# Attaching wainscoting directly to studs or drywall?



## mjzraz (Jun 28, 2008)

We want to use beadboard on the walls frames with rails and stiles and a narrow shelf/cap. We want the overall height to be around 63-64" from the finished floor to the top of the shelf. This will allow for the light switches to be in the beadboard part of the panel and not the rail and maximize the use of the 8' beadboard planks cut in half. 

The questions are do we remove the drywall and attach directly to the studs? with the base moulding shimmed out, that would be @1 3/4" from the wall (1/2" drywall + 1x6 rail + base) I didn't even think about the shoe molding... If the drywall is removed I realize I would need some blocking between the studs to attach the planks.









Second question is how to end the wainscoting at the end of a wall when the other room won't have wainscoting? One idea was to end with a stile and just miter and return the shelf, the trim underneath and the base. 

Third question is how to deal with short sections of wall like the drawings below? The stiles and rails take up 3/4 of the wall. just not sure what looks right. 

















Last question is whether to rout the inside edges of the rails and stiles or to use molding. I figure one pro to using molding is that I could skip cutting a rabbit in the rails and stiles since the molding could cover nails used to hold the planks in place.


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## mjzraz (Jun 28, 2008)

FYI I will be painting the wainscoting.


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## Joe Carola (Apr 14, 2006)

No, you don't remove the drywall.


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## tcleve4911 (Nov 6, 2010)

One question at a time..........

First off...leave the drywall. Build out from there. The details will kill you if you remove the drywall and try to get everything in plane from the studs.

That said, 3/4" rails and stiles applied to drywall with 3/8" beadboard fit inside?
A nice 5/15" stop molding will work nicely to cover the cuts.
The rabbet gives it more of a Shaker look.
It depends on the look that YOU want. 

Next on your diagram you show 1x6 with filler and baseboard on top of that.
It can tend to get a bit Clunky especially when you turn corners of die back onto itself.










This is 1x6 top rail with 1x8 bottom rail and shoe molding. The top rail looks narrower because the cap and apron cover 1-2" of it.

Applying the rail over the drywall gives you plenty of nailing for the cap

Diagrams - I liked the 1st diagram of the multi height wall.

Hope this helps..........



edit: and Joe beat me to the punch on the Drywall :thumbsup:


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## mrgins (Jan 19, 2009)

make sure you paint all 6 sides of the bead board before you install it. It will reduce the chance of it expanding and contracting


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## Keith Mathewson (Sep 1, 2010)

Something else to consider- any intersections with doors, windows & plinth blocks. Bottom rail needs to be wider than top rail and baseboard needs to be wider than bottom rail.


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## mjzraz (Jun 28, 2008)

tcleve4911 said:


> First off...leave the drywall. Build out from there. The details will kill you if you remove the drywall and try to get everything in plane from the studs.


You guys seem pretty decided on this. I guess you mean that the drywall is basically flat so it will help hold everything in the same alignment plane? As opposed to the studs are not so flat and it would take a lot of effort to level it. Gluing and nailing the planks to the drywall doesn't seem too bad, but I'm more worried about nailing the stiles and having them hold before the glue dries. I thought I saw somebody in a book maybe, cut out a 4" strip of drywall and replaced it with plywood as a nailer behind the wainscoting - is that worth doing?



tcleve4911 said:


> That said, 3/4" rails and stiles applied to drywall with 3/8" beadboard fit inside?


My thoughts are 3/4" rails and stiles with 1/4" mdf planks. I saw 3/8" plywood bead and 5/8" t&g planks also. The plywood looked like it needed a lot of sanding and the 5/8" planks were too thick. There was 1/8" paneling but that had barely a profile and was flimsy.


tcleve4911 said:


> A nice 5/15" stop molding will work nicely to cover the cuts.
> The rabbet gives it more of a Shaker look.
> It depends on the look that YOU want.


I decided to not do the rabbet. I want to cover the inside edges of the frame with a small molding. I saw some stop molding (not sure what a 5/15" is) but the smallest I saw was @ 1" and I wasn't crazy about the look for this.
I like this profile, but not in PVC. To me it looks like a 1/2" 1/4 round with a second pass through the router with a round over bit. I got a piece of pine 1/4 round that I am going to test out.


















tcleve4911 said:


> Next on your diagram you show 1x6 with filler and baseboard on top of that. It can tend to get a bit Clunky especially when you turn corners of die back onto itself.


Well I was trying to get the overall height to 60+ (wife wants) with the limitation of 48" of beaded planks (least waste from 8' lengths)The base molding is a 4" colonial that I wanted to use because it's in the foyer which is not getting wainscoting (I hope) I guess an 8" base rail is doable I will have an oak stained shoe molding. By clunks are you saying it looks bad or it's a pain in the butt to install?

since I am going over the drywall I wonder if there are 1/2" rails and styles in 6" and 8" widths? this would help some with the wall projection. The shelf/cap would be supported by a mini crown molding also. with a quick search, I can only find 1/2" x 6" "craft boards" which are short 2' and 3' lengths.


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## Keith Mathewson (Sep 1, 2010)

Do yourself a big favor and go to a good lumber yard instead of the big box store. You will find your choices to be much greater and in longer lengths.


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## mjzraz (Jun 28, 2008)

Keith Mathewson said:


> go to a good lumber yard instead of the big box store. You will find your choices to be much greater and in longer lengths.


I have gone to a few lumber yards and they are only stocking the more common profiles, but can order others.


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## Keith Mathewson (Sep 1, 2010)

I'm surprised to hear that. Around here the lumber yards which have multiple retail locations have a very poor selection but the independents have a very broad selection and are willing to do short runs of profiles for which they already have the knives.


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## Millertyme (Apr 20, 2010)

when i do wainscotting I use I cover wall up to desired height with 1/2" mdf. I draw all my rail and stiles in place on this. I rip all my rails and stiles out of 1/2" mdf and nail it right to the wall.By covering the entire wall with the mdf 1st there is no need to worry about nailing.In your case you would cover with the beadboard.I usually pick a height that is below the light swithches as it makes for better usage of material. The bottom rail is actually my baseboard.There is no additional baseboard on top of the bottom rail.


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## mjzraz (Jun 28, 2008)

Keith Mathewson said:


> I'm surprised to hear that. Around here the lumber yards which have multiple retail locations have a very poor selection but the independents have a very broad selection and are willing to do short runs of profiles for which they already have the knives.


I got a line on a place that might have a better selection, I'll keep looking


Millertyme said:


> I rip all my rails and stiles out of 1/2" mdf and nail it right to the wall.By covering the entire wall with the mdf 1st there is no need to worry about nailing.In your case you would cover with the beadboard. (snip)The bottom rail is actually my baseboard.There is no additional baseboard on top of the bottom rail.


That's an idea...since my rails and stiles are square edge and being painted. I could do an 8" bottom with a shoe molding, 48" beadboard, 6" rail, shelf. The only downside is some walls are over 8' so I would need a joint. Are you still suggesting to remove the drywall and replace with MDF? I have pre-existing drywall on @ 1/2 of the walls that are getting the wainscoating. The other half have no drywall right now.


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## Millertyme (Apr 20, 2010)

drywall as you normally would. No need for taping and compound below your finish height. the 1/2" mdf or in your case bead board gets nailed with maybe a little liguid nail right throught the drywall into the studs. If you need to put a joint just place it over a stud and place it where you know it will be covered by a stile. Keep in mind you may need to pull out your electrical boxes and extra 1/2" and you may need to beef up your casings around doors and windows. It might be wise to locate all your studs on the floor if you can before finishing drywall. It always helps to know where they are for future nailing


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## mjzraz (Jun 28, 2008)

*Some progress*


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

Keith Mathewson said:


> Do yourself a big favor and go to a good lumber yard instead of the big box store. You will find your choices to be much greater and in longer lengths.



and hte profile is much more consistant.. big box trim is really rough compared to trim suppliers.. you cut big box trim on a mitre and the two peices dont join up right because of variations in the thickness and detail. with supplier stuff it looks like it grew there


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## brockhouse (Nov 2, 2012)

Don't remove the drywall just build out. I would rabbit the edge of the 1x6 to fit the beadboard; if you cut the beadboard insert to fit inside a rectangular frame that might not be square then there will be a bad gap at the beadboard/1x6 joint, the rabbit will allow you to cut the board 1/2" longer than what you want to be seen and then it will hide any gaps.


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