Board count, reveal layout, furring and cost for a shiplap accent wall.
Estimates are planning aids, not a professional quote. Double-check quantities and product coverage — and any local code or permit requirements — before you buy.
| Siding & Trim | $275–$373 |
| Finishing & Sealant | $82–$111 |
| Fasteners & Hardware | $12–$16 |
| Total | $369–$500 |
Excludes tools, delivery, tax and permit fees. Labor not included — this is a DIY materials estimate.
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About this calculator
Give the Shiplap Wall Calculator your wall's width and height, the board width and the reveal gap you want between courses, and it works out exactly how many boards to buy in whole stock lengths — whether they run horizontal or vertical. It deducts window and door area so you're not ordering coverage you'll never actually nail up, and prices out the finish nails, wood filler, caulk, and paint or stain that go with the job.
Pick pine or primed MDF, run the boards horizontal for the classic stacked look or vertical for a taller feel, and add outside corners if the wall wraps past one flat face. Vertical runs need a horizontal furring grid behind them since the boards land parallel to the studs, and the calculator adds that automatically once you flag it, along with a warning if you don't.
Step by step
A step-by-step walkthrough to go with your plan above. Follow the product instructions and any local code or permit requirements as you work.
Measure width and height, choose a board width and reveal, and decide horizontal or vertical before you buy anything — the calculator's course or column count tells you exactly how the layout lands relative to the ceiling and corners.
Stack the boards in the room with spacers between them for a few days before installing, especially solid wood, so they stop moving before they're nailed in place. Prefinish the backs and tongues with primer or sealer while you wait — that's the surface most likely to swell first.
Over masonry, plaster or a wall that's out of plane, or for any vertical run, screw horizontal furring strips at 16 in centers so every board has consistent backing to nail into.
For horizontal runs, level a line for the first course at the floor or baseboard. For vertical runs, find and mark your stud or furring line and start at the most visible corner of the wall so any final sliver board ends up in a less obvious spot.
Cut boards to length, notch around outlets and trim, and dry-fit each one against its spacers before nailing — it's much easier to trim a board now than to pull one after it's fastened.
Blind-nail through the tongue where the profile allows it, add a face nail on wider boards for extra hold, and use your spacer blocks at both ends of every board to keep the reveal identical course to course.
Wrap outside corners with mitered or butted corner boards, and let boards run into an inside corner with a simple butt cut — no special trim needed there.
Set and fill nail holes, caulk the ceiling line, baseboard transition and outside corners — but not the reveal joints, which are meant to show — then paint or stain and topcoat as planned.
Equip the job
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Interior & Finishing
Answers
Divide the wall's height (for horizontal boards) or width (for vertical boards) by the exposed face of each board — its nominal width minus the reveal gap you're leaving at each joint — to get the number of courses or columns, then multiply by the wall's other dimension for total linear feet. This calculator does that math, subtracts a proportional allowance for windows and doors, adds about 10% for cuts, and rounds up to whole stock lengths so the number matches what you actually order.
Most installs run a 1/8 to 1/4 in reveal — enough to read as a clean shadow line without looking like a gap you forgot to close. A true rabbeted shiplap board can also be pushed fully tight for a near-zero reveal if you want a flatter look. Whatever you choose, keep it consistent for the whole wall; 1/4 in scrap blocks make quick, repeatable spacers as you work up or across.
Horizontal is the classic farmhouse look and nails straight into the studs behind the drywall, so it needs no extra backing. Vertical boards read taller and work well in a room with a low ceiling, but they run parallel to the studs, so you need horizontal furring strips at 16 in centers to give every board real backing to nail into — this calculator adds that line item and a warning if you pick vertical without it.
Primed MDF gives the crisp, uniform, all-white look most farmhouse-style accent walls are going for, paints easily, and won't show grain telegraphing through. Solid pine or cedar costs a bit less in narrower widths and is the only real choice if you want the wood grain to show through a stain or clear coat. Keep MDF out of bathrooms, laundry rooms and anywhere it will see sustained moisture — it swells and delaminates fast once wet.
Only in two cases: you're installing over masonry, plaster or an uneven wall with no reliable stud line to hit, or you're running the boards vertical, which puts them parallel to the studs instead of crossing them. In either case, furring strips run perpendicular to the boards at 16 in centers and give every board a consistent nailing band. A standard horizontal run over drywall on studs doesn't need it.
Materials for a typical 10×8 ft accent wall in pine run a few hundred dollars for the boards alone, more for MDF or a wider profile, plus fasteners, filler, caulk and finish. A full room wrapped around several corners scales up roughly with the added linear footage and corner trim. Labor is minimal if you're comfortable with a level and a nail gun, which is most of why this is one of the more popular DIY interior weekend projects.