Tools & Materials:
hammer
tape measure
pencil
speed square
miter box (power or manual)
2' level
chalk line (optional)
nail set
6-penny finish nails
wainscoting
chair rail molding
baseboard (optional)
Wainscoting - short boards attached usually vertically to the lower half of a wall - has been a practical and beautiful wall finish in houses since the earliest buildings in North America. Wainscoting provides protection to the wall, and it gives rooms a rich finishing touch.
Adding wainscoting to any room in your house is a nice home improvement project that is very attractive and adds character to its surroundings. Essentially, the project involves cutting and installing the wainscoting (tongue-and-grove or shiplap boards), and capping the wainscoting with chair rail molding.
Although every room - especially those in old houses - will have its own installation nuances, adding wainscoting is a project that any handyman or do-it-yourselfer with some woodworking experience can do with a little patience and a weekend of available time.
Here are the basics.
PLANNING
The first thing to do is to decide in what room you want the wainscoting. The bathroom and kitchen are traditional favorites, but you might also consider your rec room, den, dining room, or home office.
Next, you must decide how high you want the wainscoting to go up the wall. This is primarily a matter of your personal choice and taste, although if you intend the wainscoting to provide some protection to the wall from furniture or children's toys, make sure you plan it to be high enough to do the job. Anywhere from 36-48" above the floor is common.
After determining the height of the wainscoting, mark that height in a number of places on the wall. Then either snap a chalk line, or use a level and pencil, to mark the top edge of the wainscoting around the room.
If you already have baseboard in the project area, you can choose to do one of two things. On one hand, you can leave the baseboard in place and butt the wainscoting to the top of it (fig. 1). Otherwise, you can remove the baseboard and run the wainscoting all the way to the floor (fig. 2), then put a new piece of baseboard over the wainscoting.
With the basic planning issues taken care of, it's time to go down to your local lumberyard to pick up your materials.
Determine the amount of wainscoting you need by multiplying the length of all of the walls you will cover by the height the wainscoting will reach. That will give you the square footage amount of wainscoting to purchase.
The amount of chair rail you need is simply the length of all of the walls you will cover. Likewise, if you choose to remove and replace the baseboard, you will need that same amount of baseboard.
INSTALLATION
First remove all outlet covers and whatever else might be in the way. You will be able to reuse these items after you are done. Also remove the baseboard if you've chosen to do so.
Start work in one corner of the room. Cut the first piece of wainscoting to the correct height (determined by whether you are butting it on top of the baseboard or running it all the way to the floor).
Take this first piece and set it in place. Use a two-foot level to check that it is "plumb" (straight up & down) and fits tightly against the corner. If it is plumb, you can apply the wood permanently with two nails. Try to put one nail near the top so that the chair rail will cover it (fig. 3), and one near the bottom. Set them with a nail set so that you can hide them with caulk or wood putty later if you want to.
If this first piece is not plumb, you will need to "scribe" (mark) it so that you can trim that board to get a good fit and so that the piece will stand straight up and down (plumb).
You can scribe the board by holding it in proper place and running a pencil down the wall so that the pencil marks a line on the board that matches the slope of the wall. (This is as simple as it sounds but if you have never done this before, ask a friend for guidance the first time.)
Cut the board along the marked line and the piece should then both fit well in the corner and be plumb. Nail it in place.
Once you have a plumb first board to work with, you can put on the rest of the wainscoting pieces. Continue around the room, keeping the top edge level at the height line until you have completed the entire wall surface. If necessary, cut the boards to special widths and lengths as needed to fit under windows. At corners, you can either overlap the boards, or make mitre cuts to join the boards at 45 degree angles.
Once the wainscoting is entirely attached, it's time to install the chair rail molding to decoratively cover the top edge of the wainscoting. The best way to do this is to bring the chair rail pieces right into the room, and hold them in place atop the wainscoting, to mark the proper lengths.
You will need to mitre the corners if you have not purchased pre-made wood for corners at the lumber store.
Cut and apply the chair rail using as few nails as possible. Then use the nail set to drive nails farther into the wood. Afterwards you can use caulk or wood fill to fill in where the nails have been set.
If you have removed the baseboards, don't forget to install new baseboard, using lengthier nails than previously so that the baseboard will firmly hold the wainscoting against the wall.
Paint or stain the wood the color of your choice, then invite some friends over to admire your work.
FIG. 1
RETURN TO INSTRUCTIONS
FIG. 2
RETURN TO INSTRUCTIONS
FIG. 3 
RETURN TO INSTRUCTIONS
Silas Casey specializes in home remodeling and construction for Sykes Construction of Poultney, Vt.
Wainscoting