What is Shiplap and Where to Buy it

We are often asked, “what is shiplap?”

With the popularity of Chip and Joanna Gains of HGTV’s Fixer-Upper, shiplap has become super popular and in-demand to add character to the interior of homes.

Shiplap adds a lot of character and I personally love it. We always called it “planking” a wall. But call it shiplap, planking, or barn board, either way, it’s here to stay for a bit.

But want to know a secret? A lot of what Joanna shows is not real shiplap! (gasp, it’s true!) a lot of the time they show wooden boards on a wall. How is that different? Lets have a look!

What exactly IS it? And WHERE can you buy it?

Shiplap is a wooden board that’s used for constructing sheds, barns, and other rustic buildings. Traditionally it has a rabbet (a groove) cut into the top and bottom, which allows the pieces to fit together snugly, forming a tight seal, this gives the it such a distinctive appearance, with subtle horizontal reveals between each piece.

You can “fake” it in various ways, but I find it very cost-effective as is. For example, here is one way we planked a wall without using traditional shiplap.

Here in Atlantic Canada you can buy shiplap at Kents and Home Depot. I am confident you can purchase it at your local hardware store no matter where you live.

This is a totally dorky picture of us buying shiplap on date night. We’re DIY dorks.

Its sold in 6″, 8″ or 10″ width, but not all stores carry all width. (Call ahead if you are doing the math and trying to figure out how many you need)

It is sold in random lengths (see the above picture of the dorks) and it can be very rough, go with your hubby or wood savvy friend if you are picky or you may end up with really rough boards with holes, etc. (Which is ok if that is the look you want). You will want to pick through the pile. This can be annoying to your hubby, but you will train him over time, and he will eventually be allowed to go on his own. ;)

photo credit HGTV Fixer Upper 

Another tip – locally in Atlantic Canada, our hardware dudes don’t all understand the word shiplap (although I am educating them haha) and they will look at you like you have 10 heads. Ask for barn boards with grooves and they will show you to the shiplap. :)

Now that you know what shiplap is, and where you can buy it, check out how to install it.

We use a nail gun like this one to attach the boards. 

Here is a little spontanious Facebook live post I did after many people asked me about our shiplap. We are in the middle of spontaneous last minute renovations here at the cottage (tearing our a wall, shiplapping and repainting a whole room, it’s how I roll) but in the video I show you what shiplap is and how it goes together.

That’s it. If you have any questions about shiplap, just put them in the comments, I will try to answer asap.

Have you used shiplap in your home or cottage? I would love to see how you used it and where!

Thanks for popping in,

Cheers,

Wendy