How to make a Board and Batten Wall
Add a stylish statement to your space with a board and batten wall. It’s a simple way to revamp a room on budget. When I decided to add an accent wall to my kids’ bedroom, a common question arose; what is the difference between board and batten and wainscoting? Answer: Wainscoting goes up the wall partially while board and batten can either be partial or full wall. When determining what’s best, it comes down to preference and the size and type of room. Wainscoting often makes rooms look smaller, therefor larger rooms are well suited. My choice was based on preference because I wanted a full wall accent. If you need more details and help choosing a style, checkout TheSpruce.com for a good summery of Wainscoting vs. Beadboard and Other Paneling. Now let’s get into how to make a board and batten wall.
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How to Make a Board and Batten Wall
Easy, step by step guide to a DIY Board and Batten Wall.
Equipment
- Saw (Miter, Table or Circular)
- Nail Gun (or Hammer)
- Step Ladder
- Power Sander
- Tape measure
- Torpedo Level
- Stud Finder
- Pencil
- Notepad (Recommended for tracking measurements & sketching)
- Putty Knife
- Paint Brush
- Paint Roller
- Paint Tray
- Drop Cloth
Materials
Board and Batten Wood (MDF)
- Assumes Wall Size of 84" x 128¾" (7' x 10'8¾")
- 1 1×5" x 15' MDF for Top of Wall Panel white
- 11 1×3" x 8' MDF for middle and base panels white
Filler
- 1 Tube DAP DryDex Spackling & Nail Hole Filler
- 1 Tube Caulk / Kwik Seal Adhesive
Nails
- 1 Box Finish Nails
Paint
- 1 Gallon Paint
Instructions
Determine # of Boards Needed
- Measure wall length + height. My wall space was 128¾" wide x 96" tall (10'8¾ x 8').
- Determine desired spacing between boards
- Sketch wall with desired spacing. Use a notebook or paper to sketch your board and batten design. *TIP* less is more, I looked at Pinterest to see what different spacing options would look like and found I liked a moderate amount of squares in my design. I would have gone too small without this step.
- Calculate number of boards needed. Do math to calculate # of boards needed based on your wall measurements, board placements, and MDF size. This is where sketching really helps.TOP: I used a wider board on top (1×6" MDF), all others were same width (1×3" MDF). My Top 1×6" Board was 15’ long, so just needed one of those.MID & BASE: The middle/side 1×3" boards come in 8' long boards, so I needed 11 boards to cover my desired grid placements.
Buy Boards
- *TIP* Make sure your car can fit the boards before buying. The 15' board barely fit in my GMC Acadia; it took the entire length of the car without having to leave the back open.
Measure & Mark Boards for Cutting
- Calculate the length of boards for cutting:Top: My top board spanned the width of the wall, so cut measurement = 128¾"Middle Vertical Boards: Take wall height (96") – (width of top board + base board + base trim (5.5"+2.5"+4")) = 84". *Note I placed my base board batten on top of the existing base trim. Some will say to go all the way to the floor, it's up to your design preference.Middle Horizontal Boards: See diagram for how to calculate. My boards were 22¾".
- Measure boards based on your calculations & mark each board with a pencil for your cut. Start with the top & base boards, then vertical, then middle horizontal boards. I.E. longest to shortest.
Cut Top & Base Boards
- Cut top board to measured & marked length based on wall length. My wall width was 128¾". I used one long board cut to length, but you can use two shorter boards if needed. For base board, I used two smaller boards to fit to wall width.
Make a cutting template for inner horizontal boards.
- Measure, mark and cut one board to use as a template for measuring the rest of the inner horizontal boards. This saves time by not having to measure each inner board.My inner horizontal boards were 22¾" and I needed 10 boards. Much easier and quicker to use a template to measure each board rather than measuring individually.
- Use your template to measure your cut for each inner, horizontal board.
- Cut each board one at a time. This is important: Don't make multiple marks on the same board because the width of the saw blade will make you boards smaller than needed.
Prep Wall for Installing Board and Batten
- Fill any nail holes or surface scratches with nail filler. Once filler dries, us high grit (180+) sandpaper to sand filled holes and smooth flush with rest of wall.
- Use Stud Finder to find stud placements, mark placement on wall with a pencil. This will come in handy later when nailing boards to wall as you want to hit as many studs as possible fasten boards securely.
- Measure board placement based on your plan & mark each placement with a pencil. Reference your sketchpad plan.
Install Board and Batten Boards
- Measure stud placements on wall, transfer stud width measurements to Top Board, marking each placement with a pencil. This is where you'll place your nails to fasten to the wall. Note: Install longest to shortest boards. Start with the top and base boards, then vertical, and finish with the shortest, horizontal boards.Drill pilot holes. Use drill & appropriate size bit to drill pilot holes for nails. Note – pilot holes aren't mandatory for MDF since it generally won't split unless nailing near an edge. But, depending on nail diameter the MDF material could "pile up" on the side of the nail, requiring extra sanding before painting. I used Pilot Holes for top boards to make nailing easier because I didn't have a nail gun.
- Install top board. If working alone, find a stud near the middle of the wall as your starting point. Use a step ladder and place the top board flush with the ceiling. Nail the board to the wall, making sure to hit the stud. Place a second nail ~2" below your first nail. Nail rest of board to the wall at each stud interval. If you're using one long board, the board will bow on each end after the first set of nails so make sure to push board up to ceiling before nailing.*Tip*- Get help. This step is hard for one person, I recommend getting a helper to hold the top board while fastening to the wall.
- Install Base Board. Place board flush with existing base trim (or floor if no trim). Nail to wall at each stud interval. Fasten to wall with additional nails, spacing nail placements about 1 foot apart.
- Install Middle Vertical Boards. Place board on the wall, aligning to your markings. Fasten to wall with nails, hitting studs if possible. Repeat until all boards fastened to wall.*TIP* If wall studs don't align to placements, you can use a shoot/hit nails at 45° angle to keep board tight against the wall. Sometimes the boards bow a bit off wall, this kept them flush. You can also use glue, but if you decide to remove the boards in the future, glue tears drywall when pulling away, making refinishing harder. Also, caulking edges before painting helps secure boards to wall as well.
- Install Middle Horizontal Boards. Place board on the wall, aligning to your markings. Fasten to wall with nails, hitting studs if possible. Repeat until all boards fastened to wall.
Fill Nail Holes on Batten Boards
- Fill nail holes with wood filler. Also fill any gaps between boards with wood filler.
- Sand filler once dry to smooth finish.
Caulk Edges of Batten Board
- Apply Caulk/Quick Seal Adhesive to each of the MDF edges, applying between board and wall. Use finger to smooth finish.*TIP* This step is not mandatory, but it helps fill any gaps between walls and boards. I especially had large gaps between my ceiling and the boards.
Paint
- Tape any wall edges you do not want painted.
- Use step ladder to start painting at the top board, work your way across and down the wall.
Before… 
…After Board and Batten Bedroom Makeover
I built this in my son’s bedroom, giving it a whole new look. For more DIY tips, check out my Full Dad Mode YouTube Channel, featuring my most popular guide, How to Install Double Barn Doors.
Feel free to reach out with questions or to share your own design story.
Thanks for reading,
Britt
About Post Author
Britt
Hey I’m Britt. I run Full Dad Mode to help people like you make the most of life. I share helpful DIY how to's and recipes designed to make busy lives easier. Click here to sign up for email updates to stay up to date on the latest tips and from Full Dad Mode!
