Installing Tongue and Groove Shiplap

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Hello again! We are back at mommas house to add some more character to her builder grade home. If you caught my last project here I partnered with Airstone to add a high-end custom look to her builder grade fireplace. A new stone facade complimented by a rustic wood beam mantle added so much warmth to her her living room!

The next step was adding warmth to her adjoining kitchen! My mom loves the character in older homes and desperately wants to bring some of that character to a new build! With an open concept living room/kitchen space, cohesiveness is so important! We decided adding stained tongue and groove to the ceiling would make the space feel smaller and more warm and homey. This is the kitchen we started with at move in.

The Beginning

The very first thing we did was plan. We took measurements of the space and planned out what exactly we wanted. We decided to add a light fixture over the island and to run the tongue and groove horizontally. Once we had all of our measurements and supply calculations we were able to order all of the supplies we needed and got to work(a few weeks later 🤣). Our supply list was as follows:

First Step: Stain

We set up all of the boards on boxes and bins and began. I used a wood conditioner on every board. This process took a little bit of extra time, but it helps ensure that your stain will take evenly on the board. Once the wood was conditioned, we were ready to stain. For this color, I chose to mix 1 gallon of jacobean and 1 gallon of English chestnut. With stain a little goes a LONG way. To do the entire ceiling AND the pantry reno, we only use half a gallon of stain!

Ceiling Supports

Next, we added the supports to the ceiling. In our case, our ceiling joists ran the same direction as we wanted to tongue and groove boards to go. Without supports the tongue and groove boards would have nothing to mount to. We added 1×2 boards and screwed them into each stud. That gave us a solid, secure place to nail the actual tongue and groove board to. We did these approximately every 2 feet. So that we had enough spots to nail into, and we worked around the existing light fixtures and duct work. Some were more or less than 2 feet, and that’s okay! We also added the wiring for the island light fixture at this point. We wired it off of the pendant over the sink so that they were on the same switch.

Adding Tongue and Groove

Then, it was time to add the tongue and groove boards. We started with the first board being a full-size 8 foot piece. We nailed this piece directly into the back of the board and then angled the gun and nailed at the tongue. Be sure you angle this nail perfectly. You want it to go in fully and securely but do not want it obstructing the tongue so that the next groove slides on with ease. Continue down the row butting one board up against the next until you reach the next wall. Once the first row is in, using the leftover piece from your last row, when possible, click the next groove onto the tongue and only nail on the tongues from here out. This way, you have very minimal finish work when the project is done.

Once we reached the lights, we measured where they were and used a jigsaw to cut the hole.

The Finished Product

This is what the kitchen looks like done and cleaned up. All of the tongue and groove boards are in place. The next step will be to add a cap or molding piece to finish off the look so that there is no gap where the boards meet the supports. We will be adding a faux beam to accomplish this! Stay tuned!