Shiplap

Tags

Fixer Upper, Furlow Gatewood, rabbet, shiplap

I have long admired what I now know to be “shiplap,” but I did not know what to call it until I started watching the HGTV show, “Fixer Upper.”

1. Shiplap is a type of wooden board used commonly in the construction of barns, sheds, outbuildings and inexpensive or seasonal homes. It is either rough-sawn 1″ or milled 3/4″ pine or similarly inexpensive wood between 3″ and 10″ wide with a 3/8″ – 1/2″ rabbet on opposite sides of each end.

In case you need to know what a “rabbet” is:

rab·bet

ˈ

noun

1. 1.

   a step-shaped recess cut along the edge or in the face of a piece of wood, typically forming a match to the edge or tongue of another piece.

   “a rabbet joint”

   

   Since a “picture is worth a thousand words,” here are some photos of shiplap.

   

   Here is shiplap as discovered by Joanna Gaines in a home she and her husband, Chip, were remodeling on “Fixer Upper.”

   

   And here is what the room looked like when she was finished:

   

   I like the look of it, even though it may be a little uneven, or rough in places.  The boards add a great deal of texture to a room.  Also, think how nice it would be to move a nail….just add some wood putty, give a light sand, and a dot of paint.  I think that it would be easier than wall board.

   

   Here is another view of shiplap as found in season one of Fixer Upper.  In this case, they kept the boards over the fireplace and covered the rest with wall board.

   

    

   After looking at these photos, I was thinking that in some cases  what looks like actual shiplap was installed without first cutting the rabbet joint.  Then, I did some research and found tutorials on Pinterest that told how to install board planks without cutting a rabbet and using a nickel to space the boards.

   Here is another image from, “Fixer Upper.”

   

   If you are doing remodeling and you uncover something that looks like this,

   

   I would consider yourself very lucky.  Give it a light sand, pull out the nails and add some paint and smile!

   The next room is from Coastal Living:

   

   Nothing says “beach,” any better than shiplap painted white.

   And certainly, nothing says, “cottage,” any better.

   

   In this photo it has been stained.

   

   This house was done in 8″ shiplap.  I’m guessing that they used the boards as they found them, paint and all.

   

   

    I love the clean look.

   

   

   The above room is in a home in Abilene, Texas.

   

   from Cote de Texas

   Sometimes, what is old becomes new again.

   

   Furlow Gatewood kept the shiplap that he found in an old house which he had moved to his property in Georgia.

   If you have shiplap in your home, consider yourself lucky.  If you would like to have it, please take time to look for some tutorials on Pinterest.  It doesn’t look that hard!

   Create and be happy!