DIY Reclaimed Fence Board Accent Wall

In this DIY tutorial, I show you how to build a DIY cedar accent wall using reclaimed fence boards. Even if you don't need an accent wall, these DIY tips and techniques can be used on other DIY woodworking projects.

This project came about by accident. My family and I moved into a new house and decided remove a deck in the backyard. So, we had to remove an old fence to give the contractor room to fit the skid-steer in my backyard. The fence we removed was in poor shape, so I decided to build a new fence.

75% of the fence boards were still in good shape, so I decided to put them to good use.

Crow Bar w/ Nail Remover

Wood Stain

• Barn Red
• Worn Navy
• Carbon Gray
• Vintage Aqua
• Antique White
• Coral

Shellac

Staining Pads

Chip Brushes

Planer

Orbital Sander

Sand Paper

Stud Finder

Leveler

Brad Nailer

1.25″ Brad Nails

Spray Bottle

Pressure Washer (Optional)

Garden Hose

Needle Nose Pliers

Miter Saw or Circular Saw or Hand Saw

Before you proceed with this project, I encourage you to identify the type of wood used for your fence. Most fences are made with Cedar or Treated Pine. Rarely is untreated pine used to build fences b/c it simply won't last very long.

Do Not use treated wood for interior projects as they are full of harmful chemicals used to preserve the wood. I see so many folks use treated fence boards on their walls. Fungicides and insecticides make up the chemicals inside a piece of pressure treated lumber.

Luckily, cedar has a distinct smell and vibrant colors.

First, remove a fence board and cut a piece off to ensure fresh wood is exposed. Next, smell the wood. If the fence has a pleasant smell, the fence is cedar. 

In my opinion, Cedar wood is the best wood to use for reclaimed wood projects for the following reasons:

• Natural oils maintain appearance.
• Repel insect
• Resist decay
• Repels water
• Prevent shrinkage.

Cedar withstands the test of time.

This makes it ideal for reclaimed wood projects.

It’s important to remove fence boards properly in order to repurpose them for a reclaimed wood project.

Keep in mind, some fence boards will get damaged during the removal process. This is not a big deal as the undamaged part of the board can still be used as long as the board is 16″ long. More on this later.

If the fence boards were fastened to the runners with stainless steel screws, you are very lucky. Most, if not all, fence installers and homeowners use nails to install fences because it is cheaper and easier. However, the nails make it a pain to remove.

I used a jig saw to cut the fence below the top runner and above the bottom runner. This method is definitely the fastest way to remove fence boards, but it renders the top 12" and bottom 12" useless. 

One of the walls in my workshop was not insulated and unfinished. I installed insulation and used this wall as the accent wall.

Before proceeding, make sure the boards measure at least 16" in length. The boards must be secured to the wall studs, which are 16" apart on center. All my boards were either 16", 32", or 48" b/c I wanted them to start and end on a stud.

Ideally, a miter saw works best to square fence boards. A circular saw or hand saw with a speed square works just as well.

To square my fence boards, I cut the bottom at a point on the board where the chipping, splintering, or rotting stop. Next, I cut just below the ‘dog ears’ at the top of the fence. The ‘Dog Ears’ on a fence picket refers to the top of the fence where 2 small 45 degree angles are cut on each side.

Then, I used a mixture of 4 parts bleach to 1 part water in a spray bottle and saturated the front/back of each board. This solution eliminates mold/mildew.

Once the fence boards are dry, I ran them through my surface planer. If you don’t have a planer, an orbital sander with 80 grit sandpaper works as well - it just requires more elbow grease.

I used my planer for the first half of this project to get a smooth surface on each fence board. Then, my cheap planer quit working for the remainder of this project and I wasn't motivated to fix it. So, I used my orbital sander with 80 grit sandpaper to sand the cedar fence board.

Before proceeding, choose one side of each board that looks best and focus on finishing the side you choose. It doesn’t make sense to sand/stain both sides of each fence board.

I used multiple colors of the same Varathane fast-drying wood stain to create a unique wall. I just chose the 5 colors listed below and went with it.

I separated the boards into 5 groups to make certain I had an equal number of fence boards for each color wood stain. Next, I used a chip brush to apply the wood stain to 10 fence boards at once. 

By the time I finished the tenth fence board, it was time to wipe off the stain on the first board. 

I allowed the stain dried overnight. I didn’t put on 2 coats because I didn’t want the wood to appear painted.

After the stain was completely dry, I sealed the cedar fence boards with 2 coats shellac spray finish.

I used a brad nailer with 1.25″ brad nails and a leveler. If you don’t have visibility to your studs like I did, use a stud finder to mark your studs at the top, middle, and bottom of the wall.  Studs are not always perfectly straight so it’s important to mark them in multiple locations.

I installed the first cedar fence board at the top left corner of the wall. Why? I prefer the top to have full boards b/c it is more visible than the bottom. 

I checked to make sure it was level with my leveler and drove in 2 brad nails (top and bottom) near the middle of the board. I just chose a stud that was near the middle of the board.

Quick Tip: Make sure each board is long enough to cross at least 2 studs in order to be properly secured. Studs are 16″ apart, so each board will need to be at least this length. Also, these cedar fence boards are not going to shrink or expand significantly like new wood.

The correct way to install fence boards on a wall is to complete an entire row and then start a new row while working your way down. Obviously, I didn’t always follow this rule because I didn’t feel like moving the ladder across my workshop for each row.  This didn’t cause any issues with the installation.

This DIY cedar accent wall took time. However, this project was well worth my time.

I hope this instructable provided you with value. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions - I'm happy to help.

Be sure to checkout my YouTube channel and my blog for more DIY tutorials.