Today we are giving my mudroom a makeover by installing beautiful vertical shiplap. This is a straightforward project that has a large effect on the room's style. We made the planks ourselves which means this project is affordable too! So if you're interested in how we did it, just keep scrolling.
The "Before"
Preparing the Room
Our shiplap project is part of a larger renovation which included things like taking down walls. To start with the shiplap, you're going to want finished walls which means drywall, mud, and tape. Bonus points if you put on a layer of primer too! That will help with painting later.
Installing Drywall after Taking Down Walls
Cutting the Shiplap
We are using a very thin plywood from Lowe's. It's in a standard 4’ x 8’ size, but it's only 3/16” thick (5mm). We're going to cut each board to get nine strips each. Accounting for the saw blade that worked out to 5-1/4” per strip. My ceilings are eight feet tall so this is going to work out perfectly!
Normal shiplap is a wood plank that overlaps itself on the edge, like the siding on a house. We are trying to mimic that look which means somewhere between 5 and 6 inches is exactly what we want.
Cutting the Plywood into 5-1/4" Strips
Adhering the Planks
We are using a construction adhesive on each piece in combination with brad nails. This adheres very well but the issue is it will be difficult to get off in the future.
Horizontal shiplap, which is more modern, screws directly into the studs. But because we're doing vertical shiplap, which is a more traditional look. the studs aren't always available. The planks will not hold with only brad nails into drywall, so that means we needed to use glue.
I really wanted vertical shiplap and I know I can patch any holes in the future, so I'm okay with using adhesive. Make sure you choose what's right for you.
We used a laser level to keep things straight and tile spacers to keep each plank evenly spaced.
Adhering the Planks with Construction Adhesive & Brad Nails
Painting
After all the boards are up, it's time to prepare our surface for paint. went through and filled each of those brad nail holes with a little bit of spackle and came back later to sand it smooth.
Filling Brad Nail Holes with Spackle
We did one coat of a KILZ 2 primer followed by two coats of satin Sherwin Williams cashmere paint in the color SW7029 Agreeable Grey.
You do have to get the paint inside the gaps. We started with a paint sprayer, but our sprayer was a little clogged. Eventually, we just used a regular paint brush to push the paint into each crevice, and that worked just fine.
I've also seen people paint the entire wall and each plank individually beforehand, and then just touch up after installation.
Note that this plywood is very water sensitive. Once the paint has made a complete seal, it’s not going to be an issue. But it’s important to get paint on the sides of the plywood, especially if you're using this in a wet place like a bathroom or a kitchen.
Applying the First Coat of Paint
Finishing Touches
We installed some new bright white baseboards. We also went around and cleaned up all the electrical outlets and added new light switches. We also made this super cool French cleat cover for our laundry hookup.
French Cleat Laundry Hook-Up Cover
Done!
I love how this project turned out! I'm so excited every time I come home to my beautiful mudroom. There were a few parts of this project that took some time and were quite repetitive. But all-in-all, I thought the whole process was simple and straightforward. And wow does it have a big impact!
The "After"!
I'll see you next time!