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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

DIY WOOD FENCE PLANK WALL {TUTORIAL}


Isn't it great when a project you've been planning to do forever finally gets done?  That was this planked wall for me!


It all started when I saw what Chris at Just a Girl did for her son's room.  Go see it, it's a.ma.zing!  From that point on I knew I wanted to do something similar for my son's room.  Fast forward about a year from the time I saw that post, when we needed a new fence.  When the guys came to replace it, I told my husband to have them stash 4-5 of the panels beside the house.  I knew I didn't want to throw that wood out!

Fast forward another year, and we finally reached a point where we were ready to attempt this project.  Here's how we started:

1) Enlist boy-who-will-be-living-with-this-awesome-project to help pull each board apart and remove the nails.  2) With a high-pressure nozzle, my husband cleaned all of the boards off very well. Then we left them in the sun for days to dry out thoroughly.  3) Not pictured- I used the palm sander to quickly knock off the hard edges on the side that would show, and made a pass over the flat side of the board to remove any wayward splinters.  They are by no means smooth, but should keep any more splinters at bay.  4) We marked the studs with painter's tape so we would know where to nail the boards in.  (That fence in the background is the next one to go...more project supplies!)


We started at the top with a long board centered, and worked out from there.  We completed one entire row at a time, varying the placement of the longer boards and then cutting smaller boards to fit as needed. I made 1 million trips back and forth outside to the saw.


What? You don't use power tools in the snow while bundled up and wearing golden slippers?

Now, these fence boards are not perfect, straight, or particularly level, and are often bowed.  We just worked with them as we went, and it all turned out alright.  If a piece wasn't quite right, we'd flip it around the other way and it would usually work better.  You just have to play with each piece and choose the best one for the spot you're in.  I painted the wall tan before we started, so that any gaps in the wood would be less obvious.


Most of the plank walls I've seen had the crown and baseboard removed, but we didn't want to do that.  I was a little concerned with how that would look, but I think it turned out just fine.


We only had one outlet to deal with on this wall.  We ended up running two rows of boards right up to the edge of the cover and working out from there.  The piece across the bottom side barely covers the plate and I'm ok with that.  For the top I measured and cut a scrap to plug the hole that was left.  I knew the bed would be covering the plug so I wasn't too concerned about it.


Once we got to the bottom, we were left with a space that was about 1/2 of a width of a board.  It would have been a snap if we would have had a table saw to rip the boards in half, but we didn't.  So, we used our jigsaw and it worked good enough to get the pieces we needed for that bottom row.



I think from start to finish it took both of us working together for about 6 hours.  A good deal of that time was going back and forth to the saw.

We love all of the nail holes and knots and texture and color variation and imperfections in the wood.  It makes it so interesting!  We're also suprised at how much bigger it makes the room feel.  It's quite a small room, so every little trick to make it seem bigger helps.


There's still plenty to do in this room.  I have a few things to add to the planked wall, a headboard to make, a gallery wall to put together, and a few accessories to tweak.  I'm hoping to get it finished up in the next few weeks, after all, it's only been in the works for over 2 years!


*Disclaimer:  There could be health concerns when using pallet wood or boards that have been treated with chemicals.  We are confident that these boards were safe to use in our home, but if you're not sure you might want to research a bit online.  Sealing the wood with a few coats of polyurethane may also be effective if you're concerned about the safety of the wood.  Use old fence boards at your own risk...



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Would you like to comment?

  1. ACK!!!!!! I am dying with DIY love! The planked wall looks amazing, Jennifer!!!!!!! It totally transforms the room and gives it so much textural interest and I especially love the wood next to the charcoal gray wall. Fab job sister!!!!!!! (PS you are bringing carpentry fashion to a whole new level with the cute braids and gold slippers!)

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  2. Looks AMAZING!! and well worth the wait! I'd love to do this in our master bedroom

    Cheryl @ The Creative Me and My McG

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  3. Oh My Goodness Jennifer!! It looks amazing!! Love that you got the boy in on the job :). The fence boards were a perfectly imperfect choice!! So much character! LOVE how it turned out!!

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  4. Jennifer, that looks awesome! I love the color and texture of the old wood! We are going to plank one of our bedrooms with regular wood and the plugs have made me wait...and wait..trying to know what to do. I love how you solved your problem. Does your son love it?

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  5. WOW. this is amazing!!!!! i love love love it!

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  6. Looks so great and I love the pillows on the bed too Jennifer! xo Kristin

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  7. So so good! Love the look and it's totally worth all the work!

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  8. OMG, it looks absolutely fantastic Jennifer!!!! you really should be proud! That rustic, raw and cozy feel just emanates from that wall! Perfect!

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  9. Amazing!!!! All of your work was so worth it - does your son love it? You made a great choice with the paint color on the other walls too - it works so well with your beautiful plank wall!

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  10. Jennifer this looks AMAZING!! LOVE the way it turned out...awesome job!!

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  11. Love this!!! I might incorporate this same wall treatment in our craft/reloading/office/etc room. It would help it feel more masculine to the Mr., and complete to me! Thanks for sharing!

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  12. It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I love how the planked wall turned out...just gorgeous! :)

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  13. It's fantastic!! I love a rustic wall of texture in any space, but it's so cool for a boy's room!! Well worth the wait!! You look darling working those power tools!

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  14. Wow that came out great. Love the geometric pillows too.

    Vidya @ Whats Ur Home Story
    www.whatsurhomestory.com

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  15. That is a labor of love....I'm sure your son will enjoy the new look in his room.....Great job!!

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  16. Looks wonderful and very masculine. I'm sure Caleb is going to love it. Love the pillows ~ did you make them? You're rockin' that saw ~ :)

    xo
    Pat

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  17. I LOVE IT!!!! I'm thinking I need a plank wall :)

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  18. Jennifer this is just great! I loved Chris's wall too and the idea is in the back of my mind for when we finally get to the point of renovating our bedroom. I'm thinking I would whitewash the wood once it was on the wall - I bet that shocks you a lot huh?!!!

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  19. fyi fencing could be treated lumber prior to 2003 containing arsenic compounds. Please research indoor use of treated fence lumber prior to use indoor. Just a Girl was using wood pallets ( usually not treated with chemicals). I love the application and result but want your family to be safe.

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  20. Jennifer, I LOVE the way this turned out! You guys did a great job and it looks amazing. Love the power tools outfit, too! You look adorable! Love the braids! :)

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  21. This came out SO gorgeous. The most masculine kind of gorgeous, that is :) Seriously great, I just love it!

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  22. Jennifer, this looks awesome! I am envisioning it in my son's room now! Hee hee! Love it!!! And I could not be more impressed with that shot of you and the table saw! :)

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  23. Love this new "old" wall, Jennifer! It looks so smart. Can't imagine how neat the room will be when it's all finished! A magazine will be calling soon! :)

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  24. Girl!!!!! It looks so so good!! Just perfect for a boys room...I dare not show my son! Unless you have more boards and want to head south?? ;)

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  25. Love it! It's perfect for a boy's room. Thanks for the inspiration!
    Leslie
    House on the Way

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  26. Wow! The wood wall adds such visual interest to this boys' room! Love the way it turned out:) Great looking~ Pinning this!!

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  27. Such a fabulous project! Love the look as well as the family effort in getting it done!

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  28. Wow - it looks great! Adds so much texture and warmth!

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  29. all your hard work paid off it looks great!

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  30. Oh, I love this look!! Rustic and charming!

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  31. This is so pretty. I love the tone of the wood and it looks so nice and rustic. What a fantastic project!

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  32. This wall is more than gorgeous! I love how you made this togehter..... I hope the boy likes his new wall!!!
    Hoping you have a terrific week…. :)
    xx Crystelle
    Crystelle Boutique

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  33. It gives the room so much character! Great job. And I love it with the red pillows, too!

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  34. This is beautiful! I love how it turned out. I need to add some rustic to my house somewhere... hmmmm where shall I do this? haha!! Great job :)

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  35. Looks beautiful!! Love the golden slippers too! ;)

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  36. I too have used old fence wood to complete my DIY projects but I never thought about using it for a plank wall. I love this. This is truly breathtaking.

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  37. It looks great! I love the rustic charm it adds to your son's room.

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  38. I have a question: did you remove baseboard and crown before doing the wall and then add them? Im going to do this project but im not sure if I want to remove baseboards and crown and then do the wall. It would be a lot more work compared to just leaving the trim and adding the wall without removing anything. Thoughts?

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  39. Nope! We just butted right up against them. The wood sticks out just a little more than the baseboard, but I am totally ok with that. With the bed on that wall, most of it is covered up anyway. Good luck on your project!

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  40. did you seal the wood with poly after it was on the wall or not? it looks amazing. I'm going to try it in my bathroom! Thanks..

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  41. Hi Sherry! No, we didn't seal ours. Just make sure your wood is safe for indoor use and it should be fine. Good luck on your project!

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  42. Hi! This looks amazing. How do you know if your wood is safe for indoor use? We are dismantling our fence which has been up for 18 years. Wouldn't any chemicals have been aired/washed out by now? I would love your opinion. Thanks!

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  43. That was my thought. I asked my Dad, also, and he didn't think that it would have been treated in the first place and that ours were just cedar boards. I know it's a case by case thing and everything depends on the wood and what was used, but I felt ours was safe to use.

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  44. How did u make the headboard?

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