Wainscoting is one of the most effective and economical ways to make your home look better and boost its value. It’s a form of interior trim work that’s applied to the bottom part of interior walls, and you can make wainscoting happen in your home in three different ways.
Some options required advanced skills to install, while others are simple enough that any handy homeowner can make beautiful results happen.
The word “wainscoting” evolved from an old English term that translates to “wind skirting” — the practice of applying extra layers of material to interior wall surfaces to stop wind and drafts from coming through.
These days wainscoting has nothing to do with energy efficiency, and everything to do with boosting interior beauty.
Dollar-for-dollar I don’t know of a more effective way to increase the value of your home than by having wainscoting installed. This is especially true if you’re preparing your home for sale. People these days are starved for interior details that go beyond the simple and plain. An investment in wainscoting can make your home sell faster and for more money than the cost of installation. It’s one of the few home improvement projects that actually increases house value more than it costs.
Roughly speaking there are three main types of wainscoting: wall-applied stiles and rails; tongue and groove wainscoting; and solid wood frame and panel designs. Of these three, wall-applied stiles and rails are the simplest, least expensive and easiest to install.
In the world of interior trim work, stiles are vertical frame members and rails are horizontal frame members. These terms apply to cabinets and furniture as well as trim work such as wainscoting. Surprising as it is, simply applying stiles and rails directly to a wall with a cap piece on top and baseboard along the floor really boosts appearance a lot. The wall itself is framed by the stiles and rails and shows through, simulating a kind of panel surface. Wall-applied stiles and rails are best secured with glue and 23-gauge pins.
Do you want wainscoting that’s fairly simple to install but made of solid wood? Tongue and groove wainscoting uses pieces of interlocking solid wood strips applied vertically to a wall, with a cap piece on top and baseboard on the bottom, along the floor. Some people call this beadboard or cottage board, especially when the vertical strips are narrower than 3 inches.
The most impressive form of wainscoting involves solid wood panels held within solid wood stiles and rails applied to walls. This is the classic approach and it’s made a lot easier these days by pre-made wainscoting kits. These kits are even sophisticated enough that you can order them for use running up alongside stairs.
On a technical level, there are two main things to consider as you plan a wainscoting installation. If you’re installing beadboard or frame and panel wainscoting, start with a layer of 1/2-inch thick plywood screwed to the wall before you begin the installation. This creates a nailing surface anywhere you need it as the wainscoting goes on.
Will your wainscoting be finished with a stain or paint? This might seem like an obscure question, but it matters. All else being equal, paint-grade wainscoting is easier and less expensive to install because composite wood parts can be used and less-than-perfect joints can be filled before painting. Stained wainscoting, by contrast, needs to be made of solid wood and joints need to be perfect without filler.
For a detailed online tutorial on making wainscoting happen in your home, visit baileylineroad.com/wainscoting-makes-sense . Whether you plan to do the work yourself or you want to hire a professional intelligently, the information here will get you going in the right direction.
Steve Maxwell firmly believes that Canada needs more wainscoting. Visit him online for free access to thousands of articles and videos about hands-on, how-to living at BaileyLineRoad.com
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