Do It Yourself: Beautiful Staircase Board and Batten

Adding board and batten is the easiest and most inexpensive way to add interest to a basic basement staircase!

THE BASEMENT BOARD AND BATTEN STAIRCASE IS DONE!!!

You guys, I can't even tell you how good it feels to type those words.   Refinishing our basement stairs and adding board and batten to the walls has been a project I've wanted to do ever since moving into our home over 12 years ago.  It's also been one of those projects that I just could not get motivated to finish.  I was so unmotivated that I decided to proclaim on Instagram (to hold myself accountable) that I was giving myself two weeks to complete this half-finished project.  I'm happy to report that I not only finished the molding, but I did it in less than two weeks and it looks amazing. 

Before I get to the reveal, I wanted to back up and share how this space evolved over the years.

When we bought our house, the basement walls were covered in paneling and the steps were bare and clear coated, definitely a little dated and not my style.  

      

We eventually tore out the paneling, added drywall and carpet and that's how it stayed for a couple of years. 

           

I always wanted to refinish the steps and keep them bare, but my husband really wanted them carpeted while our kids were little.  It was nice having them covered with little ones in the house, but the carpet wore out fast.  I lived with it for a while, but after I accidentally flooded the basement and destroyed the carpet I knew the stair carpet had to go too. 

I removed the carpet, painstakingly pulled out hundreds of staples then sanded, stained and sealed the steps.  (You can read more about that process HERE)

As much as refinishing the stairs improved the staircase, the walls still needed to be repainted and I really wanted to add a wall treatment.   I eventually bought all the wood, started cutting and nailing the chair rail and batten pieces to the wall then quickly got frustrated.  The vertical boards were not hitting studs and angles were not lining up.  So, what did I do?  I quit and let it sit for over a year.

I walked up and down the stairs hundreds of times, just waiting for motivation to strike.   Eventually, (with my dad's nudging) I finally got my butt in gear and finished the molding. 

SUPPLIES NEEDED TO INSTALL BOARD AND BATTEN

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- 1'' x 4' x 8' boards (for chair rail)

- 1" x 2" x 8' boards (for top of chair rail)

- 1/4" x 3"x 4' Poplar boards (for battens)

- Stud finder

- Laser level

- Tape measure

- Nail gun

- 2 inch nails for nail gun

- Construction adhesive

- Dap trim caulk

- Wood filler

- Fine grit sandpaper

- White semi-gloss paint

STEPS TO ADD DIY BOARD AND BATTEN TO WALLS

I started with the chair rail first.  I used my stud finder and a laser level to mark the wall and studs all the way down the stairs and along the wall.  I then measured and cut the 1x4x8 boards to size (mitering the ends) and nailed them into studs with my nail gun.   

After the chair rail was complete, I added the 1x2x8 boards on top to create a little more character. 

Once the chair rail was complete, I started measuring and nailing in the batten boards.  You'll want to measure and cut each piece separately in case your floor is uneven.  Most of the vertical boards are nailed into studs, but I also used adhesive glue to make sure they were good and tight on the wall.  After I had all the vertical boards nailed up I caulked all the gaps and filled in all the nail holes with wood putty.

I let everything dry, sanded the wood putty smooth then finished off the steps with a couple fresh coats of paint.

The walls are painted using Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige, the trim is straight off the shelf Sherwin-Williams Super Paint semi-gloss and the door is Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore.

Can I just say how much I dislike painting stairways?  Thankfully, my brother owns his own painting company (Painting Contractors of Maryland for all you locals) who was nice enough to come over and do the cutting in.  I just had to roll the walls, but it was enough for me to say that I am never painting a stairway again.  There, I said it.

          

          

Updated metal hardware cabinet / Fiddle Leaf (similar) / Eye Chart

I've been kicking myself for not completing the DIY board and batten on our stairs sooner.   I can't even express how good it feels to be able to walk downstairs and have this project complete.  It just goes to show that a few hundred dollars in supplies and a little hard work can make a dramatic difference. 

   

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