A guide to installing knotty pine paneling

Do you often wish you were living in the beautiful country woodlands? Perhaps you once did, and now you miss the old days when life seemed to be so much more stress-free. Why not try to recreate that longing for rustic feeling by installing some knotty pine. This can be done with some knotty pine paneling, a handsaw and a few more odd items.

Where to use knotty pine

However, before going about this relatively simple task, you may want to take the time to consider exactly where the knotty pine wood wall paneling is going to be installed. In a sense, this really depends on the type of home you have.

A log style home

In this style of home, you will not have too many problems deciding because quite simply, the knotty pine will look fantastic just about anywhere. This is because it perfectly suits the rustic-style character that every log home replete with timber framing will tend to have.
More traditional homes In this type of home, care will have to be taken not to go overboard with paneling wood. For a rough guide, a good idea is to install the knotty pine paneling on the lower third of the walls only. You can then finish it off with selected trims that can be fitted to both the top and bottom of the pine work.

Installation

Once you have decided where the pine is going to be installed, you can start the process of installation by accurately measuring the area where the paneling is going to be. If you have decided to go with a straight no-frills look, simply measure the wall from end to end You can then measure and mark a line across the length of the wall in pencil, approximately ½ an inch from the floor. This space will be for the final bottom trim. If you are covering the lower third of the wall, you should calculate exactly where this is on the wall and then draw another straight line across the length of the wall. The space between these lines will be the length that you need each of the knotty pine cuts to be, you can then cut them accordingly using a handsaw and a carpenter’s square for accuracy. Now, place the first panel on the wall. Hammer a nail into the top of the panel. This should be done slightly above the tongue and at an angle. Ensure that as you add each piece that you ‘butt’ it directly against the previous piece. Finally, you can add the top and bottom trims and then finish the entire paneling with polyurethane to give it a smooth finish.