My wife wanted to board and batten and wallpaper our half bath.

I quickly realized the walls aren't square. Biggest issue I ran into, besides trying to figure out what angles to cut the corners, was on one wall the horizontal top piece was about 1/8" or so off the wall. The vertical piece was flush with the wall, leaving an 1/8" overhang where they met.

What's the proper way to fix this? Shims on the vertical piece so it meets flush with the horizontal?

Not sure if what I did is recommended, but I went ahead and screwed the horizontal piece into a stud to eliminate the gap between it and the wall. I marked on the top of that piece that a screw was there (in case I forget if and when demo'ing lol) as the top will be covered by a 1x2....

Still curious of the answer as she has similar plans for the nursery and plans for a cabinet build out in the office.

Got a quick picture of the issue?

Unfortunately I didn't take one. I did find this one on the internet, not a great picture but may help.

In my case, the wall wasn't straight, so the horizontal top board didn't sit flush to the wall. So, imagine if they didn't have this shim under the vertical board, it wouldn't sit flush with the horizontal.

You really have a couple of options.

1. Shims and caulk to make it look good.
2. Use a slightly thicker piece on the the top trim. This would let the top board overhang the battens and would reduce the problem. It that board is a 1/4 inch thicker, the overhang may change on each batten. It will not be very noticeable. If it is, see option 1.



From: https://themillworkoutlet.com/products/wainscoting-kit

So is my method of screwing the top trim into a stud to get it flush with the wall not recommended?

Too late now, but curious for future projects.

Keep the horizontal pieces flush with the wall unless the gaps are extreme (caulk if so). If the vertical pieces are too thin to match up, shim and caulk (assuming you are painting everything). If the vertical pieces are too thick to match up, take a belt sander or planer to the backside of them (or even sand them flush from the front afterwards).

javajaws said:

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Keep the horizontal pieces flush with the wall unless the gaps are extreme (caulk if so). If the vertical pieces are too thin to match up, shim and caulk (assuming you are painting everything). If the vertical pieces are too thick to match up, take a belt sander or planer to the backside of them (or even sand them flush from the front afterwards).

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The pieces are the same thickness. The reason they weren't lining up flush was because the wall isn't flat, so the horizontal piece would have a decent gap (maybe an 1/8") in the middle of the wall. The nail gun I was using wasn't strong enough to hold the board flat with the wall in this section, so I used a screw, which worked.

Your approach is fine. It can be difficult to get things flush as you experienced, so good job finding a solution.

I see.

If it were me, I'd mill each batten strip to match the top and blend thickness a few inches away.

My board and batten house, installed originally as board and batten 140 years ago, doesn't use a horizontal strip at all and battens go ceiling to floor.

You can cheat the batten seams some with an orbital and some 120 grit on the BACK sides. Also if your batten is too narrow you can take a brad nailer and shoot behind it at the joint with the head sticking out a little bit to shim it out. Then use hammer and a beater block to flush it up

I had similar issue in our bedroom. Caulk and sand down until flush. Once you paint it will look great!

Vanity we bought at Home Depot was cracked. Also felt cheap so went ahead and just bought a new one online (from bed bath and beyond of all places). Vanity finally came in and project is just about complete. Water lines I had didn't fit the new faucet, so that's all that's left.

Looks great.

Matsui said:

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Looks great.

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2nd that.