how to install faux board and batten

I live in a suburban home that has pretty basic design elements and have found that it takes more than a pretty paint colour and lovely furniture to add the character and interest I crave. If you look through Pinterest or Instagram and notice that your favourite décor images have interesting walls (wallpaper, shiplap, board and batten, mouldings), you may want to consider adding one or more of these to your home. I have to admit that I have added all four to our home! Click here for my shiplap tutorial, and here for my son’s room renovation that included a beautiful black and white wallpaper. This post provides easy step-by-step instructions on how to install faux board and batten to your home.

The beauty of this project is that you can apply it to a single wall to create a feature wall or you can apply it to an entire room, or even your entire home.

I had planned this project years before I had the time to tackle it. It took me about 2 weeks to complete, including all the painting that needed to be done. Our ceilings are very high in places and I was doing all the work myself (and taking care of my busy family of 5).  I added the board and batten to our living room and dining room since they are adjoined and part of one large space.

What is Board and Batten?

True board and batten is a construction technique that has been around for hundreds of years. It is traditionally used as siding on the exterior of homes and consists of wide boards applied first, followed by narrower boards (the “battens”) to cover the joints of the wide boards. The boards can be applied vertically or horizontally.  In recent years, there has been a trend toward applying what is termed “faux board and batten”. This is the type of wall application I describe in this how to install faux board and batten post. It involves only the narrower boards as well as the bottom and top trim pieces to give it a finished look.

Determining the height and spacing

Height

The optimal height is about 1/3 or 2/3 of your ceiling height. In other words, you’ll want to avoid a height of half your wall height as this divides the wall in half which is not pleasing to the eye. It can also make your ceilings look lower, which most of us do not want. If you have a good collection of art or wall decor you want to display, the lower height might be a better option. However, if you want the board and batten to be the star of the show, then consider the greater height. The greater height creates a more architectural look and may lend a nautical feel to the space.

I couldn’t have chosen a trickier space to apply board and batten as our living room has a height of 131” (about 11 ft, plus it has an even higher cathedral ceiling) and the adjoining dining room’s height is 107” (about 9 ft). Because of the difference in height, it wasn’t possible to choose a consistent board and batten/total wall height ratio. I ended up going with a height of 44” which is 1/3 of the living room height and about 2/5 of the dining room height. Because I wanted the board and batten to show above our sofa and some tables in the space, this seemed a reasonable choice. I also had a significant amount of wall décor and shelving I wanted to use in the space, so a lower height made more sense for me.

Spacing

When considering spacing, think about your budget (closer together will require more wood), the location of plugs and other obstructions, and the look you want to achieve. I chose to have 16” between each batten piece. It’s a fairly open look that is calming and relaxed. It’s also a good idea to note the location and spacing of your studs- if your battens won’t be lining up with the studs, then you will want to use an adhesive to secure the battens to the wall.

What to do about baseboards

I didn’t want to remove our baseboards and apply new ones because I like having a consistent baseboard style in our home. I also thought that by adding the trim piece on top of the existing baseboard it would create the look of a chunkier baseboard. Because of this, I left our existing baseboards and added the trim piece directly above the top edge of the baseboard. This is also the easiest option.

If you prefer to remove your baseboards or currently have no baseboards, then purchase wider MDF for your bottom trim pieces- somewhere between 5” and 6.5” would work well with the 3.5” wide battens. I prefer the look of a wider base trim (compared to the battens and top trim) as it grounds the wall treatment and avoids a top-heavy look.

Simple top style

I wanted to keep this project as simple as possible and I like the look of the simple shaker style with no ledge or wainscot top. If you have a little more time on your hands and like the more traditional look of additional top detailing, then you can do some browsing of photos to see what style you like. Options include adding a simple narrow ledge on top to a premade detailed wainscot cap.

A note on materials

I used primed MDF because I didn’t want to fuss with uneven boards, splinters, or sanding in order to achieve smooth boards. It also saved time during the painting process, as I didn’t have to prime the boards. I was lucky to find primed MDF at Home Depot in the exact size I wanted. I didn’t want to spend any time ripping boards, so getting the desired size of boards directly from the store was key. Click here for the exact boards I used.

For the paint colours- I used Benjamin Moore Classic Grey on top, and C2 Paints Sheer on the board and batten and all trim in the space.

Are you ready to learn how to install faux board and batten in your home?

Materials

• Battens- 3.5” wide by 0.5” thick primed MDF
• Top and bottom trim- 3.5” wide by 0.5” thick primed MDF
• No More Nails adhesive
• Painter’s tape
• Wood filler (interior, white, paintable)
• 320 grit sandpaper
• Caulking (interior, white, paintable)
• Paint for board and batten and wall above board and batten

Tools

• Measuring tape, pencil
• Stud finder
• Level
• Compound mitre saw (the mitering feature is needed for the corner pieces)
• Brad nailer, brad nails, and air compressor
• Caulking gun
• Paint brushes, rollers, and paint tray

Directions- how to install faux board and batten

Directions- Preparation

• Decide on your batten height and spacing, determine material amounts, and purchase materials
• Pencil in your top line for your board and batten using a level
• Mark all the studs between the bottom trim and top line
• Mark the location of all your battens using a level

Directions- Apply the bottom trim

• Use the longest pieces you can manage to minimize the number of joints
• When joining pieces, it’s best to use a scarf joint- it’s basically an angled cut on both boards that when lined up is nearly invisible
• Start at a corner and used mitered joints at every corner
• I cut one piece, then apply it, then cut the next piece and apply it in order to get accurate cuts each time
• When you’re ready to apply your first piece, apply No More Nails to the back of the MDF avoiding getting too close to the edges
• Place the board directly above the existing baseboard and push it against the wall
• Check that the board is level and adjust if necessary
• Using your brad nailer, secure the boards to the wall at the stud locations (At each stud I used one brad nail at the top of the board and one at the bottom). Continue all the way around the room.

Directions- Apply the top trim

• This is done in a similar fashion as the base trim
• Make sure your boards are level and secured at the studs

Directions- Apply the battens

• This part is a relief because you’ll most likely be working with a lot shorter (thus lighter) boards!
• Measure the distance between the base and top trim boards along an entire wall- the results may all be exactly the same, or they may vary by a slight amount
• Cut your boards to match the above measurements- as you’re applying the battens, don’t worry if one doesn’t fit, you will likely be able to use it at another spot on the wall or you can trim it down
• To apply the battens, use No More Nails on the batten backs (make sure the piece fits perfectly before adding the adhesive!), put in place, check that it’s level, and secure with the brad nailer
• If your battens aren’t nailed to studs then you can use painters tape to help them stay in place while the adhesive dries
• Continue around the entire room

Directions- Final steps

• Allow the No More Nails adhesive to dry for at least 24 hours before caulking
• Fill the brad nail holes and joints with wood filler, allow to dry, and sand flush
• Apply caulking along the edge of the trim pieces and battens if there are gaps between the wall and the battens- this took me a long time and about 5 tubes of caulking
• Make sure you do a neat job on the caulking, as it cannot be sanded after the fact
• Allow caulking to dry completely (refer to packaging for details)
• Paint the walls above the board and batten
• Paint the walls below the board and batten

Dining Room

The board and batten provides a lovely architectural detail in the dining room and breaks up what would have been a lot of greige paint. The white paint on the bottom really freshens up the space.

Living Room

I love how the board and batten grounds this space. The high ceilings are wonderful but I found that before installing the board and batten, the furniture seemed lost against the huge walls. Now the furniture feels grounded and the board and batten provides such a pretty backdrop behind the sofa.

I’m so happy with how this project turned out, I’m considering adding board and batten to our hallways and staircase. In the meantime, I will enjoy the character that it adds to our main living space.

I hope this has inspired you to consider adding trim to your home, and hopefully, I provided you with helpful instructions on how to install faux board and batten in your home.