I love a good board and batten wall, and in my opinion, it’s the easiest way to give your room a custom look. In fact, I’m slowly working my way through upgrading our builder grade home with board and batten features. So far, I’ve done our master bath, fireplace front, double stairway entry, and now I just completed the powder bath. And I love it, every time. It especially gets fun, when you paint it a color (vs white … which I’ve done also!)
Get To Planning, and Then Get Started. Some things to consider when planning - how tall do you want the boards to go? In my case, our ceilings are pretty tall, so I knew I wanted the boards to extend up over half of the wall height. Being shorter might look a bit odd since there would then be so much blank wall above. What width of board and how much space between the boards do you want? This may be determined by your room size. This will also help you plan how many boards you will actually need. When thinking about this, I also consider the location of outlets, light switches, windows, doors, etc to have the boards ‘fall’ where it can be a seamless board (vs having to cut or work around these things). The good news is …this is YOUR diy project and you can do whatever you want!
I’ve done a few projects now, and it’s so easy. What you’ll need to get started:
Pre-Primed MDF Boards
Level
Brad Nailer and 1 1/4” nails
Measuring Tape
Stud Finder
Liquid Nails/Construction Adhesive
Basic Chop Saw
Caulk and Wood Filler
Pre-Primed MDF Boards - I use pre-primed MDF, simply because it’s a good affordable option and requires less prep work for paint. They run around $6-7 per 8-foot piece, and are available in different widths. There are cheaper pieces of wood but then you’ll spend a ton of time sanding, filling holes or defects, priming and prepping just to be able to paint it. Pre-primed wood is a much easier way to go.
STEP ONE: Use a stud finder to locate the studs and mark them off. It’s not necessary that your BB follow the studs but it’s good to know where they are. Once this is done, determine the height of your top horizontal board and cut it to size. Use a level to help with positioning, and adhere it with the construction adhesive (liquid nails) and the brad nailer.
STEP TWO: If you don’t already have a square baseboard, I would recommend removing the baseboard and replacing it with a 5-7” square trim piece. Fortunately, our home has square baseboards which tend to be more common in newer homes., so I didn’t have to go through this step. But you will want a solid/flat surface for your battens to meet on the bottom. They will not rest flush with a traditional baseboard piece/trim.
STEP THREE: It’s time to begin your planning for the battens (vertical pieces). If you’ve done research on other blogs, you’ll see that some will put a board on each end of the wall and then work their way inward. This is common if you’re only doing an accent wall, but not the best approach if you are doing the full room. Pick a place to start. I will usually start in the middle of the largest wall. Put your first batten in place using a level to ensure that it’s level, adhere it with adhesive and brad nails. Then using your level, measure out the position of the rest of the battens. Make a mark for the width of each board and for the distance between each one. You’ll find this makes the process go a bit quicker. I will even draw long vertical lines showing the location of each piece.
STEP FOUR: Try to maintain consistent spacing between each batten, even as you turn the corner of the room. For example, if your spacing is at 10” between battens and there is only 2” left for that wall, then count the 2” and then 8” on the adjacent wall. Does this make sense?? And always remember to use the level! Some floors may be unlevel, and this could throw off the whole project. I ALWAYS check each individual piece with the level before I adhere it to the wall.
STEP FIVE: Once all boards/battens are in place,, it’s time to fill the nail holes and cracks! Use wood filler, to fill all of the brad holes. You will want to make sure you use a minimal amount (I always apply with my finger!) because you will be sanding the excess off in the next step to give you a smooth surface. Go around all seams where the boards meet the wall with caulk. Again I will use my finger to smooth it out and then a damp paper towel to make sure it’s as smooth as possible (and to wipe off the excess). Use the towel and your finger to drag down the seam.
STEP SIX: Once the wood filler and caulk have dried, Use a fine grit sand paper (220) to smooth it out. Run your hand down each board to feel it and sand the rougher spots), hitting all of the nail holes. Then use a damp cloth to remove all sanding dust. If you take your time and focus on getting this steps right, it will make a difference in the final outcome.
STEP SEVEN: Time for PAINT! tip: some will paint the wall before adding the BB - i have not done this yet, but can definitely see how doing this would help. The BB may create small spaces and crevices that are difficult to get to once they are in place, like around windows, sinks, mirrors, etc. This was the case in the powder room I just completed. I wish I had painted the walls first…but oh well .. live and learn.
I hope these steps help you plan your next project! Research and watching videos is great! But this biggest lessons can be found from just getting started. I with each of my projects.
Good luck!
Elizabeth
