My wife and I, like most all old home owners, are fans of a lot of the restoration themed DIY shows these days. Rehab Addict, Restored, and, of course, Fixer Upper.
Their designs and passion to keep original elements of old houses is so rare in the renovation game that I can’t help but root for them to succeed. I miss the show already!
One of my favorite shows is definitely Fixer Upper. Partly because I’m from Texas, and partly because Joanna and Chip are such a trip to watch. They even have a book, The Magnolia Story, telling all about their story. Her designs are almost always stunning, but she does have a real addiction to what she calls “shiplap.”
The only problem is that rarely is the wood she calls shiplap actually shiplap! Not that you can tell on the television screen. I’ve noticed my clients recently asking about shiplap, if their house has it, or can they incorporate it somehow. And I always have to ask “Do you watch Fixer Upper?”
If the answer comes back yes (which it usually does) then my next question is usually, “Do you want actual shiplap or do you just want wood paneling?” This query often brings a cock of the head and a quizzical look. “Aren’t they the same?”
Don’t get me wrong, Joanna, I love your show and really don’t think you need to change a thing. You do enough for historic preservation that all of us in the field should be grateful.
I don’t actually think that you aren’t aware of what shiplap is. I think it’s more of a generalization that is happening much like a lot of people do. Much like a lot of folks call any sparkling white wine champagne when it’s not really champagne unless it’s French.
That may sound snooty, but it’s not my intention. I just want to make sure people know what shiplap actually is and what it isn’t.
What is NOT Shiplap?
It’s Not Sheathing
This is usually what Joanna calls shiplap and where I start to yell at the TV.
It is not plain wooden boards nailed on a wall. Often in old houses, these boards can be found on the exterior of the framing just beneath the siding.
Today, we frame a house and then install plywood sheathing to tighten the frame and help square everything up prior to putting on the siding and interior wall coverings. In the days before plywood, we used 1×6 or 1×8 boards, sometimes installed on a diagonal or horizontally as both sheathing and subfloor.
These boards can be salvaged and reused as paneling or other creative design uses since they can add a lot of rich character, but they are not shiplap. They’re just plain old wood boards.
It’s Not Tongue & Groove
Sadly, it’s not this one either. Tongue and groove boards are used in all different places in old homes and most of us have heard the phrase at one time or another. Flooring is of course the most common tongue and groove you’ll encounter, but there is a lot of siding that is tongue and groove as well.
Tongue and groove (or T&G) is just what it sounds like. One side of the board has a groove and the other side has a tongue. When they are installed side by side, they fit together nice and snug, which strengthens the floor or siding.
What Is Shiplap?
Shiplap is a 1x board that has a special rabbet or notch cut on the edges of the board in an alternating fashion. These rabbets allow the boards, when installed horizontally, to self-space themselves and keep water from getting behind them because they fit so perfectly.
Shiplap is mostly found in siding designs because of the need for consistent spacing and water tightness, but it can be found in other places. The lapped joint is one of the simplest you can use to accomplish the spacing and prevent water intrusion, which is why shiplap was and is so popular.
Once installed, shiplap can look just like regular wood boards because the rabbets are hidden, so yes, it can be hard to tell it apart from regular sheathing boards to even a trained eye, but it is different.
There are various profiles of siding available in shiplap too. Sometimes it’s just flat shiplap boards and other times you can find profiles like Novelty Drop, Dolly Varden, or the poorly named but still attractive #117 lap siding.
For the purist, shiplap is the original flat profile with a rabbet on top and bottom. Chip explains it in the video below so we know they are on the level about shiplap even if a few random styles get thrown in with all that Texas shiplap.
As long as she doesn’t start proclaiming that they come from the shiplap tree, I’m still a fan.
If you are having trouble finding the real stuff in your area, you can easily make your own shiplap with this quick tutorial. If you’re one of the lucky ones to have true shiplap in your house and you just need help repairing it, read my post The 7 Best Products to Patch Wood.
Designing With Shiplap
There are so many ways to incorporate shiplap into your home projects and almost all of them are attractive. Whether you use weathered natural wood or want a more clean painted look, a wood covered wall makes any room feel warmer.
Here are some of my favorite designs using shiplap from Houzz to give you a little inspiration for your home.
Pittsboro Residence Farmhouse Entry
Bastrop County Plantation House Farmhouse Bedroom
Founder & Editor-in-Chief
I love old houses, working with my hands, and teaching others the excitment of doing it yourself! Everything is teachable if you only give it the chance.
I asked my contractor for a bid on “shiplap.” He bid me “shiplap” (that is what it says on the bid), and I did my research to make sure it was a fair bid for (real) shiplap. I knew there were such things as fake shiplap out there, like wood paneling, but I was clear that I wanted shiplap. Maybe I failed in not explaining to my contractor that there was a difference, and I was aware of it, between wood paneling and shiplap (I do not watch Fixer Upper). However, I figured that he knew that… he is the contractor here. My oversight, and it has cost me.
He installed wood paneling. I saw the boards right before the last ones were nailed up, and it is wood paneling. It looks fine, but it is not real shiplap. Now, the issue, and I have not approached him with my knowledge of this issue. However, I think I should get a discount on him not providing me what he bid me, which was “shiplap.” He did not bid “wood paneling” or “faux/fake shiplap.” He bid shiplap, and the bid was so high, it matched my research on shiplap. Any advice on approaching him with this. Thank you.
I’m bummed you didn’t show the actual joint! 🙂
Sorry to disappoint.
This week during a laundry room remodel, I discovered what I believe is original shiplap siding. My house was built in the 1930’s and the wall this is on is the original exterior wall of the house. My goal is to sand it down to the original wood and stain it. However the paint is really soaked into the wood. Do you have any tips for removing the paint?
Is shiplap used in ships? Or why is it called “shiplap”?
That’s the rumor and it seems to make sense to me as well.
Hi Scott! I’m so happy to have stumbled on your article. I have a few questions:
1) If installing over studs, is it necessary to put drywall up first and install over top?
2) Either way, should it be installed behind any wood trim around a door or window or just butt up to the trim?
3) If installing on just one wall of a room, should vertical a vertical piece of flat stock be placed in the corner where it meets the existing plaster wall, or just butt it up directly to the corner where it meets?
Thanks!
Hey Scott,
I’m trying to go for a traditional shiplap look in our family room. Should the spaces between the boards be painted or not? Or is it a matter of preference?
Thank you!
Hi Scott! I am planning an addition to my home with a master suite. I love the look of ceilings with wood panel. Is shiplap the way to go? Really I would like to stay on budget so I’m looking at cost difference for drywall vs. shiplapped ceiling. Thanks!
How rough or smooth are the shiplap boards? Once painted, do they usually show indentations where the knots are, or is it fairly smooth? Also, what finish of paint do you recommend? I have found some posts on Pinterest where you can mimick the look of shiplap with plywood slats — thus making it easier for the next owner to change, if they don’t like the look!
I would stay away from plywood because it doesn’t behave the same way and can give a faux look for not much less than the real thing. Shiplap will usually be #2 grade which means it has knots and isn’t a smooth mill finish 100%. I would prime with an oil based primer and then paint with a good water based enamel like Sherwin Williams SnapDry, Porch & Floor, or ProClassic.
why would you do oil based primer and then water based enamel? I’ve always been taught water based “should” not go over oil. Oil based can be applied over water-based, but not the opposite.
Also, can you show a photo of the shiplap joint for us? Would be super helpful as there’s a lot of misleading info on this out there.
Thanks.
Industry best practices for painting wood are to prime with oil based primer for maximum adhesion then paint with latex. And the rule of thumb is that you should always prime when switching from oil to latex PAINT. Oil based primer is an excellent base for any paint.
Just wondering if you do use shiplap, is it recommended to caulk before painting, or not? Would caulking ruin the intended look? Have a customer buying an existing home and wants to install shiplap on her kitchen backsplash, but only about 3 or 4 inches wide. Do they have shiplap that narrow? She also wants shiplap on the living room side of her Kitchen bar, this is to be the standard width of 5 or 6 inches. She wants to paint both this bar shiplap and the backsplash shiplap white. That is why I am asking about whether to caulk or not. Also, she wants me to buy paneling, something she calls underlayment, and cut into strips. That I am not quite comfortable with. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Usually shiplap is 5-6″ wide but I’m sure there are some 4″ installations. I would not caulk it because that would likely destroy the look. Not sure what she is looking for with the underlayment though.
What she’s asking you to do is buy the thin plywood (4’x8’x1/4″ plywood “underlayment” and rip it down to 3-4 inch planks using a table saw. You just need to know if she wants the boards butted together or spaced apart a small amount (like the size of a nickel) so there’s a “reveal”. It’s actually quite easy and inexpensive to do. Caulking would lose the whole effect. I have the same look in my kitchen.
Great information here. What would you consider to be the main benefits of using shiplap as opposed to tongue and groove boards on interior walls. Obviously the shiplap would have an aesthetic value with the overlap, but would tongue and groove be a nice alternative. The reason I ask is I found a company southernAsalvage in our area who has a tremendous amount of 1900’s heart pine flooring and wide boards, but they don’t currently provide shiplap.
We considered just nailing up the wide boards, but after reading your article, we may want to find some shiplap. I guess we could ask our contractor to cut the boards, but we don’t want to spend the extra money if we don’t have to. If we use the wide boards with no cuts on the edges, will they stick out too far? If we go with the tongue and groove, will it look to “plain”. Their wood is special, so we want to use it, but we’re just not sure which route is better.
Also, would you recommend any type of moisture barrier on the wall to keep the boards from absorbing moisture and swelling?
I live in the midwest and am doing a renovation using shiplap in 2 bedrooms. My local lumber store has a choice between “true shiplap” 1×8 pine boards or MFD 1x8s with primer. Can you get a smooth painted finish using the pine shiplap, or would it be better to go with the fake primer version?
We wanted the finished look of shiplap in our new home without the cost so we elected to install 8″ wide, smooth finish James Hardi board over the existing drywall and using a 3/16 spacer between boards because we didn’t like the appearance of ripped down 1/2″ plywood that we found on many other blogs.
And, on the exterior we’ve used 8″ smooth James Hardi board over sheets of Hardi backing to give us the look of shiplap which really does look convincing to the eye and without worries about expansion between boards.
Hi Scott,
Interesting article!
I’m still confused between tongue and groove and shiplap. we are planning to install western cedar siding (horizontally) on our exterior bay windows. I talked to two different stores. One said T&G is better since nails won’t be visible. it is more expensive but looks clean. The other store guy said shiplap is better because it doesn’t retain water. he never said anything about nails. Since shiplap is less expensive, I’m leaning towards that, but at the same time I don’t want rot in the future. So is it true that the nails will be visible in shiplap option?
Great article, I learned a lot!!! I have a room that has wood paneling that looks very similar to shiplap that I want to paint because I think it would look very nice. My question is: there are a lot of different sized gaps in the seams. Most look totally normal but some are just a bit too large and you can see the shiny insulation behind it. Can I caulk those openings that are just to large?
Hi ,,,
What are your thoughts about putting” shiplap” behind my cooktop for a backsplash , do I need to treat it in anyway ?
Thanks for this fun post about shiplap. Im wondering if you can answer a question for me. I live in Dallas and my house was built around 1918 and I have true shiplap in most of my walls and ceilings. In a few spots there is still muslin nailed in place with the original wallpaper stuck to it! The people who owned the house before me were flippers and so the shiplap is covered by drywall. We had a leak in the dining room however so we had to pull the drywall down and have decided to keep the shiplap exposed. So finally my question, do you think we need to fireproof it somehow or should we not worry since the entire house is wood anyway? Thanks in advance!
I don’t think fire proofing is necessary because most building codes count 3/4″ thick wood paneling (aka shiplap) as an acceptable form of wall covering for fire blocking purposes.
Glad I found your website Scott!! Was wondering – would it be better to go with real shiplap or tongue and groove boards in a bathroom? Would a person use semi-gloss paint on it or gloss? We have an outside wall that just doesn’t look nice, but I thought the wood treatment would “warm” it up a bit. Thanks!
Hey Kerry, glad you found my site too! I would find whichever is easier to obtain in your area since installation and appearance is not much different at all between the two. In a bathroom I would use semi gloss since gloss is very hard to get a perfectly smooth finish. Gloss shows every flaw.
All the crap DIYer ‘shiplap’ walls (made of ripped plywood) will end up like shag rug of the 1960s. The first thing the next owners will do is rip it out and repair the walls!
Hi Scott,. I think Chip & Joanna are funny and a great hard working couple. I sure hope their kids follow in their foot prints. Do you have a show? I’m very sorry, but I have not heard of you. But that doesn’t mean I wont work on that. K? K. Anywho The (Ship) in ship lap does come from the part where pine boards were layed end to end and some very well find indeed overbe work lapl Because shiplap really had to And then my workingp use of Ship. Lap, would have to be worked in another way. More later.Thanks. Cherie Seymour ,
Hey Cherie! No show yet, but I’m almost always talking with the networks and looking for the right premise. It’s hard to have a show when you’re not a flipper. Anyway, hope you’ll stick around and enjoy the blog and newsletter and thanks for the tips on the shiplap!
On one of the first shows when JoAnne discovered shiplap in a house, she gave a thorough explanation of the history of shiplap. I wish i could remember it, but it was something like when ships were retired, the shiplap from the ship was used in houses. I have been tempted to write and ask her to repeat the story.
Meant to say “Joanna.”