How To Plank A Wall

Hello everyone!

Well, we finally did it!  I have long admired the look of planked or ship lapped walls for bringing that farmhouse look into a home ever since I first saw the show, Fixer Upper.  But, once I saw it in person at a friends house, I knew I really wanted to do it in mine.  I discovered, a little goes a long way.  So, my husband and I decided to do an accent wall in our front sitting room.  It's a plain wall with not much furniture on it and could use a little interest.  

So, if you're interested in the tutorial with lots of pics, then continue reading!  

First, my husband measured the wall and then went to a hardware store for sheets of plywood.  He got enough to cover the wall.  The store would've been able to cut the plywood into planks, but their saw was not measuring accurately (so they said).  So, we had to bring it home and do it ourselves.  But, I highly recommend having someone else do this part if you can!!!

Here are all of the planks stacked in our house.

First, find the studs in your wall with a stud finder.  Mark the wall accordingly.

Then begin with your first plank.  Use a level to make sure it's straight.  That is most important!

Use a nail gun to nail it to the wall using your stud marks as a guide.

Cut the wood planks as needed to fit the width of your wall.  You will need a miter saw for that.

Then continue to add the wood down the wall.  We used two pennies pressed together to measure the width we wanted between the horizontal planks.  The width you choose is your personal preference.  Some people use nickels. 

Eventually, you will probably run into an outlet or light switch.

For that, just measure your outlet opening and transfer those measurements to the plank of wood that will cover it.  Use a jigsaw to cut out that opening.

Then, place that plank around the outlet as shown.

Now, here is a look at the completed plank wall in its unpainted state.

We chose to remove our baseboard and run the planks down to the floor because we needed to replace our baseboards with larger ones anyway.  So, we will be adding a new baseboard to this wall.  

Next, we filled in the nail holes with wood filler and primed the boards.

And finally, the last step is painting it in the color of your choice.  We used the same wall color that we had before, Linen White from Benjamin Moore.

I will share the finished wall this week!  Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly ~