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This post is sponsored by DAP.

Hey there sports fans,  I am back and I am pumped! Want to know why?!  I  have finally  crossed off  one of my most daunting  home improvement projects. You know the type I am talking about ?  They are those  projects that you regularly convince yourself that they  don’t really need to be done?  I can relate,  I had  talked myself out of  my  personal Goliath Project  on a daily basis, but was always brought back to reality every time  I answered the door.  You see,  my daunting task was my two story entry.  It was tall,  had odd alcoves, it was tall,  it was an atrocious shade of a used band-aid,  and it was tall, did I mention it was tall?

Well, I DID it,  I tackled my hurdle and  I would definitely consider it a WIN!  So without further ado, I am excited to share all the pretty and not so pretty details of the project.

For this project I  teamed up with the great folks over at DAP. I have used DAP products for years, and I would never recommend a product that I would not personally use.  All opinions shared are expressly my own.

Supplies Used:

• Faux Brick Panels (Home Depot)
• 1″ x 4″ Boards (or trim if desired)
• DAP Plastic Wood Filler
• DAP 20 min. Paintable Caulk
• DAP “Spackling Paste” (Make sure you read the whole tutorial before purchasing.)
• Paint

Tools Suggested:

• Table Saw
•  Nailer
• 2″ Finish Nails
• Spackle Paddle/Knife

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If you remember a while back I did a faux brick wall in my kitchen,  it turned out beautiful and I love everything about it.  It added so much personality and I knew that it could add some character to my odd alcoves.

Let’s get started,  I began by sketching up the text I wanted to have featured on my wall.  I am lucky enough to have a sweet neighbor that owns a screen projector!  Once, I had worked out all the kinks, I traced the image onto a transparency sheet. (OR in my case I was fresh out of transparency  sheets, so I had to work with what I had. In this case a gallon size ziploc bag. Ha)  Moving on.

  Before I could begin transferring the image,  I  needed to first add my background color blocks.  I ran a few trial runs to test different color combos. I ultimately decided on  the gray background with white lettering.

Once I had my colors selected, I taped off the entire bottom layer so that I could easily paint it. In this case the base/outline would be white. During this process I was consulting my original design and making sure my blocks were to scale. (If  that idea freaks you out, you can always use the projector to create your outline.)

Side Note: I used white and gray primer when painting on my designs.  It is not entirely  necessary, but if you you use a  paint I suggest giving  it plenty of time to cure.  After all, you will be SCRAPING the panel with with a spackling knife.

Once the bottom layer of white was painted and completely dried, I  then taped off the gray  section and proceeded to paint the taped off area.  Again, I played it safe and used a gray primer. (Available in a spray can)

Once the gray primer/paint was completely dried I was able to remove the tape to reveal this beauty!  It’s now time to add the pretty details!  I set it up in front of the projector and got to work!  I used a pencil to lightly trace/transfer the projected design on to the brick wall.

After the design was traced, I proceeded to fill in the design with paint. I did this portion with a basic art paint brushes.

Now we are firing on all cylinders! Once the design is finished,  we are ready to install this bad boy! It is really a straight forward task.  I just tacked mine in place using a finish nailer. If you want more details on the install process,  you can read more details about my Kitchen Brick Wall, or you can check out what “Sawdust Girl” did.  Honestly, she pretty much rocks the  faux brick wall’s world!  You should definitely check out  both of her wall tutorials,  you can find them here, and here.

Learn From My Trial Runs:

Once the panels are secured we are ready to roll!  Or so I thought.  During this process I was able to try a  few different products and figure out which one worked best for this purpose.

First I  tried DAP’s  ” Crack Shot”. I am not going to lie, this stuff was AH-MAZING!  It went on smooth, like butta’. It also dried  quick without any shrinking. HOWEVER,  to my horror, as it was drying I started to see faint tinge of pink to the spackle that had once been white.  Once it was completely dried, all of my grout lines had turned pink!?  That wasn’t right.  After a little bit of research I think I found the source of the “pinkness”.  Like I said I love working with “Crack Shot” but it seems that it has an active ingredient in the “Crack Shot” that caused a  small chemical reaction with my brick panel.  After comparing active ingredients, I think I figured out that it was having a funny reaction with the Ethylene Glycol.  So I looked at other wall spackles, and found just the ticket! I needed DAP Spackling Paste,  (The one in the green tub is what I used, and it has my stamp of approval!)

Once I had the right product, I was crackin’ on!

I know this part might seem scary, but I promise it is not. A little messy? Yes. But Scary? No.

Honestly, there isn’t much to it,  just smear it on, and scrap it of until you get the look you are going for.

Here are some short clips to show just how easy it it!

Once the spackle was dry I was ready trim this sucker out! This isn’t entirely necessary, BUT when considering the dimensions of my  alcoves in particular, it made sense to leave a gap around the perimeter , because  I would only require one panel per alcove. PLUS, I wanted to trim it out anyways, so it was a win-win.

To trim out the alcove I used 1″x4″ primed finger board. It comes primed white, which eliminates a step, and they are actually  cheaper than select pine boards. BONUS!

To install, I again relied on a finish nailer with 2″ nails  to attach the boards to the wall.

Once the trim boards are installed I was  ready to  fill all the nail holes in preparation to paint.

If you have never used caulk you are in for  a real treat.  Caulk can basically  work miracles.  It can hide almost any unsightly gap, and make your trim look flawless. Moral of the story?  When in doubt; caulk.

I had not one, but two of these alcoves. So  repeated the above steps again.

 There you have it folks, a great way to add character and interest to any place in your home! Thanks for tuning in.

 Take Luck,

 Corey