Wainscoting is a classic detail and it was very popular in dining rooms in older homes. The idea was to protect the plaster from children and furniture. When a homeowner wanted that classic touch in their dining room, carpenter Nathan Gilbert got to work and recreated the timeless design.
How to Install Wainscotting
- Start by assessing the room and current trim. If the baseboard consists of a cap molding on top of a flat baseboard, it needs to be removed, which can be done with a razor knife, pry bar, hammer, and wood shim to protect the wall. If the baseboard is one piece and detailed, it will need to be removed.
- Choose the correct height. Classic wainscotting is between 36 and 42 inches from the ground, while modern wainscotting might be taller. Choose the height that best fits the room.
- Create a story pole. Do this by cutting a board to the correct height and placing a small block of scrap wood on the back to bush it off the wall. Mark the walls at several locations, including all corners and several areas between them. Snap chalk lines between corners.
- Start by cutting the top rails and installing them. Outside corners will require a miter, while inside corners can be cut as butt joints as they’ll be hidden later. Cut the boards to length, apply construction adhesive to their backs, align them to the chalk lines, and install them with the nail gun. Do your best to hit the studs.
- Install the corner stiles. Inside corners can be butt joints, but again, outside corners should be mitered. Use the table saw to rip the stiles to the correct width and miter their edges if necessary.
- Measure between the stiles and divide them as evenly as possible. For short walls, consider installing just one stile in the middle to create two panels, while longer walls might require two stiles that create three panels. Even longer walls might require more. Experiment with layout to find the best fit before cutting the stiles and installing them with construction adhesive and nails.
- Cut base cap molding for the insides of each panel and nail them in place. Cutting each molding slightly long and snapping them into place creates tight miters.
- Install bullnose molding on the top rails with wood glue and nails. All joints, inside and outside, should be mitered.
- Install scotia molding under the bullnose molding to finish the look.
- Caulk joints, fill nail holes, and paint the wall to match the rest of the trim to finish the project.
Resources
36”-42” tall is the classic height of wainscoting. Nathan manually measured and marked the height all around the room using a tape measure. In a newer home he would have used a laser but in an old home the house settles so that method won’t work well. Nathan made a gauge stick that was the determined height of what they wanted the top rail to be to mark around the room.
To remove the base caps, Nathan scored the top and bottom with a utility knife. Then he took a pry bar, shim, and hammer to work it off.
To make cuts he used a combination of a table saw and a miter saw.
Primed 1×4 pine board was used for the rails and stiles. To install the rails and stiles, Nathan used wood glue for the miters and construction adhesive for the back. Then he used a framing nailer to secure the pieces to the wall. To nail in the rails and stiles he used finish nails. For the base caps he used brad nails.
The top cap was made with a bullnose molding with a piece of decorative scotia molding underneath. A bead of caulk was added on top of the bullnose cap and corner joints to fill in any cracks.
