It’s been awhile since I promised the tutorial on how I did my board and batten coat wall so here it is…finally. Things have been pretty hectic in our household. I am still working on the kitchen island project and getting more and more done everyday.
I am also wrapping up Ashley’s “new” makeup vanity, working on a countertop for the kitchen, and putting together a art room table for my sister in law.
To add to this list, we are also putting together some ideas for our toy room and a loft bed for one of our daughters. Live is good but life is busy!
If you remember back, this is how our entry looked originally and except for a new coat of paint on the walls, pretty much how we bought the house.
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| The original “dated” look |
I used SketchUp to get a general idea of how I wanted it to look. I find its also easier for me to show Ashley my ideas this way rather than trying to explain it with simple drawings. This tool is awesome and free!
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| Sketchup Drawing |
It’s always a good idea to have a helper on a big project like this. Luckily I have one that is always willing to lend a hand.
Our first step was to replace the trim around the door. This part was actually highlighted in this
post and was the crucial first step before I could go on with the coat wall.
Next up was a trip to the home improvement store to get an idea of what we wanted and to price out the material. Using precut mdf would have been easier but also a lot more expensive.
So instead I bought a few pieces of 2’x4′ mdf sheets and decided to cut them manually.
My cutting technique was far from perfect and it took far too long. I used as straight of a board as I could and then proceeded to measure and clamp it for every cut I needed.
I used my new Black & Decker Matrix for this job. The small circular saw went through this wood like a hot knife through butter.
The wood has been cut and is ready for finishing.
To help the edges from getting that rough feel, I proceeded to use spackling paste along each edge. It was a long and tedious process but the end result was great.
First up was to remove the old chair rail and bottom molding pieces. Then the cross pieces went up. I used liquid nails and my trusty air compressor and nailer.
After the cross pieces were in place, I proceeded to nail up the vertical pieces and then the top shelf and moldings. I got lucky and most of the vertical pieces landed on a stud but one I ended up having to use liquid nails and tape.
A coat of oil based primer and then some paint and this project was complete.
