Safety Equipment
Gloves are recommended to avoid splinters when handling the planks. Safety goggles and a dust mask should be used when trimming the planks. Ear plugs should be used if you are using a nail gun or an electric saw.
Tools Needed
- Construction Adhesive
- Caulk Gun
- Hammer
- 2” Finish Nails
- Saw
- Pencil
- Tape Measure and Level
Acclimatise planks for 2 to 3 Days in new environment by leaving planks strapped.
Installation Instructions
Make sure that the surface you will be installing on is relatively flat and structurally sound. The surface must also be clean, dry, and dust-free. Painting the wall or ceiling a colour similar to your wood is an optional step. It is recommended that you remove your planks from the box and let the wood acclimatise to the room for 2 to 3 days, while strapped, before you install (this allows the wood to get accustomed to the humidity and temperature of the room where it will be installed), or slightly longer if you live in an area with high humidity.
Once your boards are acclimatised remove the straps. Arrange the boards on the floor as you would like them to be installed on your wall or ceiling, make sure to pay attention to how you would like colour and grain variations to be presented.
Now grab a pencil and a level to make a reference line. It is easiest to start at eye or shoulder level. Start in the middle of the wall and draw a straight and level line across the entire surface.
Due to the nature of reclaimed wood there may be small gaps that are visible between the panels once installed. To minimise the appearance of these gaps you can paint the installation surface (the wall or ceiling you are mounting to) a dark colour or use a permanent pen to draw lines between the rows of panels. You can also use a permanent pen (if you didn’t paint your wall or ceiling) to fill in spaces that are the result knotholes.
Now apply construction adhesive to the back of the plank (keep the adhesive away from the edges of the plank so the adhesive won’t ooze past the edges of the board once applied to the wall, in most cases a continuous “S” pattern or squiggle line works best).
Next, place the board below and flush to the reference line. While holding the board in place put nails in the 4 corners of the board approximately ½” (one half inch) from the board edges using a hammer.
Repeat this with another board, going across the room following the reference line. When this row is complete begin your next row. Be sure to stager your boards so the ends of the boards don’t line up and create seams. A good rule of thumb is to make sure that the edges of the boards are at least 8” apart from row to row.
Repeat this process until you have completed a row of two boards deep. When you approach the end of the wall you will need to measure the distance from the last board to the end of the wall. Then mark the measured distance from the wall on to a board and trim it to size so it can be used to complete the row and be flush with the edge of the wall. Repeat this until you are close to the ceiling and the floor.
You may need to trim the height of some boards to make sure that they are flush to the floor and ceiling. There is a possibility of some expansion of the boards after installation, so leave a small gap between 1/16” and 1/8” between the boards and the floor/ceiling.
Electrical Outlets or Light Switches
Use a pencil to trace around the faceplates then remove the faceplates and set aside for later.
Follow the instructions above until you get the portion of the wall with the outlet or light switch. Measure the distance from the end of the wall or the closest board in that row to the edge of your pencil marking and trim the board to size. You may need to make a horizontal cut out on this board using a jigsaw.
You can now screw the faceplates back into place.
