Learn more about Wainscoting

Wainscot

Wainscot is a way of dividing a room from the rest of the room by lining its lower part with wooden paneling. The versatile appearance of wainscoting has made it a staple in the trending section for over a century.

There is a decorative element known as wainscoting, which can be found in the lower portion of walls within a home, particularly in the dining room, living room, or hallway. There are some old houses that have this wall treatment that has been in use since the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, mostly older houses that date from around the 17th and 18th centuries.

The purpose of wainscoting in modern times is mostly decorative, adding texture and visual interest to a room.

Purposes of Wainscoting

Below mentioned a few purposes of wainscoting:-

Installing insulation

In the past, houses that were built in areas that experienced extreme weather conditions, especially cold weather, were not adequately protected against these conditions due to inadequate insulation. In addition to adding wainscoting to the walls, another layer of insulation was added to the walls, which served to reinforce the delicate plaster and provide more protection against significant temperature changes.

Wall Protection

It is a great addition to the home to place wainscoting along the lower wall walls to help protect them from daily use such as bumps from furniture or chairs.

Utilized as decorations for doors

For walls that need to be visually more interesting, some designers recommend using wainscoting panels. Raised panel wainscoting can give a room a formal, traditional feel, while flat panel wainscoting can give a room a more minimalist feel if the homeowner prefers a minimalist design aesthetic.

Extending the pathways

Wainscoting is a centuries-old design element that is derived from the combination of decorative boards and panels that run partway up the face of a wall and are built to enhance the aesthetics.

Wainscoting and its types

Depending on the type of aesthetics and how it is constructed, there can be a wide variety of wainscoting which are mentioned below:-

Wall panel type

There is no need to hire an expensive contractor to install this simple wainscoting. There is a common approach used for wall-paneling wainscoting where a series of rectangle frames are formed from strips of wood or molding directly attached to the wall.

Flat panel type

Wainscoting in flat panels is usually made up of thin pieces of plywood or MDF attached to the wall in the form of horizontal panels. Once the boards have been decorated with moldings or narrow strips of wood, you can create vertical and square framing by wrapping them over the flat panels to create a vertical or square frame.

Beaded panel type

In terms of wood paneling, beadboard refers to a long piece of board with vertical grooves. Using strips of wood or trim on the beadboard to create panels is what gives a beadboard wainscoting the classic look that you will see in many homes today.

Raised panel type

Raised-panel wainscoting is perhaps the oldest type of wainscoting, having to be installed by a skilled craftsman who will bevel the edges of each panel before covering them in the wood trim. In the case of old, formal rooms, this type of wall covering is most commonly found on the wall.

Guidance to install wainscoting

Here is the step-by-step guide to installing a wainscot in your residence:-

• Make sure the base cap is removed.
• Plan the height and length of the wainscot.
• Panels must be attached based on the measurement.
• Top rails to be installed.
• Then carefully install the stiles.
• Place and trim the stiles as per the needs.
• Remove the excessive trims.
• Place the rails on the bottom.
• Measure the baseboard and then trim that as per the measurement.
• Place the baseboard carefully.
• Slice the apron and place that carefully.
• Carefully cut off the returns and place the returns.
• Complete the installation of the shoe moldings and the base caps
• Remove the panels from the frame.