Board and Batten Wainscoting: Classic & Refined
In this post: Board and Batten Wainscoting. See the one detail that takes this board and batten wall project to the next level!
As promised (and thank you for your patience while I got my act together) here are the details on our new dining room board and batten wainscoting. I’m going to try and include as much information as I can but remember…this was not a DIY project. I will sure try to answer any questions, but there may be some I don’t have answers to. It’s totally possible to DIY this board and batten wall project if you have the proper equipment and know how to measure. Truth be told, the measuring this required boggled my mind. If you want to investigate further, just put “board and batten” in the search bar on Pinterest. There are a million pins to look at.
Board and Batten: The Process
When my carpenters first came to take measurements, I showed them pictures of what I wanted. I had spent quite a bit of time looking online for good pictures of board and batten wainscoting that depicted the “look” I had in mind. There are actually many different ways to install board and batten, so I wanted to be as specific as possible. They seemed very confident that they could replicate my inspiration pictures, so I was happy about that.
Board and Batten Wall Details
On the first work day, they spent about an hour in my dining room taking more measurements and drawing mock boards on the walls. After that, they had me come in for a question and answer session. This was really fun for me and they were very patient.
- They asked if I liked the spacing, size of the squares and height.
- They explained how the outlets/switches would be accommodated.
- They showed me numerous ways to add the trim pieces and had a good selection of different trims for me to choose from.
- They asked how I wanted the paint applied.
- They explained the actual process. In a nutshell, my wainscoting was being assembled one piece at a time.
Update: I had some questions about how we determined the height of the wainscoting. In my opinion, it’s a personal choice but one guideline would be to try and match another element in the room. I matched the height of the wainscoting with the middle line of the windows. (See first photo.) My room is small with just one set of windows so the choice was fairly straight-forward. I knew I wanted it higher than the bottom of the windows and the top of the windows would have been too high.
Board and Batten Wainscoting Assembly
The first thing to go on the walls were the 1 x 6 pine boards that were serving as the baseboard. Next were the vertical boards followed by the horizontal board on the top. All the other pieces were added, one at a time, working from one wall to the next.
Since there was so much detailed cutting, they set up their miter saw in the dining room. They taped off the doorways with plastic and also covered the window. One thing they did that I thought was brilliant was to put a fan in the window facing out. They taped plastic all around the fan so when they turned it on, the sawdust was blown out the window. I had hardly any dust in the other parts of my house so it worked beautifully.
The detail that took this board and batten wall project up several notches was the molding installed inside each square and rectangle.
I debated about having them add it but I am so, so glad I did. It was time-consuming but in the end, it was the perfect finishing touch.
The local construction company I chose is run by two brothers and they employ a few other workers. One brother worked exclusively on the wainscoting while another employee painted and installed the other baseboards. They were all hard workers and put in a full day. I had them do a few odd jobs for me in addition to the carpentry. My toilet had been in our family room since the hardwood installation started so they reset it in the bathroom and they installed the new light in the dining room. From start to finish they were here for six full days. It was a pleasure having them in our home and I am so thankful to have found them.
Affiliate links included. See my disclosure statement.
Board and Batten Sources
- Paint Colors
- Dining room rug in beige/ivory
- Chandelier
- Fabric on chairs
- The tablescape pictured below
I’d like to publicly thank Fogarty Construction
for a job very well done.
See the before pictures here:
Living & Dining Room Makeover | What Stays & What Goes
Living & Dining Room Makeover | Hardwood Floors are Finished!
Living & Dining Room Makeover: Final Thoughts & Lessons Learned
