It’s been 2 weeks since we closed and work has already begun.Β We’re spending a few hours a day over at the house several times a week and things are looking a little different already.
Itβs no secret that Iβm part of Loweβs Creative Bloggers team and let me tell you, Iβm sure glad of that.Β This monthβs challenge was a before and after project and I had the perfect one in mind.Β I got in the fixer-upper house just in time to do this project.Β I had already decided that I was going to add tall board and batten in the dining room, so after I explained what it was to my Dad, he was all on board for putting it up.Β I took my Lowes giftcard to the store and we picked up all the supplies needed to start this project.Β Weβre not completely finished, but I got one wall completed to show you all how we did it.Β Caulking and painting it out will come later.
We picked up 2 sheets of 1/2β MDF, just the perfect material for cutting board and batten.Β There are a zillion tutorials out in blogland on how to do this.Β This one will be basic and Iβll explain how we did it as I move down the pics.Β You wonβt get to see the really pretty βafterβ yet, but that will come later.Β I canβt wait to get to the pretty stage, most of what we are doing now is just grunt work.Β Hard and dirty work getting ready to paint.
Now, I have to tell you a thing or two about my dad, Al.Β Heβs old school.Β Extremely.Β If you know an old-school guy, I can assure you, there is no one more old-school than Al.
We almost got in a head butting contest over this kick-butt nail gun.Β With my Lowes giftcard, I picked up this wonderfully versatile rockinβ tool, the Hitachi nailgun.Β Itβs a finishing nail gun and works with a compressor and saves a TON of time.Β My dad didnβt think we needed one, but I sure did!Β So we had discussions over the nail gun.Β I won and the nail gun came home with us, courtesy of Lowes.Β We were able to buy all of our materials, including paint and the nail gun from Lowes.Β Thanks, Lowes!
He is so used to nailing nails and couldnβt see that having a nail gun will save us so much time, but it totally will.
Another thing about my dad.Β Heβs cheap.Β It has served him well.Β I can be cheap too, but getting MDF cut at the home store would probably been a time saver since they cut on those BIG OLEβ saws they have.Β But no, we can cut our boards at home and that wonβt cost a dime. If there is even a hint of having to pay for cuts, nope that wonβt do.Β Out came the table saw and we ripped those boards ourselves.Β I helped and we got βer done! π
We ripped 6β boards and 2β boards for the battens.
Hereβs our wall, waiting for a makeover.Β I decided that I wanted the board and batten to be tall, so I opted for 65β up the wall.Β My ceilings in this house are 8β tall, so that seemed a good height to go.Β I also decided that I wanted to do 2 rows of boards and fill in with battens for a nice paneled look.Β Youβll see!
I started by painting out the bottom of the wall (below 65β) in white primer.Β This will help when I have to paint that wall with all white trim paint.
Primer completed.
We brought over my dadβs compressor, he does have some great tools, we just need to use them. Heβs got most of the good ones:Β table saw, miter saw, jigsaw, and more.Β This one is perfect for the new Hitachi nail gun.
I went ahead and painted above the board and batten a gray color, Rockport Gray mixed in Valspar Paint and Primer in one.Β It covered wonderfully!Β I think the one quart I bought will cover all the walls I need to paint in here.
Iβm really liking the gray color.Β I have some drapery fabric already bought that Iβm using in here. It has pretty tones of gray, gold, green, brown and cream and I think will look super with my dining chairs and all this white board and batten.
Wanna see?
Some of you might remember that I picked up this fabric not too long before I moved from Birmingham back to Atlanta.Β I had planned to use it in my old house, but guess what?Β It’s going in the new one and I couldn’t be happier to have a dining room to use it in!
Can you see it coming together with my dining table and chairs?Β Yeah, me too!
So, we measured and leveled our 6β boards, nailing them into the wall studs.Β Another thing about my dad.Β Heβs completely obsessed with nailing boards in studs.Β He overkills every piece of wood that gets nailed up.Β It HAS. TO. BE. IN.A. STUD in my dadβs carpentry book.Β SO, we found the studs.Β Sometimes I have to give in to his wishes and let him do it his way. Not always, I can assure you.Β There will be much head-butting getting this house done.Β We have gone through it before, it is nothing new for daughter and dad to see things 2 different ways.Β I see pretty, he sees strong and not going to go anywhere.
I totally think you can do both!
Back to the board and batten, I placed the 2nd board 12β down below the first row and now we are ready for the 2β battens to be installed.
We mitered the ends so that they would butt up against the baseboards and then I got the nailgun out and really had a ball.
This thing totally ROCKS my world!Β Iβm going to be in love with my new nail gun.Β I popped nails in all those battens and loved it.Β The best thing, no countersinking. The gun does it for you!
We added battens in the corners and will wrap them to the next wall too.Β That next one from the right over to the left, we had to move it over a bit further than the others to jump the wall outlet.Β I read a lot of tutorials and most everyone said to do that.Β Jump the outlets and avoid them and youβll never really notice the different spacing once it is all painted out.Β We spaced about 14 inches apart.Β Donβt hold us to that, we fudged a bit here and there.
Hereβs that angled bottom piece, cut on a 45Β° angle on the miter saw.Β See how it rests on the existing baseboard and just makes it look better than keeping it straight across the bottom.Β I love this little touch.
So, one by one we added those battens.Β A few of the top boards didnβt get nailed in the studs, so we used Liquid Nails on the back (just a bit) as well as nails in the bottom part which did hit a stud to secure them all.Β They wonβt be going anywhere.Β We used a level horizontally on the battens to keep them straight as we nailed.
It looks awesome to me!Β Iβm so excited to get just this little start to pretty going on.Β Weβll continue around the room and finish this up and Iβll go ahead and paint above and this space will be on itβs way to being transformed.Β Iβm planning to add more board and batten in the little foyer and going up the stairs.Β It just adds SO much architectural interest to an otherwise plain space, donβt you think?
Of course, the real fun will be when I caulk and paint it all trim white in Semi-Gloss.Β It will be gorgeous!Β It might be awhile before I get to that part, but youβll be the first to see it all done.
UPDATE:Β Here’s the AFTER, with new floors installed. Β
And my dad is really proud of what we did. He mentioned how great it looks several times!
Hereβs a little more progress for you.Β My sweet and tireless mama worked at getting up some of the tack strips from the carpet that we are ripping out while me and Dad worked on the board and batten.Β She is amazing.
Dad walled up the doorway going into the kitchen and this wall from the living room can now have furniture on it if I need to do that.Β It will make all the difference in the kitchen space and adding more cabinets on that wall that is not a door anymore.
Oh! And the ceilings all got a nice coat of spray paint last week, thanks to a family friend retired painter who we hired just for that reason.
Long view to the door that is now GONE. Canβt wait to paint those walls, that alone is going to make such a huge difference.Β After we paint the trim and walls, our next project tackled will be new floors in this living room.Β As of now, I do believe we are going to buy a floor nailer and put down unfinished oak flooring, then hire a refinisher to do the sanding, staining, and finishing of the floors.Β That will save us some money, even though it will be a lot of work. We can take our time and get it done.
Mom and I have finally stripped all the wallpaper off the walls.Β That was a happy day too.
These 2 people are the loves of my life.Β They are such hard workers and I couldnβt do this without them.Β Weβve had many picnics on the porch already during our renovation days at the house.
And that’s pretty sweet!
Disclosure:Β I received a giftcard to buy supplies from Lowes for this project.
Suzyq-atthefarmhouse says
Rhoda, how lucky you are to have those wonderful people to help you. I too have wonderful parents (my Dad has since passed away) and they helped me with our old house when I got married. I’m sure your house will be looking and feeling like a home in no time at all! I can’t wait to come along for the ride!
Suzyq
sandy says
I love the post’s of you and your parents working on the house. Cant wait for the next one, i am as excited as you are. God bless you for sharing your life with us.
Kim says
Your dad and my husband would get along so well. If my husband can do anything himself then he surely isn’t paying someone else to do it. Really drives me nuts sometimes. You are so lucky to have parents helping you like that. That hard work will just keep them young. That is what I have to tell myself, too as I get older.
Susan @ Afford Your Passions says
How exciting! A nail gun sounds dangerous! π
I would love to do a board and batten in my living room, but my walls aren’t smooth – they’re textured (apparently it’s pretty common in new construction in Texas), so if I did it, I would have to fill in the whole wall, rather than just putting in the 2″ battens.
I can’t wait to see this project finished!
Mary says
Rhoda, I cannot believe how much you have done already!! You have 2 fantastic parents that are in amazing shape to tackle hard work like that, now I know where you get your energy from!!
The DR is going to be stunning, one question..what angle is the bottom piece that rests on the baseboard? And how to you measure that cut to get it so perfectly fitting? Your lucky your Dad is a perfectionist…it’s coming out beautiful!!
Beth says
This one brought tears to my eyes! How wonderful to see you and your loving parents working together. There is nothing in this world like the love from your mama and daddy. I can’t wait to read what the 3 of you do next. I have a daughter that lives in Atlanta so I visit often to see my 2 grandsons. I would love to come lend a hand some time!
Arlene Grimm says
You have the sweetest parents Rhoda….love love love seeing you all working together on your new home! I cannot wait to see the Dining Room when it is finished.
Debbie says
it’s looking great Rhoda, so happy for you. What a blessing to have your parents, enjoy this special time you have with them.
marie says
how exciting!! i love how involved your parents are with helping you in your new home. i can’t wait to see your progress every day. ENJOY it and congratulations!
Julie Schaal says
What a great family! Its wonderful to see how God is blessing you! The loving labor you all are investing in this house will make it all the sweeter to enjoy through the years.
Crystal says
What a blessing your parents are! You will treasure this time of re-building forever.
DJINFL says
How lovely it is to see your sweet parents helping you with this gift from God. It already looks terrific – I will so enjoy watching the progress as you continue.
Cristina says
How wonderful to have your parent’s help! You’re doing great progress, can’t wait to see the dinning room all ready! Isn’t that so awesome working with a nail gun instead of a hammer? I love my nail set!
Alison says
I love this post!! I love the B&B, I too want to try. you might have given me the inspiration to do just that. But even more so I love your dad! I have an old school dad as well. He says it isn’t a real project until we do some math on some scrap wood. And gah- heaven forbid, who would buy premixed concrete?
Looking great!
Tara Dillard says
Congrats on the business end of what you are doing & Lowe’s….
The real story is your parents.
Wish you would redo this post at some point, from the parent narrative point-of-view.
Your parents are total CATNIP. More, they are blessings. Even at this distance.
Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
Gina says
Your happiness is showing through the grunt work! You deserve to be happy!;)
Shelia says
Woo Hoo! Oh, Rhoda, your wall looks wonderful. I know your home will be so beautiful! How sweet to see your little mama and daddy going to town for you. You’ve given them joy to be able to help you! π
Can’t wait to see more and I’m so happy for you.
be a sweetie,
Shelia π
Mandi H says
Rhoda – how wonderful! I love that you have this amazing blank canvas to work on. Your parents are so sweet to be helping you like this!
Lynne says
Rhoda, I am so happy for you. You are so blessed to have such a loving and hard-working Mama and Daddy. I know they are finding great joy in helping you achieve your goal of owning another home. Enjoy your time together! P.S. Your father is right. Nails do need to be nailed in the studs. My husband says the same thing. At least you know it is being done right and will hold tight!
Emily says
How fabulous! I couldn’t be happier for you. I’m enjoying the renovations and wait for the move in day reveal. You are one lucky gal, your mom and dad are the best! I love themβ¦β¦β¦.
~Emily
The French Hutch