Board & Batten Wainscoting | Kids Bedroom

It’s been almost over 6 months I completed the board and batten wainscoting in my kids’ bedroom. It is holding up well and I am loving it every time I enter their room.

The impact to the room is AMAZING!! This is definitely a project a beginner can tackle themselves with minimal tools. This is my first time attempting this type of project. I will show you every step I took to complete this project. There are some decisions I made that I would have done differently but that for another blog post.

here is the Before….

let's dive into it...

Materials

4′ x 8′ 5mm plywood sheets
0.5″ x 3.5″ primed boards* – cut from a 0.5’x 4′ x 8′ mdf sheet
1×6 primed boards* – used as baseboards
1×2 primed boards*
primed cove pine moulding
wood glue
paintable caulk
spackle
wood filler
liquid nails
outlet extender
oil-based primer (for mdf sheets/boards)

*length suitable your room space

Tools

1 1/4″ brad nails – used to nail in decorative cove moulding
2″ brad nails
Miter saw
circular saw
Brad nail gun (I have a cordless one)
jigsaw
leveler
pencil
screw driver
pry bar
measurement tape

Now that you have all the materials and tools needed, here are the steps to a beautiful board and batten wainscoting

Step 1
Plan out your design

I did not thoroughly plan out the spacing between the boards, but I was able to determine how high I wanted the board and batten wainscoting. Our kids’ bedroom ceiling are 10 ft tall and I wanted the wainscoting to be about a third of the height of the room or more. The total height of the wainscoting includes the baseboards. Refer to the design layout below for details.

I used a 4ft x 8ft plywood sheet as my panel board, 4ft edge as the height and 8ft edge as the length of the panel board.

final design layout...

Tips: Finalize your design plan with estimated measurements for your wainscoting. Then determine the materials cut you will need.

I decided to cut my plywood sheets 16 inches wide because I was planning to install the vertical slat on each studs. Later on, I decided to install the vertical slats, 28-32 inches apart. Although the plywood sheets were already cut at 4ft and 16 inches wide, I had to determine how to hide as many seams as possible… I shared more on it below.

Step 2
Locate studs and mark it with a chalk line

Step 3
Remove existing baseboard

If your existing baseboards are not as thick/deep as the vertical slats – 1×4 boards, you will need to remove your existing baseboards using a pry bar

Others have suggested that you can install your board and batten on top of your existing baseboards if they are smaller in depth, but I will advise against it. Replacing your baseboards allows for a professional finished look in your home.

Step 4
Install new baseboards

Install baseboard (1×6 primed boards) using a brad nail gun and 2” nails, on each wall at the studs. Ensure the baseboards are leveled using a leveler. At the corners of the wall, miter the baseboards at a 45 degrees for a tight fit between two baseboards.

Tips: At this time, you can also caulk the seams at the miter joint, this will reduce the amount of caulking at the end of the project.

Step 5
Install top board at the desire height (1×4 boards)

Use a leveler to keep boards straight and leveled on all walls. Miter cut corners at 45 degrees

Step 6
Install 1×2 boards on top of the 1×4 boards

I installed a decorative primed cove moulding beneath the 1×2 boards. This add a traditional finish to the wainscoting

Step 7
Measure and cut plywood sheets to cover up any textured walls

Measure and cut smooth plywood to cover up your walls space between the top board and baseboard. You need a smooth surface, if your walls are textured. You can skip this step if you have smooth walls. I had the plywood sheet, roughly cut at Lowe’s for easy transport. Then at home, I cut down to my desired dimension using a circular saw.

Note, a jig saw can be used to cut plywood sheets because the cut do not have to be perfectly straight. The seams will be covered by the vertical slats

For outlets on the wall, cut the outlet opening on the plywood sheet, using a jig saw.

Use an outlet extender for a flush look on your board and batten, especially if the outlet opening is located on either of the horizontal boards and/or vertical slats

For switches that fall on the top boards, cut the opening on the trim board, using a jig saw. Also use an outlet extender for a flush look.

If your switches are not fully enclosed at the top board area, you will need to cut an additional wood piece to frame out the switch.

Step 8
Arrange the cut plywood sheets to visualize how they will look once installed. If satisfied, proceed with Step 8

I arranged my sheets because I changed my design plan, which required me to reduce the seams visible between the vertical slats

Step 9
Apply liquid nails on the plywood sheets and nail onto the wall at a 30 degree angle.

Step 10
Cut and prime vertical slats (1×4 boards)

Prime boards with an oil-based primer and sand with 220 grits sanding paper for a smooth finish

Step 11
Arrange vertical slats using paint tape

Use paint tape to hold the vertical slats to confirm spacing before nailing them onto the wall. Not every boards will be placed in equal distance between each other. However, make sure your vertical slats are balanced equally on the walls.

TIPS: The vertical slats do not have to be nailed onto the studs. For a secure attachment, apply liquid nails to the back of the boards and nail at 30 degrees.

Step 12
Fill in all nail holes

Fill in all nail holes with sparkle or wood filler. If you have any exposed seams between the plywood sheet, like I did, use sparkle to fill in the seams. Then sand down until you can no longer see those seams.