Ever since we moved to Château Enginerd four+ years ago, I’ve been looking for economic ways to spruce up the craftsman modern homestead. The textured drywall and paint job that most PNW homes have wasn’t cutting it anymore. After a few Pinterest and Google searches, I came across a product sold at Lowe’s that answered all my needs: pine tongue and groove 0.25 inch planks sold prepackaged and cut in 48″ and 8 ft lengths. That’s $1.30 USD a square foot! 😱
Armed with a nail gun, a miter saw, a jigsaw, a ruler, measuring tape and caulk, I used about 8 hours of labor to complete approximately 50 ft² for a whopping $60 USD. The area I selected wasn’t plumb or square which required lots of precise and irregular cuts around the doorways and outlets.
To keep it simple, the planks were installed over the drywall around existing trim and base boards with 1¼” nails (no glue). I covered mistakes with trim pieces and caulk since I didn’t have the tools to rip horizontally and get a better fit and form from the longer plank runs on top of the doors.
Voilá!
Don’t like the knots or natural pine color? Paint or stain the boards for a unique spin on this shiplap-esque look. If you get tired of the accent wall or it goes out of style, remove the planks, fix the nail holes and touch up. Easy peasy! Minimum damage, maximum returns on investment; low risk, high reward. A win-win.
Happy DIY!
Mrs. Enginerd - Nerd Whisperer 