What Wood to Use for Board and Batten Accent Wall
When I built my first accent wall I asked ‘What wood to use for an accent wall?’. I have seen so many people use various wood. I had no idea what wood to buy, how to prep it, etc. Home Depot wood section literally made me feel stressed.
But then I realized the easiest, cost effective (in time and money) way to do an accent wall the right way. All of course, in my own opinion. 😉Let me share that with you.
Whenever working with wood, any wood really, you NEED primer. Especially on an accent wall. I personally do not find enjoyment in sanding and priming wood myself, so ‘What Wood to use for an accent wall’? I go the easy route by buying Pre-Primed MDF wood at Home Depot.
But why can’t I just buy common wood and paint over it without the prepping of sanding and priming?? Let’s talk about it!
Why Primer??
- Durability – Primer acts as a preparatory stage to paint. When using primer it eliminates any future paint peeling damage. Primer acts as a surface for paint to adhere to.
- Even coatings – When painting raw wood or drywall, or going from a darker paint color to a lighter paint color, it is SO important to apply Primer. Raw wood and Drywall in particular act as a sponge, and primer helps cover those pores so that when you apply your paint, it will apply with an even coating. If you were to not use Primer, the paint would apply unevenly depending.
- Less coats of paint – Referencing #2, when you block the pores from raw wood with primer, you are allowing less paint to be applied to hide uneven or blotchy paint work that may result if you choose to opt out of primer.
Now that we’ve gone over the benefits, you can hopefully now have a better idea of why it is crucial to use Primer on any raw wood projects (such as accent walls).
For accent walls, I choose to buy Pre-Primed MDF to save time and supplies needed to sand and prime any raw wood (like common wood). [NOTE: MDF should NOT be used in wet areas like bathrooms, outside or in windows as MDF will morph when wet. Feel free to use Pine or a hardwood in these cases.]
What’s nice about that, is that I can just come home, cut it, nail it up on my wall and it’s ready for paint. Whereas with raw wood, I’d need to sand it with different grits, prime it, wait for it to dry, lightly sand the primer with 220 grit to prep the surface for paint, and then I can cut and nail it, and get it ready for paint. Very time consuming if you’re wanting to get the accent wall done quicker in the right way.
Let’s Talk Costs
I believe buying the pre-primed MDF is cheaper. Here’s why.
Let’s say you were wanting to make an accent wall with 1×2’s. Pre-Primed MDF boards that are 1x2x8 feet are $5.54 at Home Depot. When you buy common board at the same size it’s $3.78. However, now you have to buy primer and sandpaper to get the boards ready for paint.
For 1 quart of Zinsser primer, it’s $13.98. (Mind you, this could cover multiple boards). And sandpaper is about $10 a package.
Which Primer?
If you do decide to go the common board route and sand & prime. I LOVE Zinsser’s 123 Primer for all surfaces.
However, if you are painting a piece of furniture that was previously stained, like a wooden chair, trunk, or cabinets, then Zinsser’s BIN Shellac Primer would be the best route to go.
See some of my other Basic Accent Wall favorites below:
In Conclusion
Do you see how I think pre-primed is more cost affective in time & money? This is why I choose pre-primed for my accent walls.
I’m not against common wood, I’ve actually think a lot of people have used it wonderfully well. Let’s do projects, let’s create, but let’s do them right! I hope this answered your question in ‘What wood to use for an accent wall’. I’m a beginner and I make a lot of mistakes too, so I hope that this article helps you create your projects closer to 100% perfection. We may not reach that 100% at all times, but we can get close. 😉
Feel free to watch this YouTube Video for more tips/tricks when building your accent wall:
