How to Install a Chair Rail
A chair rail is a subtle way to make a room look more interesting, adding color and texture to a wall that would otherwise be plain. Here’s how to install a chair rail by yourself.
Materials
Suitable molding of your choice
Hammer
Nail set
Finishing nails that can go through molding and the drywall
Putty
Sandpaper
Miter box
Wood saw
Angle measuring device
Stud finder
Level
Tape measure
A helping hand
Caulk (optional)
Procedure
The molding of your chair rail will help make the wall look more interesting and texturized. On the practical side, choose a molding that will go well along the wall and can lie relatively flat against it, too.
Measure the height of your chair rail. To help you visually, use chalk or masking tape for the proposed height of the chair rail. You can also use the chairs in that particular room as a basis for your chair rail height.
Miter the interior corners. Measure and cut the miters for the chair rail, especially if they are not in 90 degree angles. Use your angle measuring device and divide by two to cut the corners for each side.
Measure the length of the chair rail. This part can be really tricky, because walls are not always exact, plumb or square. The back of the chair rail should be as perfectly long as the length of the wall where it will be affixed.
Finish and paint the molding before attaching it to the wall. You can do this by putting the molding on newspapers, a drop cloth or sawhorses and paint it to match other molding or to complement the wall’s paint.
Finish the wall first before attaching the chair rail. Make sure that the paint, wall paper or paneling is all done before you even attempt to put on a chair rail
Find the studs in the wall and mark them with masking tape or marked with pencil.
Take the measuring tape and measure from the floor up to the height that you wish.
Have someone help you to hold up the chair rail at the desired height that you marked.
Hammer in the finishing nails. Make sure they go all the way in to the studs. Be careful and precise when using a hammer as not to damage the chair rail molding.
Recess the nails just slightly into the molding using the nail set. Make sure that the heads are inset to make it more finished and clean.
Once you’re done, touch up the paint to finish, wherever you’ve used putty or caulk.