How to hang pine wall planking

[kevharper]

I finished framing my basement with 2x4's. Electrical, insulation, and vapor barrier is installed. I plan on finishing the walls with 8" wide tongue & groove wall planking, The planks will be horizontal across the studs. I plan on using an air nailer to nail the 8inch wide 8foot long planks to the studs through the tongue of the planks

Any advice relative to my installation? How far off the floor should I start? How to you handle the joints at the ends of the planks? I assume you don't just butt them together. Should the end joints of the boards be staggered? If so, what's the best way to do that?

Thanks, Kevin

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Is the basement dry? Allow at least an inch on the bottom, more if you've ever had water.

YOu can, but look up "shiplap joints" for better appearance.

Start at one end of the wall and work to the other. The last board will have to be cut to fit. Use that board to start the next row. To keep it random, cut a board for the third row. If the first piece was say 16", cut off the next as 48" to give a better stagger. Or use them on an adjacent wall to stagger that. IMO, random look better than a symmetrical joint.

[kevharper]

Thanks for your feedback. The basement is dry.

Don't you mean scarf joint rather than shiplap joint?

Any suggestions as to the wall plank thickness? A lot of the stuff I'm seeing is pretty thick...seems like over-kill but some of this think stuff I've seen looks cheap & crappy...

Thanks, Kevin

Edw>

[Goedjn]

If you can, pick boards that are long enough to span the room without joints. Why are you choosing 8' planks?

[Heathcliff]

Hey, anything besides sheet paneling is overkill for a basement in my book, but it's all in the eye of the beholder.

Scarf joints are used in baseboards, to make a neat joint that allows for expansion and contraction without showing a gap. Don't forget to finish the mitered end of the board before installing, so that if/when in contracts and a little band of the cut area shows, it will match the surface wood and thus be inconspicuous.

Come to think of it, getting an accurate miter on 8-inch-wide stock might be a little tricky, will it fit in your miter saw? -- H

[e-mail] wrote:

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes, brain thought scarf, fingers typed shiplap.

[kevharper]

Thanks guys. I'm using the 8' planking because it's easy to get in my basement and do a little at a time. Plus I like the look of the planks.

Thanks, Kevin