
How to build a Shiplap Door
There has been so much love for my shiplap door from my Coastal Bathroom Remodel that I did as part of the One Room Challenge. So I am going to share with you how you can make your own shiplap door in one day for under $20 and what mistakes to avoid!
I came up with the idea of a shiplap door when I was brainstorming ideas for the kids coastal bathroom remodel. I really loved the idea of having shiplap in the bathroom to go with the coastal theme, but the kids bathroom was so big, my budget to small and my time to limited. I painted the plain wood door white but it still felt like it lacked something. Then I thought why not add shiplap right to the door!
How To Build a Shiplap door
Measure and Prime your door.
You are going to want to measure the door that you are using to determine how wide and long you need to cut your boards. The door you are using may be different then the door I used so this is a result that may vary for everyone. The door I used was a flat cheap builder grade wood door. It was what was already on our bathroom linen closet. My measurements came out to be 6 inches wide by 31 3/4 inches long. I did two coats of white primer on the front and back and along the edges. You will need to do this because there will be tiny spaces in between each board and you don’t want the original door color to show through. If your door is already white, great! One less step for you to do!
Go buy the lumber.
Home Depot is my go to store for building supplies. It runs in the family. Growing up my parents would often go on “dates” to Home Depot and leave me to babysit my brothers. I thought it was kinda lame back then. Now I would love to go on a “date” with my husband to Home Depot! My how things have changed.
You will need to look in the small plywood sheets section for the 5.0mm x 2’x4′ Multi Purpose panel. One side looks like wood while the other side looks like paneling. That is ok because we are painting it. Its nice and thin perfect for applying it to a door. I bought 3 sheets.
-Here is a tip I learned while doing this project-
The board is not actually 2 feet wide.
It is just shy of 2 feet wide. I did not know this. I thought that I was going to be getting 4 pieces to put on my door when I really only got 3 out of one board.
That throws some chaos into the design plans.
The reason I didn’t figure this out until I was ready to assemble the door was because when I was measuring out the cut lines on the board I assumed the last end of the board would be 6 inches like the rest. It wasn’t, it was more like 5 3/4 inches. That was not going to work for me. I felt like there was going to be to much of a noticeable difference with the boards, so I sent my Husband back to Home Depot for more boards.
Don’t do this.
Save your money and cut your boards at 5 1/2 inches and then you will get 4 pieces from each board and this project will only cost you around $20.
Measure and cut the lumber.
Make sure you measure out each piece before you cut, or before your husband makes the cuts for you, (if you are like me and using a saw makes you nervous.) Don’t be like me and assume its the right size. My door required 12 boards that were 6 inches wide and 1 board one the bottom was a little bit larger at 7 1/2 inches wide. It was easier to cut the last board a little bit larger rather then add a few centimeters to each board.
Sand and prime the boards.
Sand down the rough edges of the boards and then prime them. You must do it in that order.
I test primed a few of my boards before I cut them. -Another tip I learned – Don’t prime them before you cut your boards it will cause them to bow. They will still work for the door but it is hard to get the spacing correct.
Space and cut a door handle hole.
Now that your boards are cut, sanded and primed. Grab a handful of nickels. You are going to use them to space your boards apart to give you the shiplap look. This can take some time as you move the boards around to get them in the best spots. Can you guess which boards I primed first before cutting?
Once I got the spacing right I laid under the door and traced the door handle hole onto the board that was covering it. My husband cut the hole for the door handle using the Black & Decker Hole Saw . You will need to make sure that your spacing is correct so that you do not cut the door handle hole to close to the edge of the board.
Glue and clamp the boards.
Once the boards are all spaced out in the correct spot with two nickels in between the boards, one at each end. You are going to pull one out and flip it over to the non painted side and apply the glue. I used Liquid Nails to hold the boards in place.
Try and get the glue close to the edge, but make sure to leave room for the glue to spread once it gets placed back on the door and clamped down. Make sure that you fill in all the spaces with glue. You want to be sure the boards have enough glue on them to stay put on the door. You don’t want them to fall off or pop up.
Once the board has glue on it flip it back down on the door and wiggle it into the correct space. Press the board down firmly starting from the middle and working outward. Make sure you still have a nickles width in between each board. I left my nickels in until I had all the boards glued and clamped on then I removed them. I didn’t want them to get stuck in any glue that may have squished out from the boards. This glue dries fairly quickly, my door was done in about 30 minutes.
Paint and Hang the door.
Once your boards are firmly glued onto the door it is time to paint it. I wanted my door to make a statement but not stand out so I painted my door the same color of the bathroom walls and trim.
Now you can make your own shiplap door! Please be sure to tag me in any pictures you post! I would love to see them. If you have any questions you can leave a comment below or email me at: Jaclyn@one-thousandoaks.com
Check out the rest of the Kids Bathroom here.
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35 Comments
Lisa
Hey I love the door! When glueing, I would do the squiggle closer to the edge and not put a bead of glue around the outside edge. The squiggle alone will let the air out as the board is pressed into place. If you do the “once around” the air is trapped, and it might be fussier to get into place. Happy DIYing!
Susanna
This is so cute! I have been wanting to dress up the door that goes to our garage and this is the perfect thing! Thanks for linking up for iDIYedThat, so glad I found your blog!
Jen @ Noting Grace
I love this idea! What a smart way to transform an ordinary door into something so beautiful! And your tutorial makes it look so easy! Thank you so much for linking up for I DIYed that!
Lindsey
This looks so good! What a creative way to add some dimension to a plain door! Thanks for joining us at #iDIYedthat
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Keri
This shiplap door looks fantastic!! It’s such a great idea to add something extra to the door to give it that wow factor. You did an awesome job on this!
Jaclyn Erickson
Thank you Keri!
Charlotte Gooch
I recently re-decorated my guest bathroom and left the closet door undone, as I just wasn’t sure what to do. I thought about trying to make it look paneled, barn door, I even looked at faux wood wallpaper. I think this shiplap is the way to go for my door Great idea, thanks.
Jaclyn Erickson
I would love to see pictures once it is done! Thanks for reading!
– Jaclyn
Brenda Young
Genius! I’ve got some hollow cheap doors that have seen better days, what a great way to cover up those dings without replacing them! I am so doing this in my house as a quick fix until I can replace them with some gorgeous vintage ones!
Jaclyn Erickson
I would love to add some vintage doors to our house too! I had one beautiful heavy wood one but it didn’t make the move with us as we ran out of room in the moving truck. I would love to see your shiplap doors! Let me know when you get them done!
– Jaclyn
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Tuula @ Thrifty Rebel Vintage
Love how your shiplap door turned out Jaclyn. What a great DIY project! Thanks for sharing it at Vintage Charm.
Jaclyn Erickson
Thank you Tuula!
– Jaclyn
Terry
Brilliant idea for creating this gorgeous door! Thank you for sharing how you did it! It really gives an otherwise uninteresting door some lovely character! I hope you have an amazing day!
Smiles!
Terry
LydiaF
Your project looks great and I appreciate that you shared your obstacles to building it. Thanks for sharing with us at Creatively Crafty #ccbg. I’ve given your post lots of social media love! Have a great week 🙂
Celeste
I’ve seen a lot of shiplap projects lately, but haven’t yet come across a shiplap door. What a neat DIY project that doesn’t look incredibly complicated or too hard to do. Those are the best kind of projects! Definitely sharing this!
Jaclyn Erickson
Thank you so much! I appreciate it! While shiplap is not a new idea, I did try to put my own spin on it! It is not a complicated project at all!
– Jaclyn
Jemma
This is a fabulous project and we are so pleased to have you share this with us at TOHOT!
Happy Friday!
Jemma
Jaclyn Erickson
Thank you Jemma! It is encouraging to hear this about my tutorial!
-Jaclyn
Laura
You have outdone yourself.
Thank you for such a great tutorial.
Thank you for joining us at Thoughts of Home.
Pinning-
Jaclyn Erickson
Thank you Laura!
– Jaclyn
Janet Trieschman
This is a really nice way to update a door. Thanks for sharing your post with us at Creatively Crafty Link Party #CCBG http://tryit-likeit.com/link-party-it
Jaclyn Erickson
Thank you Janet!
– Jaclyn
Stacey
Jaclyn, I can’t remember if I told you that we’ve done a couple of places in our house with this method. I can’t get enough! I want to do it everywhere. That sounds funny. 🙂
Love your shiplap door. Thank you for sharing this at TOHOT. Pinning. 🙂
Jaclyn Erickson
I will have to check your blog for pictures! I am wanting to do shiplap in other spots of our house as well, but it will be a little bit before I get to those projects!
– Jaclyn
Laura Ingalls Gunn
What a fantastic tutorial. The door looks fantastic. Thank you for so faithfully joining us at Thoughts of Home on Thursday. You are a treasured blogging friend.
Jaclyn Erickson
Thank you Laura that is so sweet of you! Its always great to have blogging friends! I am so happy to hear that you like my tutorial and door! Have a great weekend!
– Jaclyn
Medina
I love this! So I’ve seen a shiplap wall before but never a shiplap door- how unique!
Jaclyn Erickson
Thanks! I have never seen s a ship lap door either until I made this one! lol Maybe I will start a new trend!!
– Jaclyn
LIsa @ Sweet Tea N' Salty Air
Hi nice to meet you, Just love the way the door came out! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful way to spruce up a very boring door! Lisa@ Sweet Tea n’ Salty Air
Jaclyn Erickson
Thank you Lisa! I am very happy with how it turned out! It makes me happy every time I go into that bathroom.
– Jaclyn