I’ve been wanting to write this post for several weeks. Please be warned, there will be cursing. DIY Shiplap doesn’t get installed without a lot of cursing. I’ll keep it to bullshit, but know that much stronger words were flying while this project was being completed.
Check out the reveal post for the Master Bedroom Mini-Makeover. That version has no cussing! Also, make sure you read to the bottom because I’ve included an update to help you with this project!
I’ve been wanting to do some sort of wall treatment/accent wall in our master bedroom for quite some time. In our old house, we had the wall behind our bed painted a different color than the others. I just love the look of the contrast and how it really anchors the bed as the focal point of the room. In this house, I wanted an accent wall with a different texture too.
I’ve been seeing grid patters and board & batten in my head for this space. For a long time, I was trying to decide between shiplap (which seems overplayed now) and a grid (like this). Last month, I decided DIY Shiplap was much less of a pain in the ass than a grid was. I’m not going to say I was wrong, but I’m not going to say I was right, either.
Shiplap vs. Grid Pattern
Why did I choose shiplap over a grid? Well, the first reason is wall texture. You see, we live in Texas, and walls in Texas all have spray texture on them. Wall texture is really annoying. It’s annoying to paint. It’s annoying to patch.
Because of this texture, you can’t just slap some trim boards on it, paint it, and call it board & batten or a grid. You have to cover up the texture first, and that usually means installing some sort of cheap panel board. Our wall is about 18′ wide and 10′ tall, so there would have been several seems between panel boards. Those seems would need to be covered with the trim boards. Trim boards need to run at an equal distance to form your grid. All of that was WAY more math than I wanted to do for this particular project.
Shiplap is just horizontal boards with trim around the edges of the wall. Sounds much less complicated right? No. No it was not.
Let’s back up a bit. There are a lot of bloggers out there who have done DIY Shiplap on a budget. Most of them have taken 1/4″ plywood, ripped it down to boards, and installed it in a day, right? You’ve read those posts. I’m here to tell you, they’re all Bullshit.
Supplies
Here are all of the tools I needed to complete this project:
- 1/4″ Plywood – cut down into 7″ panels. You’ll have 1 piece of scrap that is smaller than 7″. I’m going to use it for window casings like in the playroom.
- Trim Boards
- Stud Finder
- Brad Nail Gun & Nails
- Air Compressor, Hose & Accessories
- Mouse Sander & 220 Grit Sanding Pads
- 4′ Level
- Nickels – Lots to keep in your pockets because you’ll drop them.
- Nail Set & Hammer for nails that don’t quite go in all the way.
- Wood Filler
- 200 Sanding Block – To sand all of your nail holes.
- Paint Brush – I used a cabinet roller too, but it didn’t paint as thick as the lines did with my brush, so I have to go back and use the brush for another coat on the boards.
- 2 Ladders
Why DIY Shiplap is Bullshit
“Use 1/4″ Plywood & save Money”
This is bullshit.
Yes, 1/4″ plywood is cheap. It’s around $16 a sheet. My wall needed 7-8 sheets, so ~$128. Click & Lock mdf shiplap boards are $12 a board, and I would have needed ~34 of them. That’s over $400. So yes, the plywood is cheaper. But, keep reading and you’ll see why it might be cheaper to do the $400 worth of boards.
The other problem with the plywood is that your pretty little lines are going to have texture gaps behind them. If you use any paint sheen other than flat, you’re going to see the texture in your gaps if you look close enough. I used Benjamin Moore Advance Paint in Satin (color is Graphite) for my wall, because that is what I use for trim work. I wanted there to be a slight sheen on this paneled wall. So the texture bumps show when you’re up close.
“Just Get the Guy at Lowe’s to Rip The Boards For You!”
This is bullshit.
Yes, you can get the guy at Lowe’s to rip the boards down for you (my Home Depot won’t cut anything under 12″). Sure, its faster than cutting them yourself. Yes, you can choose to have boards whatever thickness you want. Those are all in the pro column for using the cheap plywood.
Here’s the flip side. The boards the guy at Lowe’s cuts (or you cut) aren’t going to have straight cuts. The saw will cause little splinters all along the cut lines, and you’ll have to sand those down. It’s not a big sanding job, but it’s an annoying one. It took me about 90 minutes in the garage with my mouse sander and some 220 sandpaper to smooth them out.
When you go to hang your shiplap, you’ll see that the cuts are not straight. Also, plywood is made with thin boards that are pressed and glued together. The middle layer may have a knot or something that is lost when the board is cut, which creates a hole in the middle of your pretty separation line on the wall. Paint shows any imperfections, so your pretty little separation lines won’t be straight and they’ll have gaps. See the problem?
Even though the guy at Lowe’s never moved the saw, some of the boards were slightly wider than others. When you got one board up, and then tried to add one to that length run, it was difficult to find two in the pile that were the exact same width. You need them the exact same width to keep your pretty little separation lines even and pretty. See the problem?
We ended up with several pretty little lines that look like this:
Not so pretty.
“Use Nickels for the Perfect Spacing”
This is bullshit.
If you’re using 1/4″ plywood ripped down to planks, there’s not much surface area for the nickel to sit on between your boards. I lost count how many times two of us were holding the boards to the wall, we’d put 4 nickels between the boards, and the damn things would fall out. It really sucks when you’re both on ladders and the nickels fall out.
I couldn’t even get a picture of the nickels because they would fall out even when we had 4 hands on the board. No way could I go get my phone to snap a shot. You’re just going to have to use your imagination.
Final Thoughts
So as you can see, going the cheap route might not have been the best route. In this case, you get what you pay for. Had I gone with the $400 boards, I could have click and snapped my way up that wall in probably half a day. It took about 10 hours to get these boards up, and that was with 3 false starts.
Knowing what I know now, would I have used the click and snap boards? No. Because with this large of a wall, I really wanted the boards to be at least 7″. That was thicker than any of the click & snap MDF shiplap boards. Because the ceilings are so tall in here, it would have looked too busy with only 5″ thick boards and lots of horizontal lines. But at least they would have been properly spaced.
UPDATE
Since I wrote this post 2 years ago, I have used this same 1/4″ plywood shiplap method in two other spaces of my home. You can see it on the ends of the island in the Kitchen Remodel posts. I’ve also added some to the fireplace, but I haven’t written that post yet. Follow me on Instagram to see the latest! Knowing what I know from the first time, it was much easier the second time.
First, the saw chips on the edges depend on what side of the plywood you have facing up when you cut the boards. Table Saws are opposite from circular saws. With Circular saws, you want the good side down. With table saws, you want the good side up. This won’t eliminate the problem, but might make it better.
Second, using shorter boards is much easier. I still had some of the same wonky gap problems with the 8′ boards I used on my fireplace remodel, but it definitely was easier on the kitchen island using shorter boards. This just means more seams.
Have You Installed Shiplap?
I hope this post helps you make the right decision on DIY Shiplap for your home & budget. I really wish I had read a post just like this one before I started so that I knew exactly what I was getting into going the cheap route.
So what do you think? I’d love your feedback on this project! Tell me your favorite or not so favorite parts in the comments. Also, let me know if you’ve done this project and what you’d add to this post so that we can help others! Sorry about the cussing, but believe me, you will be cussing if you go the plywood route to save money. Most likely, the words will be of the F variety.
Check out all of the Stacy’s Savings Total Home Makeover posts!
Nancy T says
Thank you for your narrative. I am SO TIRED of Pinterest or Instagram perfect DIY. Mine always includes farm words. And imperfections.
Karla says
Do I need to paint my wall white before putting up the shiplap?
Stacy says
Hi Karla,
Great question! I would paint it one coat of whatever color you’re going to use for your shiplap. That way, you don’t have to paint the gaps.
~Stacy
Karen says
Thank you! Can I see a picture of your kitchen island with Shiplap?
Stacy says
Hi Karen,
If you scroll back up under Update in this post, the Kitchen posts are hyperlinked. Or, you can follow me on Instagram. I have several pictures there.
~Stacy
Missy says
Best post I’ve ever read. We are about to do this but we are going vertical with larger width.
Michael Franks says
To get perfect cuts the same width, you need an 80 tooth plus saw blade. Lowes and Home Depot saws cuts are terrible because of dull blades and low quality blades with little or missing teeth on them. Better to cut the boards yourself with a good saw blade and a saw guide to make perfect width cuts.
Stacy says
Absolutely! We didn’t have a good table saw at the time that we did that project. We have since purchased one.
~Stacy
Bambi says
Paint stir sticks work better and easier then nickels. Just what I found….. and they are free.
Stacy says
Thanks for the tip!
~Stacy
Jerri says
Thanks so for tips! Getting ready to shiplap my bathroom so I appreciate the advice. Your walls look great!
Stacy says
Hi Jerri,
Thank you! It’s a frustrating project, but if you’re willing to live with a slightly rustic look, it’s a great way to get the look for less.
Good luck!
~Stacy
Celina Chiesa says
I had someone do this for me and I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night and immediately thinking about my kitchen and how much I overpaid someone else to do this because I wanted it done perfectly. The uneven gaps are DRIVING ME CRAZY!!! I decided to do my entire kitchen, which isn’t very big, but I keep thinking I should’ve bought the real stuff. My walls are bumpy and uneven, and I can see every detail. I haven’t painted the boards yet, so I’m hoping it’s less visible, but it’s so aggravating because I probably could’ve done the job just as good/bad. I do feel better knowing that it’s not as easy as they make it seem on Pinterest so maybe I can cut the guy some slack to ease my pain somewhat. I really wish I would’ve found your post beforehand.
Stacy says
Hi Celina,
Oh no, yes unless you are going for the rustic look, it’s best to use something other than this flimsy plywood. So sorry about that!
~Stacy
Carrie says
Oh boy I just started this project… many bad words floating in my mind. Day 2 and I have only 3 rows. Doing it alone and I’ll tell you I wish I hadn’t started.
I am seriously thinking about ripping off (for the second time) and getting the real deal.
This is a great post, I just wish I had seen it 3 days ago!!!
Stacy says
Hi Carrie-
Yes, this project is frustrating, but its worth it in the end no matter how you end up doing it!
Since I wrote this post, I’ve done this method again on my kitchen island and my fireplace, and I learned a few things to make it easier.
Good luck!
~Stacy
Jean Mehrkens says
Thanks for your honesty. I plan on buying the snap and click because I don’t have a big wall it will be worth it.
Stacy says
Good luck with your project~
~Stacy
Tammy Neely says
I love the wall and your honesty. Keep up the good work. You just earned yourself a follower
Stacy says
Thank you Tammy!
I’ve since done this on two other projects and learned a few tips and tricks. Some bloggers make this project looks so quick and easy – and cheap – but it’s not always the case. I don’t want anyone to get into these projects and think that they aren’t going to take twice as long as you think, because they all do. 🙂
~Stacy
Katie says
Just started installing a shiplap feature wall today and have many of the same problems! I had the guy at Lowe’s cut the 6″ strips for me but the first few strips he let the board that was on top”fall” at the end it definitely ate part of the boards. My wall also has lots of dips and we had to glue some ends to get it to sit flush with the other boards. Also we used paint stir sticks for the spacers and they worked great!!
Stacy says
Hi Katie,
I’m sorry about your frustrations for hanging the shiplap. I actually used some of the left over boards in my kitchen remodel, and I found that if I used the non-primed side, the chips weren’t so visible. That must have been facing the wrong way when the saw got to it. I may do this project again on the fireplace wall, but I’ll probably use my own table saw this time to make the cuts.
Paint sticks is a great idea! Those probably would have been to big for me and would have exposed more texture. If I had been smart, I would have painted the textured wall first with a matching flat paint so that the sheen didn’t show the texture between my boards.
Thanks for checking out the blog!
~Stacy
Lindee says
Oh the tails I could tell, but too long. Popsicle stick work well
Stacy says
Popsicle sticks are a great idea! Especially the fat ones.
Lindee says
Tales not tails LOL
Dee says
Well we just did our whole bathroom and part of our kitchen using underlayment and having the home depot cut the wood to 6 in sections. The lines are straight, the nichols, worked great, nothing is showing between the spaces, and my husband put it up pretty much by himself. My daughter and I were painting the lower level of the inside of our house while he was putting up ship. We didn’t have to sand the edges either. I’m not sure why you had so much issue but we have been having a blast redoing everything. We will be putting ship on the ceiling more than likely in that bathroom as well. We painted one wall in French silver in satin and the rest in a white in satin in the bathroom, and if we end up doing the ceiling we will paint it with a flat white ceiling paint. The walls in the kitchen had wallpaper on them and one day i just started ripping it off (it is very old been on since we bought our house 17 yrs ago and was piling up). Thats kinda what started all of this lol I than went and bought the stuff to remove the backer paper from the walls the wallpaper left and i was off and my husband was like I’m on vacation next week lets do this. We had really done a lot since we bought the house really. The bathroom we are doing we had done the tile and put a new tube in about 7 yrs ago, we did new windows about 11 yrs ago, oh yeah about 8 months ago we put a new front door, and both storm doors on front and back, we had a roof put on 2 yrs ago, and had the house painted at the same time. So thats it other than painting the kids room, and the upstairs bathroom. I have a lot of plans to spruce things up and I told my family we may start looking for a new house soon. My kids will be leaving us before too long so I would like to have a smaller house on one level and not such a big yard. Its gonna take a lot for my husband to mow our large yard when he gets older.
Stacy says
Hi Dee,
That’s great that you had no issues! I used some of the leftover boards from my bedroom in the Kitchen Remodel for the island (https://www.stacyssavings.com/our-ikea-kitchen-remodel-reveal/) and used the non-primed side and it seemed to have less chips. That leads me to believe that the Lowe’s saw blade wasn’t as sharp as it should be. Also, our walls were textured before, and the paint I used was a satin finish, so when the light hits it just right you can see the sheen on the bumps in the wall texture from in between the boards.
Thanks for checking out the blog!
~Stacy
Rebecca says
I love that you told the truth!!! I ran into the same problems. I had to paint the wall so many times I forget how many lol. Everything you said happened to me!!! Thank you
Stacy says
Hi Rebecca!
I’m so sorry you had as much trouble as I did! I actually just repainted it with a third coat a few months ago.
Thanks for checking out the blog!
~Stacy
Jason says
This post couldn’t ring truer, I had the exact same experience as you when i ship-lapped an entire hallway. I wish i would have spent the money on the actual boards. One other thing I ran into were unevenness in the underlying drywall (bulges and dips) affecting the boards. My hallway looks great, but there are a few imperfections that stand out to me, and it took me an insane amount of time to finish. Thanks for making me feel “not alone” 🙂
Stacy says
HAHA! You’re welcome! Glad I’m not alone!
~Stacy
Cameran says
Thank you for this post! We just spent all day troubleshooting how to rip 1/4 inch underlayment and get it straight. The wood coat $120 after seeing so many blog posts about it being close to $30. No. Everything you said is exactly true. We hang them tomorrow and I am so glad I found your post first!
Stacy says
Good luck with your project! It’s going to look beautiful!
Thanks for checking out the blog!
~Stacy
Missy says
I think it looks great. I have shiplap in my home and it’s not perfect and has knot holes too. I don’t believe shiplap is suppose to look perfect. I wanted to send u a pic of mine but not available here.
Great job!
Stacy says
Thank you!
Shelley says
Stacy, your wall looks fabulous! And the little imperfections you zoomed in on would never be noticed by anyone…unless they are perfectionists looking for something to criticize. Of course going the cost-saving route is going to be harder…that’s the trade-off. Perhaps someone planning to launch into a project like this could perhaps plan to take a little more time sanding, especially places where the saw blade may have separated the ply layers a bit…do those little sections by hand without the electric sander. And, the problem with the nickels falling out…find your nickel gap on one end and go ahead and set a nail part way to hold that end. Then you and your partner can true up the other end and set your spacing nickels the rest of the length, tacking in holding nails as you go. Then, nail the entire board in place. There are ways to work smarter…not harder, and avoid the frustration and cussing.The “perfect” shiplap wall is rustic, weather-worn, and speaks tales with its notches, dents, and imperfections. If you can obtain that look using plain old plywood, paint, elbow grease, and some imagination, you have a unique focal point in your room.
Stacy says
Thank you for commenting!
Stacy Clark says
From one profane Texas DIY Stacy to another profane Texas DIY Stacy…. I feel you girl. I would’ve literally lost sleep at night knowing that those texture gaps were there (had a similar unpleasant experience with stupid Texas wall texture on a hallway “drop zone” project that I painted a beautiful high gloss bright white, and then stared in horror as the wall texture practically glowed in the dark…). And the uneven cuts…. are making me sweaty just thinking about it. So – THANK YOU for posting about all the bullshit. You’ve saved me headaches and a mid-DIY project meltdown/wine slushee bender.
Stacy says
Hahaha! I actually did it again in our kitchen, but this time I used the red side facing out, and it wasn’t as chippy. The Lowes guy must have cut it with the primed side facing out. But the texture still bugs me. What can you do?
Thanks for reading!
~Stacy