Using either tape, or paper, or both, make a line around your room where the wainscot will be. Depending on the type of wood used, wainscoting can also contribute to the overall look and feel of a room, giving it a more classic or antique feel. You should be very happy. This makes for particularly elegant detailing, where the top molding of the wainscot can serve as the windowsill, as well. Make sense? Your email address will not be published. im in the middle of putting up Chair rail up my stairs. For example, if your room is 9 feet tall, then your wainscoting should come up to 3 feet. So, the moral of the story is there is not just ONE perfect height to install wainscoting, but there are several starting points from which you can adjust the height based on the specific circumstances of the room, furniture and design. Nominal thickness ranged from 3/4 to 5/8 to 1/2 and as thin as 3/8 depending upon the manufacturer. Its also important to know the best height for this type of wall treatment so that it looks and functions properly. Ed, "About 28 to 32 inches is an optimum range for chair rail height," says Hull. Takedown request | View complete answer on sunrisespecialty.com. Above all, the height should be installed with safety and comfort in mind; make sure it wont interfere with any overhead lighting, air vents, or other features that could interfere with your headroom. Hidden Doors masuzi October 21, 2018 Uncategorized Leave a comment 10 Views. Does the line intersect with any features in the room that will need to be considered? It can easily be used in spaces such as bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms because of its ability to withstand moisture. Wainscoting is old-school armor for your walls. Garden Improvement But it can also be an easy detail to get wrong. Wainscotting is a classic choice for bathrooms that border on the traditional side. A good general rule for the height of a wainscot is that it be a third of the way up the wall. But the truly wonderful thing about the pragmatic Mr. Swan is his recognition that dado height also determines the height of window sillsor vice versa! If you follow these height guidelines, it will look great in your home and function very well too. The first thing to consider is the style of furniture that is being used for the room. Beadboard can also be used to add texture and interest in the space. . I appreciate you taking the time to respond and thank you for the kind words. ka. Well, thats the long story. After delving a bit into the subject, he offers an answer to the question of how high a wainscot should be: whatever works best for the room. Something similar happened to office buildings. In a way, its ironic that stair railing must be higher now, sometimes requiring a transition to the wainscot paneling. Hi My ceilings are 10 feet high. For example, if your walls are 8 feet tall, your wainscoting should be about 2 feet tall. Shaddy has also worked as a newspaper reporter and writer, and as a contributing writer for Bicycling Magazine. It is most commonly installed over drywall simply because drywall is the most common wall finish for interior spaces. On top of the frame is the wall sheathing, which is the material, often plywood or OSB, that is nailed to the frame as a covering. Wainscoting doesnt necessarily add value to your home Wainscoting enhances your homes appearance, but it doesnt increase its value. However, the exact height of the wainscoting will depend on the design you are trying to achieve. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. Use the tape to create three boxes 24 inches wide and 18 inches high. The bottom edge of the wainscot should be 20 inches above a kitchen countertop or breakfast bar. Does wainscoting make a room look bigger or smaller? The same proportions for a ten foot ceiling would be 45 inches, but that seems high. But anything above the nine-foot mark is generally considered a high ceiling. In fact, with the soaring 13.5-foot ceilings, my Boston living room has a wainscoting height of 40. Another option is using liquid adhesive if not using a solvent. The traditional color of wainscoting is white. When installing wainscoting on walls with an 8-foot ceiling, the height of the wainscoting should generally be about 1/4 of the way up the wall, or about 30 to 36 inches tall. Recommended Chair Rail Height. To get that approximate chair rail height, measure the ceiling height in inches and divide that number by three. The traditional rule of thumb is that wainscoting height should be a third of the wall's height, including the cap or any moldings.So if you have 9-foot walls, then 3-foot (or 36-inch) wainscoting will look great. This is to prevent food and other items from getting behind it, as well as provide enough room for legs when sitting down on stools or chairs that are placed in front of your countertops. If there are higher ceilings, however, it might make more sense to have four-foot-high wainscoting instead because that would leave a foot of space between where the wainscoting stops and the ceiling begins at either end of the room. Can you install higher than 1/3 of the room height? Wainscoting (also called dado wall paneling) is meant to replicate the pedestal on a classical columnalso called a dado. Installing wainscot too high diminishes the appearance of a room, making it feel squat and out of proportion. 9 Foot Ceilings Ceilings that are 9 feet tall can sustain a larger crown, typically 3-7-1/2 plus the addition of a picture mold in formal public spaces. Likewise,are 10 foot ceilings too high? The standard height to install wainscoting is about 1/3 of the wall height, so if you have 9 foot ceilings that would be 36 inches. Much like Sean, Ive been a student of proportions and details for quite some time now. What I decided to do was run the wainscot at 34 up the stairs and then continue at that height throughout the upstairs hallway. So if you have 9-foot walls, then 3-foot (or 36-inch) wainscoting will look great. While there is no single standard height for installing beadboard in a bathroom, the typical height ranges from 38-to-42 inches off the ground, or taller than the vanity or sink. Garden Hacks Some people think that, since its called chair rail, the height should match the height of a chair back, but nothing could be further from the truth, because, like I said, there are rules! Youre doing fine. First we placed a line of tape at 1/3 of the ceiling height and I quickly realized that this would not make enough of an impact for my vision of the design. I am installing wainscoting in a basement bathroom with 7 foot ceilings. I dont have the tools to make curved moulding so that is beyond my ability right now. Hull cautions that most people install chair rails too high on their walls. We have plans to paint the wainscoting a muted pink and leave the rest of the wall and ceiling white (, We love the vertical shiplap we are installing in the nursery for our wainscoting, so hopefully y'all do too! The traditional rule of thumb is that wainscoting height should be a third of the walls height, including the cap or any moldings. Did we follow any of these hard rules on appropriate height? It consists of two parts: the baseboard and paneling along the wall. Van Life It adds creditability to our craft and why good quality work is worth paying for. Newer homes, meanwhile, tend to come with nine-foot ceilings. :):):). The classic design feature is usually between 34 and 54" high, with 36" being the average height. A:Yes, thereis a general rule for how high up the wall to run your wainscotingbut you know what they say. Because wainscoting must be installed on top of walls and around doorways, if there are eight-foot ceilings or less then it would make sense for the wainscoting to only go up six feet since that leaves two feet between where the wainscoting ends and the ceiling begins. Not be outdone, the builders of custom homes went to 10 feet. House Exterior Design Two-Thirds Rule: Taller wainscoting applications are typically placed at two-thirds the height of the wall. Of course, we don't want to see dinky proportions in a room with a 12 ceiling, but we need to be careful with 8 feet and lower. Thanks! Avoid obvious seams and joints under windows. Chair rail molding is the most common, typically ranging from 1 1/2 to 3 inches in width. Wainscoting is old-school armor for your walls. This left approx. Today we have plans to install the chair rail, fill the nail holes with spackle and maybe get to caulkingmaybe. Whether that is right or wrong, I am not really sure. any ideas on how to do the transition. (Note: Click any image to enlarge). Also consider that, if the height of the wainscot is too close to the height of the windowsill (either above or below), you may wind up with a very awkward-looking window treatment. I love a taller wainscoting in a hallway because it makes the narrow space feel taller. As such, it would be ideal for the board and batten to sit slightly lower, 32 inches or slightly over 2.5 feet. Gary, Youll probably wind up pretty close to the rule of thirds, but at least youll be on the side of centuries of mathematicians, artists and architects whove also used this magic in their work. Gary. :)Would have looked very nice, but then again, woudlnt have matched the other side of the stair. All of the moldings we install inside and outside homes originate from the classical orders; but equally important, so do the linesthe elevation lines for each decorative detail on a home. For taller wainscoting, such as one with a plate rail, cap it two-thirds the way up the wall. The purpose and dimensions of a room can determine how high the ceiling should be. Yes, I think you can have too much, particularly if the scale and overall style of the house is not fairly formal. For example, if your walls are 9 feet tall, cap the wainscoting at 6 feet, with the thickness of a plate rail figured in, if needed. JLC magazine recently asked me to answer a readers question: Whats the right height for chair rail and wainscoting? For a small space, white is a great way to open up the space and allow you to paint the wall a darker color. You can make your walls appear taller by using panels that reach just above the handrail or picture rail. 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