials and errors, and working through figuring this out.
Ask yourself all of these questions before getting started. Then you can start measuring out how much shiplap you will need.
You still with me? Great! Let’s get into how to shiplap your own walls.
First, let’s start with space planning:
You’ll need to understand how much shiplap you’ll need – that’ll depend on the size of your walls. How wide are they? How many walls are you doing? How high up the wall are you going? What width of shiplap do you want to use? Are you working around fixed objects (a bench or a window, for example)? If you’re working around the fixed objects, how are you going to work around them?
Some of the more intricate details of my space are pictured below. I added a trim around the window and a top cap above the shiplap boards. On both of those pieces, I created a reveal with the table saw (and the blade sticking up the tiniest bit), to mimic the spacing of the shiplap.
I bought 6inch wide pine shiplap with a tongue and groove profile. Pine was $120 more than MDF for my space. Because our mud-room is high traffic, I wanted something that would hold up to a little more destruction than MDF would so felt it was wroth the extra splurge. I also got a pre-primed shiplap which saved me a ton of time and effort. Given the shiplap comes in 12 foot lengths, I opted to go 4 feet up the walls. In measuring how many boards you’ll need along the length of the wall, you need to remember that the tongue and groove make you lose some of the thickness (so my 6 inch wide planks turned out to be closer to 5.5 inches because of the pieces that slot in behind the other).
Materials You Need:
+ Pre-primed tongue and groove shiplap board (pine or MDF, the choice is yours)
+ Pre-primed 3-inch board – pine or MDF (if you’re doing a top cap like me)
+ 2.5 inch nails
+ Liquid glue (optional, I opted no to glue these boards)
+ Wood filler
+ 220 grit sanding block
+ Caulk
+ Pant + paintbrush
Tools You Need:
+ Mitre saw
+ Table saw
+ Jigsaw or oscillating multi-tool (if you have outlets, and other things to work around)
+ Nail Gun
+ Caulking Gun
+ Carpenter’s Triangle
+ Stud Finder
Instructions:
It’s all about the details, and while every space will be different, I’m here to help! So if you have any questions, pop them below!
This mudroom makeover is taking far longer and is far more expensive than I thought it would be. Say
This post is sponsored by HomeHardware. All content and thoughts shared are my own. W e are heading
The second book display has entered the building! After my first smaller book display (following the
Chelsea
What paint colour did you go with?! (Walls and shiplap) It’s soooo beautiful