With this bathroom, I knew that I didn’t just want to have plain old painted walls and ceilings, but couldn’t go crazy either. It’s such a narrow space that anything to busy would not only be too overpowering, but would clash with the tiles in the shower. When I had been researching ideas for the house, Shiplap & wood plank ceilings were things that kept catching my eye. I decided that this was the look I wanted to go with. It’s simple but yet still gives that little something AND would work great with the flooring and wall tiles.
Designing & Planning
Now the part I really took a bit deciding on, was whether or not I wanted to stain the ceiling to match the Vanity top. I was worried that It just wouldn’t work, but realized that I was worth trying especially since I could always just paint it later). So on to the shopping for the planks!!
With trying to keep this bathroom in my budget, I was quite a bit disheartened with the pricing of shiplap panels. With the ceiling, I was going to need 226sq of material, plus 10% for waste, which put me at 250sf. This would be 18 packs of 5/16″ shiplap needed (since they cover 14sf each) Can you believe that I was looking at $234 – $400! I was surprised since the material was only just over a ¼” thick! I knew there had a be something I could do in a much better price point – Back to the drawing board.
It didn’t take much research to find that so many people had come up with their own DIY Shiplap, so I decided that was the path I would take and you wouldn’t believe the savings!!!! I ended up finding some 5mm (just under ¼”) Underlayment Plywood panels at Home Depot for only $13.14ea. So, to cover my area I would need 8 sheets, putting me at only $105 total! Plus on top of the savings, making my own ship lap allowed me to make wider planks then the standard 4″ that were available.
The How-To on Making & Installing your Own Shiplap
MATERIALS LIST | REQUIRED TOOLS |
8 – 5.0MM x 48″ x 96″ Underlayment Sheets (HomeDepot) | Table Saw |
Wood Stain | Circular Saw |
Sealer | Measuring Tape |
Paint | Pencil |
Construction Adhesive | Caulking Gun |
Brad Nailer | |
Spacers (I used Nickels) |
PREP
This is where my daughter actually came into help and she learned some things as well. (Home Schooling – Math & Woodworking)
Together, the two of us set up the table saw and started ripping the sheets into 6″ width planks. To her, it seemed like a repeating task that would never end! (Teenagers right!)
Well, with 64 planks later we were all set to get to the next stage – Staining the ceiling planks.
STAIN COLOUR – VARATHANE ULTIMATE – FLAGSTONE
(The stain colour match to the Vanity Top )
The next day, we Used Varathane Triple Thick Polyurethane to put a protective coating. (Did 2 coats)
After the poly dried, we got to installing the ceiling planks first.
INSTALLATION
Add a bit of construction adhesive to the back of the plank and attach them to the ceiling with the Brad Nailer. Make sure that you nail into the joists! Ensure you butt the planks up together tight and continue nailing until the ceiling is finished!
With the ceiling done, it was time to start the walls. You are going to start from the bottom and work your way up.
- First mark a level line for your starter plank and attach it to the wall with the adhesive and brad nails.
- As you continue your way up the wall, use your spacers in between your planks to determine its spacing.
- Note: make sure not to leave gaps between the planks from the same row.
- The Last row will probably have to be ripped to a smaller width
- After all of your planks are installed, fill in any nails holes, any spaces you didn’t get flush in each row and the corners. Once its dry, you can paint away.
End Result
My daughter couldn’t believe how it turned out and was so proud of herself with all she did to help to make it the way it is.
I am also very proud of her work ethic doing these couple days. Even when she got tired, she refused to stop until it was done AND DEMANDED to be the one to paint the planks. (other than doing the cutting around the ceiling)
So see for yourself how it turned out! I’m so glad that I chose this as it’s such an easy and inexpensive way to get the amazing look!
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To see more designers in this challenge you can check out Better Home & Garden’s One Room Challenge!