How to Install Shiplap Panelling | This Old House

Everyone is covering their walls with shiplap. It’s the hottest wall covering. The Arlington homeowners love it too and want to finish the third floor with it. Kevin O’Connor finds Tom Silva installing shiplap in the office. But Tom has a not so big secret. Shiplap has been around for a long time.

Kevin O’Connor checks on the progress throughout the Arlington house on his way up to the third floor where Tom Silva is working on shiplap paneling. Tom shows Kevin what a true shiplap joint looks like. The boards have overlapping joints on both sides and over time a small reveal between the boards is created as they shrink. This kind of siding has been around for a long time and is seen on barns and sheds. There are other ways of creating the same shiplap look. For this project, Tom is using 1x8 stock butted up against one another. First the wall is covered with tar paper so if the boards shrink the insulation won’t show through the crack. He marks the top of the board on the tar paper on each side and snaps a chalk line. They continue cutting and nailing in the pieces all the way up the ceiling.

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This Old House is America’s first and most trusted home improvement show. Each season, we renovate two different historic homes—one step at a time—featuring quality craftsmanship and the latest in modern technology. We demystify home improvement and provide ideas and information so, whether you are doing it yourself or hiring out contractors, you’ll know the right way to do things or the questions to ask. Our experts including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram, and host Kevin O’Connor give you the tools you need to protect and preserve your greatest investment—your home.

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How to Install Shiplap Panelling | This Old House

[Tavbiy]

"How to install Shiplap Paneling": Proceeds to not install shiplap paneling

[AJ-nrvk]

Seriously, the owners had like the best contractor to do that entire room and they cheaped out on the tongue and grove.
Well it isn't Tommy's fault, that's what they chose and that's what the get!

[johnny]

Lmao it's like 12 feet of uneven wall and they arent using tongue and groove. Great job homeowners, I'm sure your snootiness was worth the end result lol.

[MrSouthofBoston]

Whenever I miss my home town of Boston (East Boston) I listen to This Old House. Drop those R’s!

[patrickb]

Looks ugly, Owners don't know squat, but they are paying for their mistakes twice. Install and resale value. Should've just done drywall.

[paulinaschannel]

I need a Tommy in my life!! He can do everything!

[patrickcousins]

Tommy sounded pretty fed up with these picky homeowners

[howtodoitdude]

I always like the look of nail holes in a finished ceiling! LOL

[adrcamacho]

Gonna look awesome when the joints expand and brilliant. FYI THIS IS NOT SHIPLAP...

[chrisbrantner]

I just can't understand some people. I just remodeled a home and when we started taking the walls down we found the previous owners put drywall and wall paper over some beautiful old growth shiplap. House was built in the late 1800s, found and saved some amazing wood from that house.

[figrollin]

If you're going to paint it, and especially if it's simply going to be butted up to each other, why not use mdf and thus lower the chance it will swell/shrink and cause gaps?
I guess the homeowner if the boss, but by electing for a sort of middle ground between shiplap and plasterboard, they seem to have fallen between two stools aesthetically. Looks kinda jarring to me, but perhaps I'm in the minority.

[jaye]

I’m confused why they didn’t use premium pre primed shiplap boards. They look just like the ones they used with no knots but they have the appropriate nickel gap. Home Depot has mass quantity right in the shelf. I use it often in flip houses.

[David-fgnu]

The value of that house just went down by $20

[notahotshot]

I just purchased a home built in 1945. It is all hardwood framing, floors, and shiplap on the exterior and interior walls. Unfortunately the house was "updated" years ago, with drywall, particle board, and wallpaper covering the shiplap on the interior walls. Two layers of linoleum flooring covering the hardwood floors, with carpet on top. And shingle siding on the exterior.

I'm going to peel off decades of "updates" to restore the shiplap, and these homeowners wanted shiplap, but didn't want it to look like shiplap. 🤦🏼‍♂️

[JamesMcCarty]

I'm curious do physics change when it comes to hanging it on a ceiling or wall?. Does expansion and contraction not apply?

[ShadowzGSD]

if the homeowners wanted to be tight they should have just gone for plasterboard, would have looked a lot better than what they ended up with, who expects no knots with that amount of wood, i take it they live on a different planet where trees have no branches.

[lancewolf]

I thought code requires 1/2 inch gypsum over spray foam insulation for fire safety..I think you can put shiplap directly over fiberglass or mineral wool though..

[nergispaul]

Somebody send help! Tom and Kevin are trapped in a giant IKEA closet!

[oneflymanflies]

Looked better before they put the 1x 8’s up 😂

[gravymaster]

What size nails did you use? 
Did you measure the ceiling and buy boards that were going to fit or did you rip the last board or did you rip all of them so they would be the same size?