Wainscoting is a wood paneling product that is applied between a room's chair rail and base board. Wainscoting is traditionally made with tongue-and-groove slots or edges that overlay one another for ease of installation and comes in boards up to 12 inches wide. The panels come in a variety of hard and soft woods that are beveled for decoration. The wainscoting is nailed to furring strips, which are thin strips of wood that are nailed horizontally to the wall studs.
Instructions
1. Measure how tall you would like your wainscoting to be and mark the locations of the wall studs with a pencil.
2. Determine at least two equal heights for at least two to be located. Mark these locations and mark the studs at the height horizontally across the wall.
3. Place the 1-by-2 lumber strips horizontally at the marked locations and nail them to the wall studs as furring strips. Wedge wooden shims at any unlevel spots behind the 1-by-2 lumber to make the furring strips level.
4. Place the first board of wainscoting in place. Scribe and cut the end of the board that meets another wall with a scriber and table saw, if the wall does not fit plumb against the board. Attach the first board to the furring strips with finishing nails.
5. Place the second board by overlapping the edges or slipping the tongue-and-groove into the fist board and attaching the board to the furring strips with finishing nails. Attach the rest of the wainscoting boards in the same fashion.
6. Install a baseboard at the bottom and a cap rail at the top of the wainscoting with finishing nails and a hammer. Counter sink the nails and fill nail holes with putty or paintable caulk.
Tags: furring strips, finishing nails, wall studs, with finishing, with finishing nails, 1-by-2 lumber