wall paneling designs for living room
wainscoting is a classic way to add eleganceto any room. in this project—which should take you abouttwo hours for every fourteen feet of wall—we’ll show you how to build and install wainscotingcapped with a chair rail and a decorative profile on the inside edges. here’s what you’ll need for this intermediate-levelproject: when taking on this diy task be sure to equipyourself with the proper safety gear. throughout the video, we’ll alert you regardingwhen you should and should not use the safety gear. step 1: make a layoutthere’s no standard height for wainscoting
so do what’s best for the room where you’llbe installing it. chair rails are typically placed about threefeet from the floor. our chair rail is two and three-fourths incheswide, so the top of our frames will be at the thirty-three and one-fourth-inch mark. stile spacing of about twenty-four inchesworks well with the height we chose, but be sure to measure and space them evenly foryour specific wall and room layout. one stile will overlap the other at insidecorners, making one wall three-fourths of an inch shorter than the other. if you have any outside corners, the stileswill meet at a miter, which will make both
walls three-fourths of an inch longer. step 2: rip inside-corner stilesall of the rails and most of the stiles will be made of standard-width pine. however, one of the boards at each overlappinginside corner will need to be trimmed down to four and one-fourth inches wide so bothcorner stiles will reveal the same width. set a table saw blade or rip fence on a circularsaw to four and a quarter inches, ripping enough one-by-six stock for the corner stiles. if you have outside corners, set your tablesaw blade to forty-five degrees, setting the fence to cut the angle without reducing theoverall width of the stiles.
once you’ve set your fence, miter two foreach outside corner. step 3: cut stilesall the stiles in our design will be twenty-two inches long. and all but the corner stiles will be cutfrom one-by-fours. cut as many stiles as you need to length witha miter saw. for the corner stiles, use the pieces youripped in the last step. step 4: find studsuse an electronic stud finder to locate and mark the center of each stud about six inchesabove the floor. this will help you easily locate the studswhen you nail the bottom rail in place.
step 5: install bottom railsmeasure and cut each bottom rail to fit. place it in place, propping up with shimsif needed. use a level to make sure the rails are perfectlystraight. any slight gaps will be covered by shoe molding. if you need to use more than one piece ofbottom rail to span a wall, cut a forty-five-degree bevel on the first piece, planning the cutto fall over a stud. nail the first piece in place. a sixteen-gauge power finish nailer will makethe job easier, but you can also use a hammer with eight-d finish nails.
put the second piece in place and mark whereit overlaps, then cut with the opposing bevel angle or miter. apply wood glue on the joint and nail thesecond piece in place. you can putty and sand any gaps or nail holesas you go or wait until the end and do it all at once. step 6: install top railmeasure and cut top rails to fit as you did with the bottom rails, using overlapping miterjoints if you need more than one piece on a wall. measure and mark twenty-two inches up fromthe bottom rail at each corner.
snap a chalk line, then, using a level, transferthe stud locations from the bottom rail, and nail the top rail in place with your nailer. step 7: install stilesapply a thin, even coat of construction adhesive to attach the stiles, using a square to ensureeach is perpendicular to the bottom rail. remember to use four-and-a-half-inch-widestiles on both ends of the first wall. for outside corners, use the pieces you cutwith a forty-five-degree angle in step two. test fit, make any necessary adjustments,then apply adhesive to the stiles and set in place. if you’d like, begin filling nail holeswith wood putty.
once dry, sand with a sanding block. step 8: install inner moldingmeasure and cut your hardwood base shoe molding at forty-five degree angles. test the fit, then use your nailer to secureit in place. you can putty nail holes and sand as you goor wait until all your molding is installed. step 9: install shoe moldingmeasure and cut pieces of shoe molding to fit between your walls, mitering the endsat forty-five degrees. when making your cuts, make sure the sidethat will rest alongside the bottom rail is against the saw fence.
use a nailer to secure the shoe molding inplace. step 10: install chair railuse a sixteen-gauge nailer to install your chair rail. check out our “how to install chair railâ€tutorial for detailed instructions on how to install chair rail. step 11: finishing touchesapply wood putty in any remaining nail holes and seams. let the putty dry per manufacturer’s instructions,then sand until smooth. prime and paint as needed, using painter’stape along edges as needed.
for a sleek finish, caulk along the top ofthe chair rail once your paint is dry. your installation is complete! step back and admire your new wainscoting.