How to Install Vertical Shiplap

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Specialty Skill Level: Intermediate (Level 2) · Estimated Time: 2-5 Hours per Wall

Introduction #

Vertical shiplap runs boards floor to ceiling instead of side to side. It draws the eye up, and it is the look behind most board-and-batten style walls, wainscoting, and tall, narrow spaces like entryways and half-baths. It falls under the broader umbrella of interior trim work, the same category covered in general guides like This Old House's rundown on trim and moulding, though the layout math for a vertical run is its own animal.

The board itself is no different from horizontal. Today’s shiplap is tongue and groove, or sometimes flat square-edge pieces set with a consistent gap. It is not a rabbet joint. The joint locks each board to the next the same way whether you run them sideways or standing up.

What changes with vertical is the layout. The boards run parallel to the studs instead of across them, so the geometry of getting a straight, plumb, evenly spaced run from one corner to the other is the real skill here. That is the heart of this guide.

One thing we do not do, on vertical or any other style, is install a plywood backer or furring strips. We glue the boards directly to the wall and face nail them. We plan every job for drywall, and if the customer has sheeted the wall in OSB or plywood, that is a gift: fasten straight to it and the glue is not needed.

Before You Begin #

Before you start, make sure these things are ready, and read through what you need to know below.

Prerequisites #

• Wall surface ready, almost always drywall (occasionally OSB if the GC has gone that route)
• Material acclimated (left to adjust) to room humidity for 48 hours
• Wall height and width measured, and the column layout planned before any board is cut
• Construction adhesive and an 18-gauge nailer loaded and ready
• Boards pre-finished, if that is the plan for this run (most vertical jobs use pre-finished stock)

What You Need To Know #

• Today’s shiplap is tongue and groove, or square-edge boards run with a consistent gap. It is not a rabbet joint, and the pieces engage the same way as horizontal
• We never install a plywood backer or furring strips ourselves, so plan the job for drywall: glue the boards to the wall and face nail them. If the customer has sheeted the wall in OSB or plywood, take the win and fasten straight to it, no glue needed
• We almost always face nail. Keep your lines straight and check the wall under a raking light (a work light held low and to the side) before you call it done. A nail head that is not fully set will catch that light even if you cannot see it head on
• Vertical boards are almost always pre-finished, unlike paint-grade horizontal runs, so the painter cannot just fill and recoat a nail hole. Flag it: pre-finished holes need color-matched filler, not standard wood putty
• Smooth, painted shiplap is almost always MDF. It will not split on you, and it fills and sands easily. Pre-finished material is less forgiving, so pre-drill near the ends
• Most of our walls run under 16 feet in any dimension, so you will rarely need to splice a board end to end to reach the ceiling. One board typically covers the full height of the wall

Tools Required #

Power Tools #

• Miter saw or circular saw (crosscut boards to wall height)
• Table saw (rip edge boards to width, and rip the last piece to fit)
• 18-gauge brad nailer
• Stud finder (locate the top and bottom plates, and check for anything hidden before you glue a board to the wall)
• Jigsaw or oscillating multi-tool (outlet and switch cutouts)

Hand Tools #

• Tape measure
• Pencil
• 6-foot level (for drawing plumb layout lines) or a chalk line - we also keep 4-foot, 2-foot, and 8-foot levels on hand for whatever else the job calls for
• Speed square
• Caulk gun (for construction adhesive)
• Utility knife

Supplies #

• 18-gauge brad nails
• Construction adhesive
• Spacers (nickels or 1/8″ shims) for square-edge boards run with a consistent gap

Materials #

• Shiplap boards, tongue and groove or flat square-edge
• Trim stock for the top, bottom, and side edges of the run (baseboard, cap or ceiling trim, edge casing)

How to Install Vertical Shiplap #

The board work itself is identical to horizontal: engage the joint, hold a consistent reveal, keep your fasteners consistent. What is different is everything about the layout. Work through it in order and do not skip the math.

Step 1: Plan the Layout #

Measure the wall width and divide by the board’s exposure (the visible face width once the joint is engaged) to get the number of columns. Plan for equal-width boards at both edges, the same idea as balancing the top and bottom rows on a horizontal wall, just turned 90°. If the math leaves a sliver at one edge, split the difference and rip both edge boards equally so the run looks planned. Draw or snap a plumb starting line before you cut anything.

Step 2: Prep the Wall #

Vertical boards run parallel to the studs, so there is no continuous nailing surface waiting for you like there is on a horizontal wall. We do not install a plywood backer or furring strips for this, or for any style - we glue directly to the drywall (or to OSB, on the rare job where the GC has put that up instead, which is their call, not ours) and face nail. Locate the top and bottom plates and mark outlet and switch locations before the first board goes up.

Step 3: Set the First Board and Work Across #

The first board sets the line for the whole wall, so get it plumb and hold it there. Run a level down its full length before you glue or nail it. Apply adhesive to the back, set it on your line, and face nail. Move to the next board, engage the joint (or set your spacer on square-edge material), glue, and nail. Check for plumb every four to five boards, correcting gradually rather than all at once.

Step 4: Handle Outlets and Switches #

Mark outlet and switch locations on the board, measuring from the board beside it and from the floor or ceiling. Cut from the back where you can, to keep tear-out off the visible face. Cut slightly oversized. The cover plate hides the edge, and you may need extender rings once the shiplap adds depth to the wall. Turn off power at the breaker before you cut or nail anywhere near a box.

Step 5: Fit and Set the Last Piece #

The last piece in a run is rarely a clean rip. Walls are not perfectly square, so take a few measurements up and down the remaining gap instead of trusting one number. Rather than cutting the board to width and angling it into place, rip the back edge of the groove side. That lets the piece drop straight in from the front instead of tipping it in at an angle, which is hard to do cleanly on a tall board and risks blowing out the joint. Then bevel that same cut edge back about 10° so the face of the board sits tight against its neighbor even though you relieved the back. Glue and face nail it in like every other board.

Pro Tip: Do not skip the back-bevel to save time. A board forced in at an angle stresses the groove and often cracks it right where the crack is most visible.

Close-Out #

Close out a vertical run the same way, every time:

• Set every nail below the surface, then check the wall under a raking light for anything still catching.
• Wipe glue squeeze-out while it is still wet, before it skins over and has to be scraped.
• Sweep up - cutoffs collected, dust off the floor and sill.
• Install trim - baseboard at the bottom, cap or ceiling trim at the top, edge casing anywhere the run terminates against another wall.
• Install outlet and switch plate covers once the painter is done.

Filling nail holes, caulking the perimeter, and any finish touch-up belong to the painter. Any wood-to-wood joint that needs it, like the last piece, gets puttied and sanded flush before you leave - that part is ours. Flag this run as pre-finished: there is no fresh coat of paint to blend a filled hole into, so it needs color-matched filler, not standard wood putty. What he needs from us is every nail set, glue cleaned off the joints, trim installed, and a swept floor.

Quality Check #

• Reveals consistent top to bottom on every joint
• All boards plumb, not just the first one
• Left and right edge boards are equal width
• Joints fully engaged and tight, no forced gaps
• Every nail set below the surface, none catching a raking light
• Glue cleaned off every joint, no dried squeeze-out left on the face
• No warped or bowed boards left in the run
• The last piece sits flush on its face, with no gap visible from the back-relief cut
• Outlet and switch cutouts are clean and fully covered by the plate

Troubleshooting #

Even careful work runs into these. Here is how we handle them.

Board is bowing or will not lie flat #

Without a backer, an uneven wall shows up faster. Add adhesive closer together across the back of the board at low spots, and nail through it into whatever is behind it (stud, plate, or just drywall) to hold it tight while the glue sets.

Nails are pulling out #

Vertical boards do not land on a stud at every point, so the glue is doing the real work, not the nail. If a board is not holding, check adhesive coverage first, not the nailing pattern - and do not add furring strips to fix it. Spread adhesive closer to the edges and corners, then re-nail once it is reseated.

Reveals drift wider or narrower moving across the wall #

Board width varies piece to piece. Re-check plumb every four to five boards and adjust the spacing gradually across several boards. A single large correction on one board is the thing that is visible. Several small ones are not.

The last piece will not drop in without forcing it #

You are trying to fit it square. Rip the back edge of the groove side so the piece drops in from the front instead of angling in, then bevel that cut edge back about 10° so the face sits tight. Do not shave the front face to force it - that is what changes the reveal and makes the last joint obvious.

Nail heads show under raking light #

Either the head was not set far enough below the surface, or your nail line wandered. Set it deeper, and pre-drill on pre-finished stock so you do not blow out the surface. Keep future nails on a straight, consistent line so any that do catch light read as intentional, not sloppy.

Related Guides #

• How to Install Shiplap, 0' to 7' - the core guide, for horizontal fundamentals and layout basics
• How to Trim a House, Start to Finish
• Essential Carpenter Hand Tools
• How to Install Diagonal Shiplap
• How to Install Herringbone Shiplap
• How to Install Chevron Shiplap