Before beginning any household DIY project, it’s important to know how to overcome potential obstacles. When it comes to shiplap, there’s quite a few tricks and tips to make your project go smoother. Before you start looking how to install shiplap boards in your home, here’s 5 things to keep in mind:
- Use high quality lumber specially prepared at a sawmill rather than nearest hardware store. So, the reason we recommend using lumber from a local lumber yard like ourselves rather than a big hardware store comes down to three things. 1) We know lumber. This is our specialty, and we know what type of lumber will best fit for your project. 2) Great low prices. Pricing by our local lumber store is only $0.99 per square foot. Our prices are so low, because we use special designed saws meant for cutting shiplap boards without a lap. 3) Quality of lumber. We don’t sell low quality lumber. If you go to a “big box” company you might have trouble finding the quantity and the quality of shiplap boards that you’re looking for. Also, our shiplap panels are ready for painting and placement from the beginning. You won’t have to worry about sanding down plywood, cedar, or other wood to get started on your DIY project because the wood we use is premium, hand selected, and re-purposed white pine or white fir that leaves a beautiful grain and bandsaw texture.
- Paint the wall first. Prior to painting the shiplap boards, paint the wall behind where you’ll be putting the boards for matching and consistency. Unless you have a paint gun where you can spray the wall and the shiplap planks at the same time, you’ll want to begin with a fresh coat of pain on the wall. It can also help you get an idea if that’s what you’re going to like on the wall once it’s complete.
- Plan for electrical outlets and light switches. Our shiplap boards are all made with 3/8″ thickness, which means you will need to move your outlets and light switches out further from the wall to adjust to the different wall face. Also, to keep your outlets in the right place, make sure that the top and bottom of the outlets has wood to rest on. You can even pre-cut the outlet spaces and light switch areas in order to making a mistake with the plank such as a misalignment, or improper angle for the sockets.
- Cut your boards to the exact angles and lengths that you’ll need. Rather than worrying whether you are going to buy too many or too few boards (although it’s always better to have more than less than you need), plan out when and where you’ll need to cut boards to make everything fit properly prior to placing the boards. Putting up shiplap is a project that is always best done with everything already ready to go.
- Paint the front facing side and the edges of the plywood before installing the shiplap boards. With our shiplap boards you have the option of adding in your own little gap or having the panels lay directly next to each other without spacing. Either way, if you want your shiplap wall to look beautiful, then you’ll want to paint what won’t be up against the current wall. It’s much easier to paint the edges and get a smooth even look on the front if you paint it before it’s already on the wall.
