Shiplap Tips, Tricks, and Ideas

Ship·lap

ˈSHipˌlap/

verb

fit (boards) together by halving so that each overlaps the one below.
"shiplapped pine used as facing for the first floor"

noun

boards which have been shiplapped, typically used for cladding.

Shiplap has become a style trend thanks to Fixer Upper’s Joanna Gaines. What you might not know is that there are a few different ways to add this style to your home and some different methods available.

Origins of the Beast: Actual Shiplap was used as a type of exterior siding and was created so that the pieces of wood fit together and overlap so that there isn’t an open gap between the boards- creating a nice seal from water.

Now all that lovely interior stuff you find in old houses isn’t technically shiplap -but I don’t know a better name for it so we will just stick with the status quo.

Back in the day, before sheetrock was covering the interior of houses beautiful wood panels were used as a base for wallpaper and was never actually meant to be exposed. Jump ahead and this lovely stuff lurking behind the walls has made its return as a design piece.

If you are lucky enough to live in an old home with shiplap in the walls- I am jealous! For the rest of us remodeling our 1980’s houses- we just have to make due with what we can find at the local lumber yard.

Options Available:

Custom Milled Shiplap:

The original shiplap has a rabbet or notch cut along the edges of the boards so that they fit together nicely and create a waterproof seal. If you want to have this authentic build you will need to contact a lumberyard and have it custom milled OR if you are talented with a table saw and have a lot of extra time you could always custom mill the wood yourself.

Tongue and Groove:

Tongue and Groove is pretty similar to shiplap except the notch to connect the wood pieces is slightly different (the notch is more centered). Nice thing about this type of wood is you can readily find it at your local lumber yard or Lowes (doesn’t appear to always be in stock, but I have seen it there). This isn’t the authentic shiplap-- but will still give you the look.

Peel and Stick

They actually make peel and stick wood walls out of real wood. This is kind of a cool option if you want the wood wall look with slightly less effort. The wood does not join together, but since there is no water to be sealed out you are pretty safe.

Pallet Boards

Another cool trend for wood walls is creating an accent wall out of pallet boards or other rustic looking boards. Anyone that has used wood pallets knows what a royal pain it is to disassemble the wood pallets -- but you can get some BEAUTIFUL wood from pallets… and it is FREE (Check out Craigslist or any local paint stores, or home improvement stores). If you want to take the time and energy to create a pallet board accent wall I recommend purchasing a reciprocating saw with a lot of metal blades… this will cut down on the time it take to dismantle significantly.

Decorating with Shiplap

You have endless options on how to incorporate wood walls into your home.