If you’ve watched HGTV’s Fixer Upper for more than five minutes, you’ve probably heard them talk about Shiplap. The Gaines duo is famous incorporating the planking into their designs and have started a national craze. The term shiplap refers to a wooden plank profile that leaves a slight shadow line or gap between each piece. Traditional shiplap is cut with a rabbet on opposite sides of each end, creating the reveal once installed. The drawback of the traditional style shiplap is that it must be face nailed, leaving all the nail heads visible. Filling these nail holes can be time consuming and tedious work.

The Tongue & Groove Store has a solution to these problems with their tongue and groove shiplap, also referred to as Nickel Plank. The tongue and groove installation, allows for a hidden fastener, eliminating the visible nail holes and the need to fill them.

The Tongue & Groove - Nickel Plank Profile

The Tongue & Groove – Nickel Plank Profile

Shiplap (or Nickel Plank) boards come in a variety of widths and species. The material can be used to bring a rustic, shabby chic look to a room or can be incorporated into sleek, modern décor. Shiplap is primarily used on the walls, but can be used in ceiling applications as well. The versatile planking is a go to for wainscoting or accent wall cladding and as Chip and Joanna have shown us, can be used in any room of the home.

The average DIYer will find shiplap tongue and groove easy to install. Simply start at the bottom of the wall and nail the plank through the tongue to the wall studs. An end-matched design makes it easy to continue the row, by inserting the tongue of the new piece into the groove of the installed piece. Continue to fasten each piece to the wall studs. When you reach the end of the row, use a miter saw to cut the plank. The off-fall piece can then be used as the starting piece for the next row. The grooves of the new row, will slide on top of the tongues in the row below, concealing all nail heads.

For more information on shiplap (nickel plank), including sizing (width, thickness) options, available species and finishes (stains, paints) and pricing, contact one of our sales associates.