DIY Grid Wall
I have been wanting to do a grid board and batten wall in our master bedroom for a long time! I decided to spontaneously tackle the project when I found out my husband would be gone for 3 days attending a work event. Below is my process on how I did it and most importantly, what I would do differently to make it easier!
Please note that there are affiliate links listed in this tutorial. I do earn a very small commission if you click and purchase something, at no additional cost to you.
Step 1: Plan out your diy grid accent wall
This is by far the hardest part of creating your own feature grid wall. But, it can be done! I'll give you my formula for calculating the spacing of your squares. Don't let it freak you out! Just take it step-by-step and you can do it.
Measure your height (H) and width (W) of your wall.
Determine the number of squares
Number of squares up/down: Take your height (in inches), and divide by 24 inches. The reason for 24 inches is because it's a good starting point for the width of your square. Here is how I calculated my wall. You can plug in your numbers to help you customize your grid wall. 96" divided by 24" = 4 squares
Number of squares across: Take your width (in inches), and divide by 24". This will give you a 24" by 24" perfect square. It own't actually turn out that way, but it will get you close enough so that it looks like a perfect square on your wall! 232" divided by 24" = 9.67 squares. I rounded down to 9 squares.
Determine exact spacing in between boards
You will want to determine the boards you plan to use. I recommend using 1"x3" MDF boards. 3" thickness gives the classic grid wall style. I will use 3" thickness in my calculations. However, it's important to note what the actual size of your board is. For example: if you purchase a 1"x3" board, it is actually 2.5" (not 3"). I have no idea why the lumber industry does this, but they do and it's important to use the actual width in your calculations.
For boards going up/down - Take the number of boards you will use and add up the thickness to get a total. I will be using 5 boards (see the blue boards in the image above). My total thickness of boards used will be 5 boards x 2.5" = 12.5". I need to subtract this total from my total height. 96" - 12.5" = 83.5". Then I will take 83.5" and divide it by the number of squares I have (4) which gives me 20.875". This is how much space I will need to have in between each of my boards.
For boards going across - Use the same calculation as above. Here is a breakdown. I will be using 10 boards x 2.5" = 25. Then I take my width of the wall, 232" - 25" = 207". Then I divide by the number of squares I will have going across, which is 9. 207" divided by 9 = 23".
I then will cut 4 boards in those heights and use as my spacers when installing the boards. This will ensure your spacing is even on your whole wall.
Step 2: Purchase materials
Here is a list of all of the materials I used in this project.
Miter saw
Brad nailler
(2 inch) 18 gauge brad nails
Level
(20) 1" x 3" x 8ft Primed MDF boards. Note: I used primed pine but that is only because my hardware store was out of the MDF boards. Using MDF will give you the same look but for way less cost!
2 tubes of paintable white caulk
Wood filler
Paint - I used Jasper by Sherwin Williams
Painters Tape
Paint brush
In total, I spent approximately $300 in materials for this project but I already had a saw, brad nailer, and nails.
Step 3: Paint boards and wall
Painting Boards: This is not necessary. In fact, most other tutorials on how to make your own feature wall says to not paint your boards before installing. However, unless you are planning to spray your feature wall with a paint sprayer once it's installed; I believe painting the boards before install will save you a lot of time. This is because it is easier to paint the boards off the wall, then it is to when they are on the wall. This is just my personal preference though! You could do whichever way you think is easier.
Painting the wall: I would recommend also painting your wall before installing the boards. You can use a giant roller and quickly paint the wall before installing the boards. I believe it makes the overall time of the project go by quicker! As a note - most tutorials do say to pain the wall before installing.
Step 4: Frame out your wall
Framing your wall with your 1"x3" boards will give you the starting point needed to install the remaining pieces. You will want to start with the vertical boards because the height of your wall is (more than likely) shorter than the width. In my particular case, I didn't want to have to install (5)19ft pieces of horizontal wood, that would require multiple splicing of boards together as the purchased boards are only 8ft long.
I opted to rip out my existing baseboard on the wall where I was installing my feature wall to ensure for a flush fit with the vertical boards that were being installed. This isn't a necessary step, and you can use the existing baseboard you have.
Use a level to ensure it is straight before nailing to the wall with a brad nailer. Note: You can use a construction grade adhesive in lieu of nails but I would highly discourage this. If you ever want to remove the wall, pulling off boards with a construction grade adhesive (i.e. Liquid Nails) will destroy your drywall.
Step 5: Cut spacers to use as a template
If you haven't already done this from step 1 above, do it now. These are critical to ensure your spaces are identical on your wall! I just used some spare wood I had lying around for these. You will want (2) of each size to give you the support needed when ensuring your boards are level and spaced evenly. I show how I use them in the video below (step 6 and 7).
Step 6: Install vertical boards
I was by myself installing these very tall boards, so I had to use a few tricks. The first is to measure each board individually. In a perfect world, they would all be the same length, but mine were almost always 1/8"-1/4" off from one another. This meant that I had to take a lot of trips up and down the stairs to get each board just right.
The next step is to tape your spacer boards to the wall so they are level and held in place while you prepare the board to be nailed to the wall.
Step 7: Install horizontal boards
You will follow the same process as the vertical boards, but this goes a lot faster because the boards are smaller and easier to nail (especially if it is just you working on the project). Below is a quick video of me installing the vertical and horizontal boards in my project.
Step 8: Fill nail holes and caulk
This step is one of the most tedious steps, and I don't have any work arounds (unfortunately). To make a seamless design, you first need to fill any of the nail holes with nail filler. Once dry, sand it off gently with 220 grit sand paper.
While the wood filler is drying, I caulked around all of the edges of the wood. With 36 squares, including the framing, this took a long time and got quite messy. Once the caulk was added, I used a damp cloth to smooth down the caulk and wipe away any excess.
Step 9: Touch-up paint
If you didn't paint the boards ahead of time, you will need to paint them now. I use my favorite paint brush to do the edging. If you have a paint sprayer, I would recommend using this as it will save you a few hours. I had a very large wall so painting afterwards took a very long time!
But now it's finished and it was worth all of the effort! It completely transforms the room. And the color is absolute perfection. It's a very dark, earthy green that brings the level of serenity I was going for with this transformation. Up next is to refinish these nightstands that I failed at refinishing 5 years ago! Follow along for how I do this!
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