How to Install Chair Railing and Trim

by Gillian Markson | More from this Blogger

16 Jun 2006 04:17 PM

If you are thinking about decorating your house using chair railing and trim, chances are you have already investigated styles and designs - the most important step in the installation process. Here are a few how-to tips to help you along the rest of the way.

1. Select the style that is right for your tastes and home. Chair rail and trim can fit into any home and any decorating scheme. Elaborate trim with ornate designs is especially popular in Victorian or European style homes. Basic and streamlined trim is most popular in modern homes. If you have an older home or are interested in keeping with a theme or era, you may want to consider speaking with a professional decorator or historian to find the trim or chair rail that matches your needs.

2. Measure the border of the room. In order to purchase the right amount of chair rail or trim, it is important that you accurately measure the length of the walls. Make sure to account for about an inch (depending on thickness of the wood) for mitering.

If you are cutting the chair rail or trim yourself, you are probably better off than if you are having the hardware store cut the trim for you. You will need to give the store exact measurements, including the measurement for the miter (which is always a 45-degree cut along the end pieces). If you are doing the cutting yourself, then you have more room to make accidents and trials, so purchase extra lengths of the board.

In most cases, you will have to purchase several lengths of chair rail or trim to make up the length of the entire room. When you put two pieces of trim together, you want to align them along mitered edges, so the pieces need to fit at 45-degree angles. If you do not miter the ends, it is not the end of the world, but your pieces will not have as smooth of a seam.

3. Map out the location where you are going to install the trim or miter to ensure that you are installing it on an even and level plane. Using two end points as markers, draw a thin line on the wall. Place a leveling balance on the line. Adjust the balance if the line is not entirely level. The two final end points will then be the end points for the two ends of your trim or chair rail.

4. Finally, it is time to install the trim or chair rail. With the help of an assistant, hold the chair rail or trim firmly against the wall along the line that you measured in step 3. The end points are perfect places to put your first screws, for they will hold the entire piece of wood in place. Once the two end points are firmly installed, you will need to place screws every 12 inches along the length of the chair rail or trim so that it fits flush against the wall at all points.

Once the chair rail or trim is flush against the wall, all you have to do now is paint. The new installation will liven up any room and provide fine decoration to your home.

Learn more about Gillian Markson

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger