I have always wanted to dabble in the art of home improvement, but part of me has felt intimidated by power tools and lack of experience. After 7 years of owning my own home I decided now is the time to try. I chose a project I thought would be relatively easy so I couldn’t make too many mistakes. Below is my first experience and a DIY article on putting Board and Batten up using Cedar Post Pawn tools.
My first purchase was a DeWalt Miter Saw. I wanted to put a board and batten treatment on the walls in my hallway and put some craftsman trim around my windows in the living room and the sliding back door.
My first step was to purchase two sheets of 1/2 in MDF. I had them ripped down to 6in wide boards. I also bought a few sheets of furniture backing. I put the furniture backing on the wall first so that I would have a smooth finish under the battens. Had my wall been textured a smooth texture instead of an orange peel texture I would have left wall alone and just put the boards on the wall.
I measured how high I wanted my horizontal board to go and decided on 54” high and I used a 6 in board width. I went with a 4in width for the vertical board width. I also had to be mindful of the outlets and cut a spot out of the backing before I nailed it to the wall. I used a Ryobi airless brad nailer. I would consider having a airless brad nailer a must. So nice to use this compressor less nailer to make quick work or putting the boards on the wall.
After the backing was on the wall my next step was to put the 6 in horizontal board. I was able to use the miter saw to cut the boards to the length I needed. I made a box so to speak on the wall and then placed the vertical 4in boards whatever looked the best within the box I had made. The miter saw also made it very easy to cut the 4 in boards to the right length.
Once all the boards were placed I wanted to put small piece of trim on the top of the horizontal as a picture ledge. I had to use the miter saw to cut a 45 degree angle on the boards to match them at the corners. I did make a few errors with the cuts but that was my fault not the saws!
With the boards and the trim in place it was time to fill the nail holes and caulk the seams. After sanding the boards down they were ready for paint. I found out a coat too late that I really needed to use a roller that has a 1/4 in nap for a very smooth finish. I ended up putting two to three coats of paint on the boards.
Putting the trim around the windows needed a bit more attention to detail but the miter saw help to make all the cuts quick. I spent around $200 on wood and was able to trim out my windows and sliding door and board and batten the hallway.
All together it did take longer than I had expected, but I learned a lot and I don’t feel nearly as intimated by the power tools as I did before I started. I plan on purchasing many more power tools from Cedar Post Pawn for my future DIY projects.
