How do I fit reclaimed wood wall cladding myself?

Unpack the boards a few days before fitting and store them flat in the room where they will be installed, so the timber can adjust to its temperature and humidity.

Then lay them out as a trial run and distribute widths, colours and textures evenly – this gives a calm overall picture instead of pale or narrow boards clustering in one spot.

The wall must be dry, sound and as level as possible. Check the run of cables and pipes before drilling, and choose screws and plugs to suit the wall construction.

First, a substructure of timber battens is fixed to the wall; the boards are later fastened to it. The standard size is 20 × 40 mm. Thicker battens create more room behind the cladding – for cables, for example, or the transformer of a light fitting.

Alignment

If the boards run horizontally, the battens are plugged to the wall vertically; if the boards run vertically, the battens go on horizontally. The basic rule: the battens always run at 90 degrees to the finished cladding.

Ventilation behind the cladding

The cavity behind the boards must be ventilated. In damp rooms such as bathrooms this is essential, so the timber can dry out again after taking on moisture. With horizontally laid boards, vertical battens without a top and bottom closure provide this ventilation by themselves: air can enter at the bottom and leave at the top.

Counter-battens

A counter-batten is a second layer of battens screwed onto the first at 90 degrees. It increases the gap between wall and cladding and improves ventilation further.

Batten spacing

Keep about 60 to 80 cm between battens and leave roughly 10 mm of air to the floor at the bottom. Hold the chosen spacing exactly – every screw that follows is set out from it.

Where to start

With horizontal installation you start at the ceiling or at the floor; with vertical installation you start with the first board in the corner. Align the first board with a spirit level – it sets the direction for the whole surface. Keep checking the alignment as you go and keep the board ends flush at the wall edge.

Recommended: angled screwing

Decking screws of about 40 to 50 mm are driven into the batten at an angle: through the tongue on tongue and groove boards, and at an angle through the board edge on square-edged boards, slightly countersunk there. Sink the countersunk heads fully. The screw disappears into the joint and stays invisible on the finished wall. Match the screw length to the driving angle and the wall construction.

Alternative: wire nails

Wire nails are nails with a small, upset head. They are driven into the board from the front and disappear into the timber. Because reclaimed wood has an irregular, lively surface, the nails are hard to spot afterwards – provided you do not use shiny nails. This is the quickest method and the most practical one for most applications.

At the sides, an EndBeam from our NextBeams range covers the board ends. To hold it securely, every wall edge needs a vertical outer batten that the EndBeam is screwed into – either from the front through the wide face or from the side through the narrow one, with the screw heads fully countersunk in each case. Allow at least five screws over a length of two metres.

Detailed dimensions and drawings are included in the fitting instructions supplied with the kit. For the transition to a window, see the junction with the window reveal.