Board & Batten You Say? (Hallway Series Part 2)

Weh di go aan?!  Board & Batten is for us! Check out our progress so far!

In my last post, I began working on the hallway.  You can read up on that here.  The was the initial stages of the ultimate project which is installing Board & Batten throughout the hallway.  Once again, I borrowed the idea and installation techniques from my "friends" at Young House Love (YHL).    Since the installation I did was almost exactly the same, I won't go into great detail on that aspect. You can read about how they approached it here on their blog. It's very detailed and they even include a video.  I referred to it very often in this entire process.  Instead, I will just give you my perspective on the project, what I did differently, what I enjoyed and possibly what I can improve on.

As I mentioned before, I decided to go this route because I wanted to give the hallway some character, instead of just removing the wallpaper and painting it to match the living room. I can't remember if I actually ran the idea by hubby or if I just proceeded with my plan. More than likely, it was the latter since it's easier for me to execute and show him the results than it is to explain the entire project. (*snicker*)  I headed over to Home Depot to pick out the pine boards and the lattice strips.

Let me tell you, thank goodness for YHL because looking for these pieces at my local store was hard and even with my explanations, I couldn't get the associates to understand what I was looking for.  Naturally, prior to going I measured the walls once, twice and three times to make sure I had enough board for the top rail.  The lattice strips were easy to figure out because I spaced them out (more or less) based on the studs but the length of the top rail worried me.  I calculated the inches and did some quick math in the store and determined I needed four boards.  In determining how high I wanted the lattice strips, I initially went for the 40 inches off the ground that YHL did but that seemed a bit too high for me (we're a fairly short family).  There was also a possibility of it interfering with the light/fan switch so I decided to make things very easy for myself and went for a height of 36".  This may or may not work for you at your home but it was easy for me because 1) the lattice strips came in 12 foot pieces.  I needed Home Depot to cut them down to 15 pieces because I did not own a saw at home at that time.  Using 36" made it very easy for them to make the cuts and for me to carry home in my small vehicle and 2) It's a very nice round and easy number.  Prior to purchasing the strips I was able to use a yard stick to determine where I wanted the lattice to go. All in all, I think I made the best decision in determining the height. Easy peasy.  So easy, I put those up first instead of installing the top rail first like YHL did.

So I get all of this home and was about to install when I realized that 1) I need to cut the long 8 foot boards for the top rail down to the exact size needed for the hallway and 2) wood needs time in the home to get acclimated to the environment prior to installation.  I missed that part initially when watching YHL's video and reading the blog so I'm glad I caught it when I went back.  Also, while hanging out at Home Depot, I realized that I do not know how to cut wood using a manual saw.  In fact, I'm pretty terrible at it.  That being said, I made the decision to purchase a compound miter saw.

Whoa?! Weh you know bout wan miter saw? Absolutely nothing at the time!  But again, Google, reviews and general research were my best friends.  I learned so much about different cuts and angles and what is needed verses what is wanted and came to the decision to buy this baby.  The Hitatchi C10FCE2 10-Inch Compound Miter Saw.  This came highly recommended for someone like myself doing home improvement who has never used a saw before.  It is a great piece of equipment for the price.

Image from Amazon.com

I decided to purchase a compound miter saw because I knew I would be doing a variety of cuts. In addition to the miter cuts we would need for the moulding project, I needed the ability to do beveled cuts because of some of the angles in the house.  In fact, this project called for a pretty unique bevel cut.  Compound miter saws gives you the ability to do both.  They also have sliding saws but that's a fancy feature I really didn't need.  I purchased this on Amazon.com for $129 plus tax with free two day shipping because I have Amazon Prime. I also purchase the Hitachi 725206 72-Teeth Tungsten Carbide Tipped 10-Inch ATB 5/8-Inch Arbor Finish Saw Blade.  Say that two times fast!  I got that blade because the blade that came with the saw only had 24 teeth and it was recommended that you get something closer to 80-teeth for a smoother finish.  So far, I am very happy with both purchases.  The only thing I regret is not getting the Hitatchi C10FCH2 which had the laser beam included.  It cost more brand new from Amazon but I could have gotten a "used" one from Amazon warehouse for only $10 more.  That would have been the smarter purchase.  I thought about returning the saw I purchased but with restocking fees and shipping fees, it didn't seem worth it.  What I did do was purchase this add-on laser beam that I found at Harbor Freight for only $14.49.  I will note that mine was orange and I will post a photo of it when I finally do the installation. 

We didn't install it for use during this project because the screws didn't fit but I used simple math and a rule to make my cuts and to be honest, I did pretty good with out the laser.  It's just good to know that you can still use one if you need to.  It also fits on circular saws and other devices so as I plan to add on to my tools, it will become very useful. Back to my miter saw, it pretty much came ready to use but I need to adjust a few things.  I enlisted the hubs for that because the shipping settings it came in were difficult to adjust out of that locked mode.

Once I got the saw working, I went back up and measured the walls two more times.  Even though I allowed for an extra board, I didn't want to screw up the cut.  Finally, I was ready and I just sliced into the board.  I had my safety goggles on and I had a blast!  Timothia the Tool Gal I was!  That's when I came to the dreaded corner.

This is after I had already applied spackle but you can see to the left is where the angled corner is located.

This corner is angled just so slightly but it wasn't a 90 degree angle..it was something more acute or is it obtuse? Either way, it was making me very nervous about installing the boards over there.  I analyzed, researched, watched Youtube videos.  I couldn't find any solid advice outside purchasing a T-square and a protractor.  Finally, I came across a video that said a veteran contractor knows that the best way to measure angles is to NOT use a tool.  You don't say?  So I went old school with it.  I grabbed a board, a yard stick and a pencil.  I observed how the base boards were cut and noted that I wanted my angles to go in the same direction. Then I used the ruler and pencil to make my mark.

The next step was trying to figure out if I bevel or miter the cut. At the time the saw was still too new for me to know which cut was appropriate.  Again, back to Google and Youtube and I was able to find a video of a guy demonstrating all of the cuts on a compound saw and what you would use each cut for.  Oh and in case you were wondering, the saw did come with a manual but it was very difficult to read.  Sometimes for me it's easier to just see someone do it.  So down I went back to the work room and I was able to cut the board perfectly!  Here's what they looked like installed...meeting just right in the corner.

I should have mentioned before that the installation was done by using a nail gun and a compressor.  Once again, we tried the old fashioned way of nailing with a hammer and that took too much time.  I purchased our nail gun and compressor on Ebay.  The total for both with free shipping was approximately $90.  The both work great and came with a warranty but I doubt we would need it.

 Image taken from Ebay sale description where item was purchased

Image taken from Ebay sale description where item was purchased

By the time I installed those all the rails were done.  I proceeded to use my Kirby Turbo Accessory Kit and transform my Kirby vacuum into a power sander.  Once I finished sanding, I transformed it back to a vacuum and cleaned up the loose shavings.   


The final step in this portion of the construction was to caulk the seams and joints (I used spackle in some parts) and have that dry before finally painting.  I used DAP Dry Dex  Dry Time Indicator Spackling and Finished Elegance white caulk which I purchased at Home Depot.  The caulk was about $5 but any white, paintable acrylic caulk should due just fine.

 

Since this is becoming a three-part series, I will be back with the final step in the process of transforming the hallway.  Great to see how much we have accomplished so far!

Starting from the bottom:

No we're here:

Next time!

Disclaimer:  All items used in this blog entry were purchased with my own money for my own use. I was not asked to promote any particular brand by any particular company.  All decisions and products were selected based on my needs at the time.