Our shiplap install took place in our guest bathroom. It turned out better than we expected and our guest bath is now a vibe. This post is specific to the shiplap install, if you’re looking to see the full guest bath reveal, please click this link!
Shiplap install outline (link to the bigger bathroom remodel project checklist but it includes the tools and materials we used for the shiplapping):
- 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 (*angled brad nails @ top, middles and bottom) – I would recommend that if you know where the studs are, in those areas use a longer nail than the others that go into the dry wall.
*Angled brad nailing means that instead of just shooting the nail into the wall at a 90 degree, we are shooting them in at maybe a 45 degree. In this case the goal was to create a stronger hold for the board on to the dry wall. For the floor to ceiling boards we nailed 4 rows of two, spaced evenly. For the smaller boards above the shower, 2 rows top and bottom.
How we determined how much ship lap was needed is to measure the lengths of each wall and dividing that by the shiplap width, which then gives you a close approximate. I think we ended up buying 46 and had about 2 left over, because we were able to be efficient with some of the boards over the shower.
We decided to start our shiplap right on the edge of the bathtub insert. It made sense for us to start there to reduce the complexity of the cut that could occur, a long jigsaw cut would be needed if the shiplap wasn’t perfectly aligned to the edge. Then at that point on we built off from there. Overall, the boards were easy to install once there were cut. The tedious part for us was measuring the space between the floor and then cutting the board downstairs and walking back up with the plank. It’s almost a 1 man job. In some cases you can get away with measuring the general area and cutting all the boards to that size, we wanted to be precise with each board because our ceilings or floors tend to be more crooked. Occasionally for the edge & corner pieces we did have to use the jig saw to cut long thin strips of ship lap. We later caulked all of the edges and corners to give it a more finished look and to prevent water from being trapped in-between the gaps.
In some areas we did have to cut out circle holes for the toilet plumbing and the light fixture. The best method that we used was to just take it slow and measure out the height and width from the edge of the plank to the center point of either the piping or the light fixture. For the toilet piping, the hole was in-between two pieces of shiplap. So we took both boards and clamped both to to a bigger board and secured them before drilling out the hole. The light fixture hole ended up being in the middle of a board, so we measured the hole’s height and width, installed the board, then drilled out the hole (we turned off the power with the circuit breaker to that wire, just incase I was to accidentally touch that with my drill.
Once you have all of the boards installed, the next step is paint! As you can see in the above photo, you will want to cut in (paint) every crack between the boards with a good paint brush before you start rolling on. This will ensure every crack has proper coverage. Rolling after will cover the streaks from the paint brush and make the coat of paint look consistent and even.
Last step on the ship lap install is to caulk the corners and any exposed edges to provide a clean and finished look. You do not need to caulk every seam between each board, just the edges where you may have cut pieces. We especially concentrated on the seams by the tub and shower insert. Shiplap in a bathroom is totally okay to do as long as you install it properly to avoid moisture building between the wood and the wall. We also always keep the fan on when showering in here to avoid any additional moisture build up.
If you’d like to see the rest of our bathroom reveal please click here!
