Vertical Plank Wall Paneling
How to cover brick or a plain wall with vertical shiplap or planking. I thought about just painting the wall, but wanted something that had more of a cottage feel to it. Installing budget-friendly DIY vertical shiplap or vertical plank wall paneling was the answer.
I know that horizontal shiplap planks are all the rage right now, but as much as I like it, I think it makes a room look closed in. Not a feeling I want, so I opted to go vertically with the planks instead.
No more brick, hello white and bright lake house with a cottage feel :-)
This is how the wall looked right before we started the transformation.
How to Cover a Brick Wall with Vertical Plank Wall Paneling
supplies needed:
- 1/4″ Subfloor Plywood
- Liquid Nails and caulk gun
- Paint and paint brush
- Sandpaper and sanding block
- Saw
- Measuring tape
- Pencil
- Painter’s tape
- Bubble level
The first thing you need to do is go to the home improvement store and have them do the hard work… cutting the planks. The 1/4″ plywood sub-flooring comes in 4′ x 8′ sheets. It has one side that is a little bit red. I liked this plywood the best, since it was the thinnest and also the smoothest. You can have the plywood cut to any size planks you need or want. We had the guy cut the plywood into 8″ wide planks. 6 planks per each sheet of plywood. We needed 14 cut planks to cover the brick wall.
Once we got the planks home, Ed cut them to the height needed and I sanded all the edges of each plank to make sure they were smooth.
Ed removed the crown molding along the top of the wall and placed is aside so we could put it back up after the planks were in place.
When installing horizontal planks to resemble shiplap, you use nickels or quarters to space the gap between each plank. When installing the planks vertically, the nickel method doesn’t work since there is nothing to hold it up. Instead I eyeballed it and used a bubble level to make sure I placed the first plank straight.
I started by painting the brick where two planks met thinking you would see the brick through the gap, but I found it was not necessary since I was placing the planks very close together.
To attach the planks over the brick wall, I used Liquid Nails. I ran the beads evenly over the back of each plank and then attached it to the brick.
I started from the center and worked out to each side. The last plank on each side had to be cut narrower to fit the wall. I used painter’s tape to help hold the planks in place while the Liquid Nails dried.
We let them dry overnight and then replaced the crown molding over the top edge of the vertical planks.
I used basic door frame casing to finish off the opening in the wall for firewood. Right now I have my outdoor pillows in it since they are out of the way, but easy to get when I want to use them outside.
Adding the planks and painting them white has made a HUGE difference in the room. Having the planks cut at the home improvement store made the project very easy.
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