How to Install a Flat Chair Rail on Wainscoting

Actually installing a chair rail on wainscoting is a slight misnomer; for you don't install the piece of molding called the chair rail on top of the wainscoting, but instead the chair rail forms the upper border for the wainscoting. The wainscoting will merely come to rest against the bottom edge of the chair rail. Therefore, it is a good idea, but not absolutely necessary, to install the chair rail before you place the wainscoting. For all the details, read the rest of this article.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Circular saw or power miter saw
• Saw horses
• Safety glasses
• Tape measure
• Hammer (16 ounce)
• Finish nails (#10 or #12 bright)
• Nail set
• Wood putty
• Chalk line
• 4-foot level
• Chair rail molding
• Sandpaper

1. Choose a height for your chair rail. Establish the height of the chair rail in one corner with a tape measure. Then extend the line down each wall 4 feet with the 4-foot level and a pencil. Continue the line with a chalk line until the whole perimeter of the room is marked.

2. Locate the studs for the whole perimeter of the room. You can mark each stud just above the chalk line with a pencil. Hopefully, you are working in a new-construction wood-framed building, where the studs have standard spacing of either 16 or 24 inches on center. Drive a few finish nails into some studs to confirm your stud locations.

3. Join all pieces on a flat wall with splices, where each half of the splice is cut at 45 degrees. Make sure all splice joints fall in the middle of a vertical stud and lightly sand all cut pieces with medium grade sandpaper. Each end of a splice gets a 45-degrree angle cut. Set the saw blade of the circular saw at 45 degrees and use a carpenter's square to guide the cut. Most types of chair molding can be turned over to make a secondary cut that is complimentary to the first.

4. Inside corners can be butted together, but they usually look better if each piece has a 45-degree angled or mitered cut. To make two complimentary cuts for an inside cut, you can lay both pieces of chair molding in the same direction and cut the angle with a carpenter's square and the circular saw set at 45 degrees.

5. Outside corners are made in almost an identical manner as the pieces for the inside corners except each piece will be flipped over before it is installed. This is an important feature to note if you have an angled cut at the other end of the piece of molding.

6. Install each piece with finish nails as listed above. Set three nails per stud with a hammer and set the head of each nail about a 1/4 inch below the surface of the molding and fill with wood putty. Make all cuts first to make sure each board fits just right.

Tips & Warnings

• The splices will only need one row of finish nails. You can paint or add a wood finish to your chair rail.
• Wear safety glasses when operating a circular saw or a power miter box. The power box is particularly prone to producing small pieces of flying wood.