Wainscoting is a type of paneling that is installed on the lower half of a wall, often in a dining room. The paneling is typically white, though it can also be a natural wood color or painted. Some wainscoting has vertical ridges, giving it the appearance of boards installed side-by-side. Other types have raised panels for a more formal look. Installing wainscoting in a dining room takes some patience but can really update a room's decor.
Instructions
1. Stack the wainscoting panels inside the room where they will be installed at least two days prior to installation. Insert two wooden 2-by-4-inch boards in between each piece of wainscoting to allow the wainscoting to adjust to the humidity in the room. If the wainscoting is short, cut each 2-by-4 in half with a handsaw before placing them between the wainscoting panels for airflow.
2. Insert a pry bar underneath the shoe molding in the room. Lean back on the handle of the pry bar to dislodge the molding nails from the floor. Continue until you have removed all of the molding around the base of the floor.
3. Place a tape measure against the floor at the end of one wall. Measure up to 1/2 inch and mark the position with a pencil. Make similar marks on the wall 1/2 inch from the floor at each corner of the room.
4. Hold the end of a chalk line on one of the pencil marks and have another person stretch the chalk line along the wall to one of the other pencil marks. Snap the chalk line against the wall with your fingers to create a guideline. Repeat the process until there is a single line all the way around the room.
5. Place one of the dining rooms chairs up against the wall and mark the location of the chair top on the wall with a pencil. Measure the distance between the mark and the bottom chalk line with a tape measure and transfer the top mark to all four corners of the room. Use the chalk line to create a top guideline all the way around the room just as you did with the bottom chalk line.
6. Place a stud finder flat against the wall and turn on the power. Move the stud finder over each wall and mark the location of the wall beams with a pencil. The will light up or beep when it finds a beam.
7. Lay a piece of wainscoting upside down on a work table and transfer the distance between the top and bottom chalk lines onto the wainscoting with a tape measure and pencil. Cut the wainscoting along the pencil mark using a circular saw.
8. Insert a wall adhesive tube into a caulk gun and squeeze the adhesive onto the back of the wainscoting in a "z"-shaped pattern. Press the wainscoting onto the wall starting at one corner. Make sure to position it between the two chalk lines.
9. Nail the wainscoting to the wall using finishing nails and a nail gun. Insert the nails 1/2 inch from the top and bottom of the panel and space each nail to correspond to the wall studs.
10. Place another piece of cut wainscoting next to the first and align the tongue on one piece with the grooves on the other piece so that there are no gaps. Install the wainscoting just as you did the first piece. Continue installing wainscoting in this manner until the entire room is covered.
11. Replace the shoe molding by tapping the nails into the floor with a hammer.
Tags: chalk line, against wall, bottom chalk, piece wainscoting, stud finder