{"id":880,"date":"2015-03-21T09:58:32","date_gmt":"2015-03-21T14:58:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/twomakeahome.com\/?p=880"},"modified":"2022-12-08T14:57:02","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T20:57:02","slug":"diy-board-and-batten-front-entry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/twomakeahome.com\/diy-board-and-batten-front-entry\/","title":{"rendered":"DIY Board and Batten Front Entry"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m a bit of a detail freak. A perfectionist, I guess. I refuse to start a project unless I have a clear idea how I am going to handle every little intricate aspect. That\u2019s probably why I put off this DIY board and batten<\/a> project in our front entry for so long.<\/p>\n

\"DIY <\/picture><\/p>\n

There were four things I just couldn\u2019t figure out exactly how to get around:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Our walls are textured. Some people have nice smooth walls, so they can get away with attaching the battens directly to the wall for a faux board and batten look. Not so much at our house.<\/li>\n
  2. The casing around all of our doors is super-thin MDF. I thought it would look funny if the battens (the vertical pieces) and top\/bottom boards protruded past the door<\/a> casing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Maybe you can live with this.<\/p>\n

    I just can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

    See opening paragraph.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. There is a 3-gang light switch smack in the middle of the wall.<\/li>\n
    2. We wanted a 1×2 ledge on the top of the board and batten. However, I wanted it to tie in to the existing door casing in a way that wouldn\u2019t look awkward or disjointed. Again, see opening paragraph.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      But we had to do something. Our front entryway faces the north, so it gets very little natural light. Sometimes it feels more like walking into a dungeon than a welcoming entry. So Jess put it at the top of the list and I devised a plan and got to work.<\/p>\n

      \"Bare <\/picture><\/p>\n

      DIY Board and Batten Project<\/h1>\n

      I started by carefully removing the baseboard from the wall with a flat bar. Seriously, CAREFULLY. I wanted to re-use it later on.<\/p>\n

      Backing<\/h2>\n

      I found 1\/8\u201d hardboard to cover the texture. This stuff is flat, smooth, and super thin so it works perfectly. It covers up the texture without making the entire board and batten treatment too thick.<\/p>\n

      I cut the hardboard width-wise with a circular saw<\/a>. I didn\u2019t worry about keeping a straight edge<\/a>, because the edge against the inside corner would be covered with a batten. I positioned it on the wall so that the top edge was level and 52\u201d above the floor.<\/p>\n

      \"Makita<\/a><\/p>\n

      Next, I measured and marked the location of the hole for the switch and an outlet. I drilled through the hardboard at the corners of the cutout marks and finished cutting the holes with a jig saw.<\/p>\n

      \"Board <\/picture><\/p>\n

      Finally, I attached the 1\/8\u201d hardboard to the wall with a generous amount of construction adhesive<\/a> and brad nails<\/a> at the studs. I applied \u00bc\u201d beads of the construction adhesive approximately 4\u201d apart and spread it around with an el-cheapo disposable notched putty knife. In reality, the brad nails are only there to hold the hardboard in place until the construction adhesive dries. I used a bunch of nails, because I wanted to make sure the hardboard stayed pressed firmly against the adhesive.<\/p>\n

      \"16-diy-board-and-batten\" <\/picture>\"\"<\/p>\n

      \"Homax<\/a><\/p>\n

      The top of the hardboard was positioned at 52\u201d above the floor so that I could layer a top board completely on top of the hardboard and still clear the light switch. Unfortunately, because the hardboard is only 48\u201d wide, there was a 4\u201d gap between the bottom of the hardboard and the floor. I just filled that space in with scrap pieces of 1\/8\u201d hardboard.<\/p>\n

      \"18-diy-board-and-batten\" <\/picture><\/p>\n

      Bottom Trim Boards<\/h2>\n

      The battens and the top and bottom boards were cut from more hardboard (this time 1\/4\u201d thick) on the table saw<\/a> at the following widths:<\/p>\n