Panelling and fitting sockets in it.

[MikeSharp01]

I am making, because the commercial stuff is too thin to act as the actual wall, and fitting V groove panelling in our bedrooms and am not sure what depth I should rout the V grooves. I have looked at commercial panelling and it comes out between 3 and 5 mm deep - I prefer 3mm but is that enough on a 4m run - will it just feel lost. I also have to fit a number of plug sockets and light switches in it and am wondering what the best way to do this as I would like to use dry lining back boxes as there is no structure behind the panelling. Will this look odd with the grooves running behind the face plates? Any thoughts?

[Oz07]

How thick are your boards. 3mm feels more like a scratch than a groove. Id be looking for more like 6mm you will have to do a test piece see what you prefer. I don't think sockets will look bad with the grooves going into them. 

[MikeSharp01]

It's 12mm thick so I can go deeper. I think I will make a sample and see how I feel. 

[Onoff]

What will look odd is if a groove is off centre to a single gang switch/socket.

 

 

[MikeSharp01]

14 hours ago, Onoff said:

What will look odd is if a groove is off centre to a single gang switch/socket.

Yes I have drawn it all up and I can avoid the single socket issue OK I think. Both are focused on Bedside sockets which need to match the bed width - chose king size but spaced so a super king will just fit between the sockets - just! Getting it right is a further pain on one of the walls as it has two doors in it which the other half of the partnership wants to be secret and open on the 'V' grooves - hence the bespoke panelling!

 

[garrymartin]

On 15/08/2026 at 11:11, MikeSharp01 said:

I think I will make a sample and see how I feel.

Creating a sample is always the best way. You can then also get approval from the other half before manufacture! 😉

 

What you might also want to consider, given that it is custom and if you feel your woodworking skills are up to it, is stopping the grooves short where your sockets will go, giving yourself a 20-30mm perimeter of the solid wood. Something else to play with on a sample perhaps?

[MikeSharp01]

Looks like I can achieve this setup. The brown is the paneling (150mm centers), The Cyan is the King Size divan. The circle is the 400mm reach from the corner of the bed to reach the light switches, the white with center lines is the final stud and the sockets and switches look OK to me. As @garrymartin says I could stop the grooves below the Sockets and restart above but I feel it looks more authentic if they run through the center of the sockets.

 

[garrymartin]

We have a very similar setup for switches and sockets.

 

The only thing I can add from experience is to think about the bedside tables you are going to use (if any). The shelf of ours is right at the height of the sockets, so it means you can't fully push the cabinet back to the wall, and you have to pull it out to plug and unplug items. Small thing but annoying nonetheless!

[MikeSharp01]

1 hour ago, garrymartin said:

The only thing I can add from experience is to think about the bedside tables you are going to use (if any).

Yes, good point, the table in our case is going to be a shelf just below the plug socket and above the lamp / Network socket. There is only 300mm from the bedside to the in panel door edge so its a squeeze but does need thinking through.