Ana and I decided to keep this guest bathroom renovation on the cheaper end of our spectrum. We figured that since this was just a guest bath (there’s a master bath and a half bath downstairs) we could go more cost effective here and pay up for our master bath remodel. This project cost us $750 and took us about a month to complete (pretty much only working on the weekends). It was one of our bigger remodels and working with ship lap is very simple but can be a bit tedious in a small space, just a fair warning. This was our first time shiplapping (well in our case vertical) so maybe that’s why we were taking it slower than usual.

🛠 T O O L S (All links to tools and materials can be found in our handy project checklist linked here)

  • Power Drill and drill bits/accessories
  • Miter Saw *for shiplap
  • Stud Finder
  • Nail Gun and Air Compressor *for shiplap install
  • Caulk gun *for sealing the shiplap edge and trims
  • Wrenches *for sink removal
  • Jigsaw *for sink install
  • Palm Sander *for sink install
  • Sewing Machine *for hemming the shower curtain and liner

📦 M A T E R I A L S – Plus other things purchased

📼 R E S O U R C E S

📝 O U T L I N E – Below is the general outline that we followed to give you perspective before going into pictures and details.

  • Un-pipe the existing sink from the wall drains and water inflow pipes.
  • Remove everything on the walls or things getting replaced, sink/countertop combo, *toilet, light fixtures, trim and moulding quarter rounds, mirrors, towel bars, outlet covers
  • Remove vanity doors and drawer faces
  • Cut shiplap to size, level, nail into the wall and patch all of the small nail holes
  • Paint shiplap and trim pieces
  • Paint vanity
  • Install trim pieces with nail gun, patch all small nail holes and paint
  • Cut countertop to size, stain and cut space for sink
  • Install sink, faucet and piping
  • Caulk seams between shiplap (corners, edges, around the shower etc.)
  • Install bathroom accessories (mirror, light fixture, towel hooks, door stopper, etc.)

*You might need to do this step to shiplap every wall

V E R T I C A L S H I P L A P

Shiplap can be a bit tedious to work with. The boards that you purchase for your project can make a bit impact on speed and the professionalism of the end product. The boards that we used did have the tongue and groove to them, which helped a ton with spacing and efficiency. The outline of the process we did is below, but click here if you’re interested in reading a more in depth post about the ship lap install.

  • Measure from floor to ceiling
  • Cut board with miter saw
  • Place board against wall
  • Level and visually level check with your eyes
  • Air gun nail into wall

We purchased our 46 shiplap boards from Lowes, link to the exact shiplap is in our Project Checklist listed earlier in the post.

The boards were easy to install once there were cut, we used a miter saw to chop the boards to size.

After installing all of the boards we painted each groove first with a paint brush, then used a roller to finish it off. Then we caulked the edges to ensure a good seal, especially in a bathroom.

C O U N T E R T O P A N D S I N K – I N S T A L L & S T A I N

We cut the countertop to size and then began tracing the template to make the hole for the sink. All the vessel sinks that we have purchased have come with a template to assist with making the hole. We use a razor to mark the hole and then we eventually trace it with a pencil. Then we use a jigsaw to cut the hole out. A tip when cutting out a hole is to drill a small hole inside the traced template area to give your jig saw an easy starting location.

After cutting the hole and sanding down the countertop with 220 grit, we wiped down all the saw dust with a a rag and then went over it with a tack cloth to pick up any fine particles. We then stained and sealed the wood with three coats of poly to ensure a good waterproof seal.

We then let the wood cure for a couple of days before installing the sink and faucet on top. If you’re looking for us to go into more depth on the sink/faucet install please click here for our kitchen sink install post. We were very happy with the way this turned out that we took a pic before our mirror, lights and cabinet doors were installed (hence why we have a lamp in our bathroom…).

F I N A L T O U C H E S

We then started installing the baseboards. It was as simple as cutting the board to size, painting it, nailing it into the wall and finishing it up with caulk. The same process applies to the quarter rounds along the ceiling edges.

The light fixture here was a bit of a pain, reason being is that after installing the fixture the two different type of light bulbs we purchased from Menards didn’t fit well into the sockets. The bulb type that we needed was a G9 base. It’s a smaller new type of bulb that we’ve never purchased before (as opposed to the screw in type bulbs). When we plugged the LED lights in the bulbs were loose and they weren’t lighting up. I had to hold each bulb upwards in order for the bulb to light up.

We then went to Lowes and found a different brand of bulb and these worked as intended with our light fixture. So if you do plan on buying the light fixture that we used, we want you to know that this bulb for sure works and you might have issues with other brand types.

Project completed July 17, 2020