Installing Beadboard

Save time and money on your beadboard with these installation tips.

Beadboard is a panelling that can be fixed to areas of the home to either create a desired look such as raised sections or textured finishes; to place in high traffic areas of your home to protect your internal walls from being damaged or to cover any already damaged areas of your home.

Choosing Your Beadboard

Beadboard can come as a flat section for you to cut appropriately or can come with pre-cut grooves where you simply have to click them into place. Installing beadboard can provide your home with panelling of various thickness' and differing finishes to suit your tastes.

When you are installing beadboard you must have your plan of action pre-defined. How high do you want the panelling to be up your walls, are they acting as a guide against damage? In which case they would need to be around waist high, or are they acting for purely cosmetic reason, then it is to your own desires. When placing on a ceiling it is usually for the purpose of hiding cracks that have evolved over time, so you would need to decide how prominent you want it to be. You can judge the required thickness on the prominence you want.

Curing Your Beadboard and Installing Beadboard

When you have made these decisions and purchased your beadboard you must allow it to sit in the desired room for 48 hours before your begin installing beadboard. The reason for this is that beadboard has a tendency to swell or shrink depending on the temperature that you keep your home at. If you do not follow this important guideline you may find that your beadboard moves or creates air bubbles after time.

Are you planning on adding your own finishes to the beadboard such as staining? If so then you must do this before you proceed to installing beadboard on your home. Always allow any finish to thoroughly dry. You can now cut your beadboard to the required length taking note of any directions that came with the pack, and draw a level line around the room.

Start in one corner of the room and apply the adhesive to the beadboard and press to the wall. When one piece is on you can move on to the second and click the tongue into the grove of the piece already in place. This will ensure that you have a smooth finish while installing beadboard to your home. When all the desired pieces are placed you are then free to ad base board at the bottom and trimmings at the top to create a wonderfully fresh look to your home.