Hello there. We are planning to install horizontal birch hardwood tongue and groove planks on a middle room divider wall which is also our headboard. It is Cronin 3/4" x 3.5" widths and random lengths from 12"to 49-1/2" being the longest. This head board is almost a 10x10 but it's 90 sq ft. We took out all pieces and evaluated ones we could hide behind the bed or ones that we would cut at outlets or sconces. They are all stacked in piles according to size (about 7 different sizes with each box being pretty similar) so my thought was to actually come up with a layout in autocad and just stick with that as best we can. I am an architect by trade but we've built our house foundation up with contempory details and we are quite capable. I'm a perfectionist and my hubby is great at this stuff. My shower tile layout came out amazing and I laid it all out in sketchup with grout and it came out exactly right. Laying it out in a computer has worked for me in the past, but I thought I would seek some advice here as it's hardwood and it will be permanent with one shot. We are going to be screwing with trim head screws hidden in the groove and gluing it. Any thoughts on glue? I considered bostiks best after researching but also read about loctite PL premium and I couldn't get bostiks best here in Fairbanks. We are in alaska. I couldn't find an engineered wood here less then 5" wide. I wanted about a 3" width.

This is an afterthought on a wall with metal studs and sheetrock already. We realize we will be predrilling for every screw. Studs are 16" centers.

Can anyone please advise on glue recommendation and how I should go about my layout?

Thank you.

Gluing to sheetrock would not be the best, compared to gluing to one half inch plywood. The best glue would be a sub-floor adhesive that comes in a convenient caulking type gun.. Screwing the wood to studs would work, but metal studs will deflect the screws when they are installed at a 45 degree angle. This is one reason why you need plywood for the backing.

Thank you.

What are things we can expect if we glue to sheetrock?

Will our project be a disaster?

Concerning the layout. I had wanted to use a computer program to get the best random joint pattern and most efficient use of the different lengths provided. I know it's doable as this type of programming is used for packing shipping containers and even storing inventory in Amazon's warehouse. But, I no longer have access to a computer that I could use to do the program. So, what I wound up doing was inventorying and separating the boards by length as you have done. Then I did a simple calculation to determine how many boards of each length should be dispersed in each row with maximum end joint spacing.
FWIW, one comment that comes to mind concerns hiding pieces that aren't too attractive was be careful doing it because they won't be hidden if you rearrange the furniture or whatever is doing the hiding.
Also, why not a 15 gauge finish nail through the tongues instead of a trim head screw......will go a lot faster.
Will your CAD program take in all the different lengths and run iterations of different layouts?

Gluing to sheetrock does not guaranty a disaster depending on how the flooring is acclimated and if ambient conditions are kept even. Wood will expand and contract with changes in humidity. Plywood will resist the pressure that can manifest over the height of the wall. The wider the space that rows cover, the more expansion that is possible at the edges.
Each board could expand, say, sixty-four of an inch with a moisture content change of three percentage points. With one hundred boards laid side by side, for example, that could equal to over an inch in width if each board expands just that much, which would surely allow the sheet rock paper adhering to the wood to begin failing and also pull the screws out of the gypsum core.
This moisture content change may never happen if you are lucky. Do you like to take a chance?

Thanks JimmieM. That's the process I'm going with. It makes a lot of sense. I'll just be sure to distribute properly as I go.

PeteA - Sounds like we need to put up wood on the wall. We have an HRV system to help with moisture but I see the kitchen cabinets expand and contract still. Extra step don't really want to take but I don't like to take risks!

Thank you!