How do you install interior wall paneling?

I know that most of you are probably reading this and are thinking, “FINALLY JORDAN!!! It took ya long enough to get this one up!” Yeah yeah… I know. You’ll understand why I’ve been quiet on here this past month or so soon! If you read THIS post, you know that we were close to finishing up the wall paneling in the living room and I’m SO happy to report that we are finally DONE! This project took us way longer than expected, not because of complications or difficulty. It was mainly because of time with our work schedules. If you have the desire to complete something like this in your own home, we believe you can do it too! There’s no need to be a professional carpenter or painter whatsoever. If we don’t answer a specific question you have within this post, let us know and we will do what we can to help!

INSTALL + TRIM WORK

What You’ll Need:

What To Do:

• Cut the panels to your height preference. We did ours 7 feet high in our vaulted ceiling space.

• Attach the paneling to the wall by adding liquid nails to the back of the panel board and then nailing the board into the wall using the brad nailer. Double check that it is level before attaching it to the wall!
• Repeat… Repeat… Repeat… Until all of the paneling is installed.

• Once we had all of the paneling installed, we added the trim. I’m sharing below what we did in case you want to replicate the same look in your own home. There are so many trim options out there to choose from. Do what you love and what fits the style of your own home!
• For our paneling, we installed THIS piece of trim first to give it a bit of character and to create some cohesiveness with our entryway board and batten. Do this by cutting the piece to length and attaching it to the wall using the brad nail gun. If you want more of a farmhouse, simple look, you can use MDF or wood ripped down to whatever width you prefer.
• We then attached THIS piece on top of the trim by nailing downward into the trim that we just attached to the paneling. You could call this the mini “shelf” piece.
• We had two “dead ends” with our paneling that we had to trim out. Meaning that we had two panels that ended at an outer corner and we didn’t have anything to attach to it. I pondered what to do about those spots for a long time. Not only did I have to consider how it would look from the front but also how it would look from the side. We finally found a solution! We used THIS piece that we attached with the nail gun. For the side view, we filled in the space using joint compound and then using painters tape to create a straight line, we painted over it so it looked like it had been there the whole time.

• We filled in any corners of the room using THIS piece of trim that we attached to the wall using the nail gun. All of this trim work made it look finished!

• Fill in all of the nail holes on the paneling and trim work using joint compound or spackling putty and a putty knife.
• Fill in the gaps between where two pieces of paneling meet using joint compound/putty. I do this by adding a glob of compound on my finger and running it along the crack. Then I smooth it out using the knife.

• Sand down any joint compound remaining using a medium-fine grit sanding block until it’s seamless.
• Lightly sand down the entire wall using 220 grit sand paper.
• Completely wipe down the wall (or vacuum… My preferred method ha!) to remove any dust.
• If you already have baseboards installed, use caulk to fill in any gaps between the base board and the paneling.
• Caulk any gaps around the trim pieces.

EXTRA:

• We noticed in the middle of this project that our windows were lacking trim… We had never noticed it because of the curtains we hung up almost immediately after moving in. We used THIS trim piece around the windows and did the same thing as the “dead end” piece – we nailed up the trim piece on top of the paneling and used joint compound to fill in little space to make it blend right in on the sides (you would’ve been able to see the paneling and trim piece layers from the side if we didn’t do this).

PAINTING

Tip number one – don’t start the next steps before finishing everything above. We wasted a lot of time doing that. Lesson learned… Tip number two – the information I’m about to share with you is something I wish I had known before we primed the walls using my go-to Bullseye 3-2-1 primer. This primer has never failed me until now. I should’ve asked my aunt, who’s a professional painter, what to do ahead of time but failed to do that and am now kicking myself for it. Needless to say, take HER ADVICE that I’m sharing below and don’t make the same mistake we did by using a water based primer.

What you’ll need:

• Oil based primer (it is very important you use oil based) THIS is the one that my Aunt swears by!
• Whatever paint you want! We used THIS paint in the eggshell finish.
• Oil based brush (also very important!)
• Oil based roller
• Generic painting supplies – drop cloth, painters tape, pan, etc.

What to do:

Make sure you complete the steps mentioned above (sand, wipe down, etc.) before proceeding with paint.

• Lightly sand the wall with 220 sand paper/block OR use a liquid deglosser by following the instructions on the back of the container.
• Prime the walls with the oil based primer while following the directions on the paint can. You only need to do one coat! *PRAISE HANDS*

• Once you have allowed the primer to dry and “cure”, paint the paneling with whatever color you wish. It doesn’t matter if you want to use water based paint, latex, oil, or chalk! You’ll most likely need 1-2 coats but that all just depends on a number of factors. We did 2.5 on ours (some spots needed some touch ups!).  We used a roller for a majority of the paneling and filled in the edges and corners and places the roller couldn’t reach with a brush.

I never thought we’d bring wall paneling back but we did and we love the character it adds to the living and dining room areas. It solves all of the problems we mentioned in THIS post and we love the way it turned out. We have a few more changes we want make in this space that we can’t wait to show you! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

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Supplies and Tools Needed For Most Installations

How to Install Wood Wall Paneling - Printer Friendly Version

Tape Measure

Putty Sticks & Wood Filler

Level

Adhesive

Caulk & Caulking Gun

Hammer

Crayon or Lipstick

Finishing/Paneling Nails

Screwdriver

Jig Saw

2-inch Foam Brush

Shims

Pencil

Drill

Stain or Paint

Tips ... Be sure to wear safety glasses and ear protection while working on your project.  While cutting and creating wood dust, wear a dust mask.  For your protection and that of anyone near your work area, always think about what you are going to do before you take action.

Installing paneling is a lot like hanging wall paper.  You will start at a corner of the wall and work your way around.

Estimate the number of panels needed by measuring the room circumference in feet and dividing by four.  Cutouts for large openings (such as windows and doors) can often be used to panel small areas, such as above a window.  Check the existing wall condition.  You may apply panels with adhesive directly to surfaces that are level, sound and clean.  Nail directly into the studs when installing your paneling over existing paneling, wallpapered walls or surfaces which will not support adhesive.  Sand down any protrusions in the wall for a smooth fit.

There may be a need for some preparation.  If one of the walls you are paneling has a doorway, remove the trim around the door by prying it off.  Also pry off the baseboard from the walls you will panel. 

5.2mm (1/4") thick plywood paneling can be nailed directly to the studs to satisfy the code requirements. While not a code, we recommend using a vapor barrier between the studs and the plywood paneling if there is spray foam insulation, since it adds another element of protection and preventative measures always cost less than repairs.  Spray foam insulation may contain some liquids or moisture that over time potentially could damage wood or promote the growth of mold.

If your walls are not plumb, add furring strips to create a level, grid-like surface.  These steps will also provide additional rigidity to your wall.  Use either 1" x 2" or 1" x 4" kiln-dried lumber of 1/2" plywood strips cut 2" wide.  Starting at the top, space strips horizontally 16" apart, using shims to line them up for the true vertical plumb.  Add a strip at the base.  Starting in the corner, place vertical strips every four feet between your horizontal furring.

Before you begin condition (acclimate) your panels to the room.  With all panels in the interior space where they will be installed, stand them individually along the long edge or lay them flat with wood sticks spaced between them so that air circulates around each panel.  Let stand for at least 24 hours if installation is above grade and at least 48 hours if installation is below grade level.  For all below grade applications, always use a vapor barrier between the outside walls and the studs.  Remove all trim.  Turn off the electricity before removing all receptacle covers.  Once the panels have been acclimated to the room, place your paneling around the room in an attractive arrangement of grain, pattern or color.  Previewing this way is especially important when you usepanels with a definite direction in the pattern.  Once you have a good aesthetic sequence, number the back of the panels in the order in which they will be attached to the wall.

TO BETTER HIDE JOINTS BETWEEN PANELS

Use a 2-inch foam brush to stain or paint the wall surfaces at the point where your panels will be joined, using a color which matches the edges or grooves of your panels.  This will make the joints less noticeable.  You will need to protect the floor from stain or paint.

TO LOCATE SWITCH AND OUTLET HOLE LOCATIONS

Double-check all measurements before cutting panels.  Start your installation in the corner that you see first when entering the room.  To cut around openings like electrical switches or outlets, turn off the power at the main panel and then remove the cover plate to the switch or outlet.  You can wipe lipstick or a crayon around the rim of the box and then press the panel into place to dry fit the panel.  As the panel makes contact with the box, an outline will be left on the panel from the lipstick or crayon.  Place the face of the panel down and use a jigsaw to cut around the outline.  Make sure that the panel opening is resting on the wall and not on the lip of the box.  The cover plate will cover any gaps between the box and the opening in the panel.

TO ATTACH THE PANELING TO THE WALL

Secure the paneling to the wall with panel adhesive and finishing nails.  Load a caulking gun with a tube of panel adhesive and apply a small dab of it on the wall about every 10 inches.  Place the panel on the wall and press it into the adhesive.  Pull the panel away from the wall and let the adhesive become tacky.  Push the panel back on the wall and roll the panel with a rolling pin.  This will make sure that the panel and the adhesive make good contact.

Finally, drive finishing nails into place at the top of the panel.  Apply baseboard to hold the bottom in place.  Follow the same procedure to hold the adjoining sheet of paneling, but make sure this is a small gap between the two sheets to allow for movement during seasonal changes (use a dime as a guide).  The stain you placed on the wall will help hide the gap.

Colored putty sticks of wood filler can be used to fill in any holes or blemishes on the paneling.  Install remaining molding and door trim.