The Perfect Fit
The first step in installing prefinished paneling is to place a piece against the wall and make sure it’s plumb (absolutely straight up and down). If it isn’t, you must scribe it to fit. To do that, hold the paneling with one side as close as possible to the corner of the wall but positioned so the panel is plumb. (You may need to lift a bottom corner to make the panel plumb; test for plumb with a level or plumb bob.)
Have a partner hold the paneling in position. Adjust the width of a scribing compass to the maximum width between the wall and the edge of the paneling. Then move the scribing compass along the edge of the wall. You want the compass pencil to mark on the paneling a line that’s parallel to the edge of the wall. When the line is done, remove the paneling from the wall and, with a coping saw or a power saber saw, cut the paneling along the line. If you install that piece of paneling first, then fit successive pieces to it, all the paneling will be straight and plumb.
To cut holes in paneling for electrical switches and outlets, first cover the edges of the outlet with carpenter’s chalk. Position your paneling as it will be mounted and strike it once with your palm in the general vicinity of the outlet. When you remove the paneling, you’ll see the outline of the box on the back. Within that outline, drill a hole through the paneling to give yourself a starting place, then cut along the chalk outline with a saber saw.

The Application
Prefinished plywood paneling in 4′ x 7′ or 4′ x 8′ sheets can be nailed or held in place with adhesive. Adhesive for paneling comes in tubes and is dispensed from a caulking gun.
Ideally, it’s better to install sheets of paneling over a wall surface such as drywall rather than attach them directly to the studs. The existing wall gives rigidity to the paneling- At 12″ intervals from floor to ceiling, apply horizontal lines of paneling adhesive to the back of the paneling, then mount the paneling. The adhesive will hold the paneling tight to the drywall, and you won’t need to use any nails at all.
If you decide to skip the drywall and use nails instead of adhesive, you’ll need to nail through the grooves of the paneling and into the studs. If you start at a corner and measure 16″ horizontally, you can generally count on hitting both a paneling groove and a stud. (In modern construction, studs are always placed 16″
apart.)
To nail paneling in place, start at the top and work down the wall and across the pieces, nailing every 6″ along the edges. Then, working your way down the wall, nail through the grooves and along the studs so that the nails are about 12″ apart (measuring vertically).

A Camouflage Operation
After installing each piece of paneling, camouflage potential unsightly gaps with this trick: Using a wide felt-tip marker, draw a black line on the stud where the piece of paneling ends, following the edge of the piece. Even if the next piece doesn’t fit quite tight to the previous one, the light color of the stud behind them will not show.
If you prefer to nail your paneling in place instead of using adhesive, consider buying nails in the appropriate color to match your paneling. Nails in a wide range of colors are available anywhere prefinished paneling is sold and at most hardware stores.

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