Planked Wall Bathroom ~ Behind the Scenes

When I told you about our new planked wall bathroom a couple weeks ago,

I promised I would come back and give you some of the details.

Yeah, well...it just took me a little longer than expected.

Shocking, I know. :)

As a refresher, here is the before and after:

{warning: this is kinda long}

Of course you know that with any good makeover project,

you've got to tear some stuff up first!

Removing this ceramic tile from the backsplash was NO fun.

As you can see, I got a little brutish and took out a big chunk of drywall.

Ooops.

I filled it in with some plaster filler and smoothed

it before we put the planks up, don't worry.

This was some super duper adhesive on these puppies...that was the problem.

We have these mini pry bars...but the combination of the extra strong glue

and apparently soft drywall caused me to find inventive ways to get the tiles off.

I used a small board to aid with leverage and protect the wall behind.

There may have been chisels and a hammer involved, too.

This totally made me rethink the possibility of taking out the tiles

that serve as the backsplash in the kitchen.

I think I mentioned that once I started painting I wasn't
totally sure I still was in love with my paint choice.
I mean, it has been two years since I bought this paint.
By the way, this is Chocolate Turtle from Valspar, color matched in Behr.

Once we got the planks on the walls, the world began to right itself.

I could see my vision becoming reality and all was well.

These are cedar v-groove planks from Lowe's.

They come in a pack of 6 I think...and are eight feet long.

The Lowe's website doesn't show a picture of the pack,

so there's no visual for that...sorry.

Also...I neglected to take any process pictures.

I am sometimes a sorry excuse for a DIY blogger. :)

But not to fear, they are really simple to put up.
They are tongue and groove and the pack gives the basic guidelines for installation.
We used long finishing nails and went right into the studs.
Don't use adhesive unless you know for sure you'll never take them down!

Jon helped a lot with the planking...because it was just easier with two sets of hands.
Especially when you're trying to use the level and hammer at the same time.

Our biggest challenge was that the boards are not all exactly the same height.
Because of that, there was some finagling at the corners
to get them to line up as closely as possible.
You can see the corner above is not perfect.
We ripped a narrow board to place there knowing it
would not be visible once we trimmed it out.

I remembered to leave this space here so I could frame out 

the mirror without some weird notch taking place.

Which I also did not document.

But really...measure trim...cut trim...attach to mirror...paint.

Voila!

Oh...and whenever you put something on your wall...

or even a thick outlet or light switch...you'll need to remember to

get some spacers to bring your outlets out farther.

We used some 1 X 2 trim for the top "shelf" of the wall...

and some small square trim right below that...for visual appeal and support.

You can kind of see it below here on the left.

The baseboards are just chunky casing.

We trimmed out the corners with some lathe...because

it's thin and I didn't want it to stick out too far.

And, yes, I know that part around the light isn't painted yet.

Once everything was up, I filled nail holes, filled gaps, filled knot holes...

with nail hole filler and paintable caulk...and sanded till my arm nearly fell off!

Well, almost.

I had a little electric sander that gave out about 2/3 of the way through.

The rest was all manual labor.

My arm did NOT fall off...guess the time at the gym is good for something!

I did use a coat of primer on the cedar.

I didn't want it to soak up all the paint and

I didn't want it to smell like a hamster cage forever. :)

When I did the mini makeover in our master bath, there was

some discussion after the fact about other options for the counter top.

One of the things talked about was Envirotex Pour On Resin.

Sooooo...I decided to use it here on a small surface.

I love the way it filled itself in against the wall and the sink...seamless.

However, trying to get all the air bubbles out was a pain in the rear.

And I had a heck of a time keeping the edges smooth.

It pours on, so the top levels beautifully when you spread it a little...

but then you have to be vigilant on the sides and edges.

I was in there the whole time it was setting up to

smooth out the sides...and they're still bumpy.

I don't know what I could have done differently, but am open to suggestions as to how to fix it.
It's also very shiny...high gloss.  Which I knew it would be.
Even when it's cured, it looks like it's wet.

There are instructions on the box to achieve a satin finish...
How did that work out you ask?  Not so well...but I'm still brainstorming.
So...I would not use this again for this application, but it would be awesome
on a bar top...which is kind of what it's made for.

Below is how it looks now...but still not the final product...

as I'm still looking for the best solution.

I will update you when I find it!

Here is a close up of the top trim and corners.

This odd angled wall made measurements fun to figure out!

You can see how the mirror framed tucked into the planking and trim.

The counter and cabinet got a coat of primer before paint.
This BIN primer is the best for glossy surfaces like cabinets.
It seems thin when you apply it, but it's really great.

It doesn't even look like the same unit.
The planking and cabinet are Sherwin-Williams Creamy.

The light fixture got a dose of Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.

Rustoleum's metallic paint and primer in one is my favorite ORB.

And see? I remembered to paint the wall behind it.

This canvas is a custom piece of art I made myself!

I created it using basically this method from Lake Girl Paints.

I just used craft paints and maybe a random sample pot.

I can't describe to you how awesome it looks.

I love it so.

It is an excerpt from a poem called Starlings in Winter by Mary Oliver...

who I discovered, when looking this up, was born in Maple Heights, OH...

which is a neighboring city to my hometown of Twinsburg.

Crazy, huh?

The wreath was in here before, but it looks so much better in its new surroundings.

The basket with towels is from TJMaxx.

The faucet is one of two I picked up for a song on the discontinued rack.

I don't have a cost breakdown because I forgot to keep track.

I know the planking ran about $100 for all we needed.

That did not include the trim and baseboards.

Might it have been cheaper to rip thin boards

ourselves and space them with a nickel?

Probably.

But then it might have taken me another year to get it done. :)

None of the links in this post are sponsored or affiliated.

I just wanted to let you know what we like and what we used.

If you have any questions or I left anything out of this very long post...

drop me a note and I'll do my best to answer.

I'm trying to find my notes from this delicious Bourbon Cedar Salmon I made...

if and when I do...you'll be seeing it here!

Until then...keep smiling!

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