How to Install Tongue and Groove Board Walls

How to Install Tongue and Groove Board Walls

Hey friend!

I hope you’re staying safe and warm! We’ve been grateful to be able to work inside and get the kitchen walls done before the arctic blast hit! So let’s dive in and talk about how to install tongue and groove board walls!

*This post contains affiliate links. If you click on these links and purchase something, I make a commission at no additional cost to you. This helps to support my blog, so thank you SO much!*

Farmhouse Wall Demo

We took down the drywall on 2 of the kitchen walls to make more room for the tongue and groove boards to fit properly after adding foam board insulation behind them. We did also go ahead and remove the 2 doorway moldings in this room so that we can set them on top of the new walls. The previous owners never replaced the baseboards or crown molding so we didn’t have to worry about those and will be adding them back after we’re finished with everything else 😉

All the walls in the farmhouse are insulated with brick, which is what you see pictured above. Brick isn’t a great insulator, which is why we wanted to keep the foam board insulation on the walls before adding the tongue and groove boards. We have discussed pulling the brick out if we ever redo/refinish the siding. But we can already tell a HUGE difference after adding the foam board, insulated outlet boxes, and lots of spray foam insulation in all the cracks. For the first time since we’ve lived here the kitchen is sealed up and quiet!

Choosing the Shiplap

You can also see under the brick in the photo above there is some of the houses original shiplap or tongue and groove board visible. At first we were thinking about making our own shiplap by ripping down plywood. We’ve done this before to cover a popcorn ceiling at our last house and it worked well. However, this time around we felt that we owed it to the house to do it the way it had been done before. And we’re SO happy we did!

We chose pine boards based on cost and availability in our area do to the pandemic.

I also want to say that in comparison, while this way is quite a bit more costly, it was also easier. Especially for our situation because we would have had to remove the thick drywall and then put up thinner drywall before adding the ripped down plywood so you wouldn’t see the foam board through the gaps. The difference in appearance is also pretty huge! It looks like the real deal because it is! So overall I’m glad we went this route!

Tongue and Groove Board and Other Materials

Boards – We chose 1 x 6 x 8 tongue and groove boards. You can find them HERE!

Nailer – You can find it HERE!

Nails – We used 2.5 inch nails because we had to get through the foam board. So depending on your situation you could go shorter. You can find what we used HERE!

Miter Saw – Linking one HERE!

Hammer – Linking one HERE!

Pry bar – Linking one HERE!

Chisel – Linking one HERE!

Scaffolding – Linking one HERE!

Installing the Tongue and Groove Boards

Installing the tongue and groove boards is pretty straightforward. We chose to start at the ceiling with a level board and work our way down. We also decided to leave as many of the boards full length as possible and only cut a handful where we had to or where it looked right.

To make cutting the boards for the walls beside the chimney quicker we made simple jig. To do this we screwed a 2×4 to the floor then screwed one on top of it. Then we put a board on the 2x4s it and placed the miter saw on the other end so that it would take off exactly what we needed each time without having to measure each board.

I also kept one already cut board to the side for double reference 😉

Installing the Tongue and Groove Boards

After that you simply fit them together and slide them into place. It helped to use a hammer to gently tap underneath working your way down to get them fitted together. We nailed them on the very top part of the tongue, which was at the bottom of the board. And we angled the nails upward so there was still plenty of room for the boards to fit together with the appropriate spacing between them. We used 5 nails in each board. One in the center, one on each end, and then centered between those on each side.

Time and Cost

From demo to done it took us 2 weekends and me one additional week day to complete. The 3 walls we covered are around 340 square foot and cost right at $800. This means the wall project that wasn’t planned cost more than the flooring one, which led to it! Lol! But since we were making such a mess with the flooring this was definitely the time to do it!

Finishing the Tonge and Groove Board Walls

I’ve already primed the walls and will be sharing all the primer, paint, and finishing details soon! But you can see a little sneak peek of the difference a coat of primer makes below!

I’ll also be sharing time-lapse video of the entire process here and on our YouTube channel soon too!