I’ve looked through other threads and can not find any answers to my problem.
I am an amateur woodworker and DIYer. I am attempting to put wainscoting in our bedroom using plywood rail and stiles, using the plaster walls as a plat panel, and routing some moldings to cover the inside edges of the plywood. That being said, I am having difficulties with several aspects. I want to have a finished height of 36″, however, my windowsills are at 31″. I am not certain how to work around them. More importantly, I have 4 walls, 2 that each have a window, the other 2 each have a door. Due to the spacing, I can not come up with consistent panel sizes. I am uncertain wether to build a panel into the windowsill, or to use a smaller panel under the windows.
If it helps, the dimensions are as follows: wall #1 (19″ from corner to window, 35″ window, 84″ to other corner), wall #2 (46″ form corner to window, 35″ window, 43.5″ to other corner), wall #3 (102″ from corner to door, door buts into corner), wall #4 (49″ to closet door, sliding closet door, then 22″ form closet door to other corner.
Thanks in advance for any help. Sorry if it is too confusing. If I knew how to include a sketch, I would.
Replies
Panels in wainscotting are rarely all the same size. Instead, they are made to look like they are the same, by carefully varying the panel sizes, as well as the stile width when necessary.
For example, your wall #2 can have panels on each side of the window. On any given side, the panels should be consistently sized. But the panels on the other side of the window will be just a bit different since the window is not perfectly centered. I'll let you do the math, but once you are done, you will be the only one who "sees" the varying sizes.
Concerning what to do under the windows, most times you'll see that there is a horizontal panel beneath each window. And if any window is wide enough to justify it (like a picture window), maybe two. The rail at the top of these panels becomes the apron under the stool.
Oh, and here's the bad news. Those pesky electrical outlets must also be taken into account when making your plans, as do any HVAC registers that are in the walls.
Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.
Thanks for your reply. I understand that the panels may be a different size (slightly), but I'm uncertain what to do with the 19" section to the side of one window. I imagine the panels being ~30", therefore, do I make a smaller panel, or wrap a panel around a corner, or run it under the window as well? I hope this is all making sense, it sounds confusing to me and I'm writing the post.
Thanks again
Hoops,
You may have to make the panels smaller than @30 inches. You have to take measurements of all the walls, take into account windows, registers and outlets, and figure out the panel size that will be somewhat even all around. You should keep your stiles and rails the same and adjust your panels accordingly. In the end you must rely on what your eye tells you looks good, not just measurements. Hope this helped you a little bit!Coming to you from beautiful Richmond, Va.
Hoops,
Like YesMam said, the panels don't have to be the same size. I am just a DIY myself but did this raised panel wainscot for the dining room in our new construction a couple months back.
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=62262.1
I had two doors and a large window to deal with. I tried to keep the the width of the panels on all the walls within about 5 " of each other. On one wall this meant using one less panel (4 vs. 5) than I would have preferred. I kept all my stiles the same width and just varied the size of the panels.
For the window I put a 2" bumpout under the window and added a stool and apron to the window to match the extra depth of the bumpout. In our room, there really wasn't enough room below the window to try and put in a raised panel and even if there had been it would probably have looked too busy.
Also to echo what YesMam said, be sure to either factor the locations of any electrical outlets and HVAC vents into to your design.
Regards,
Dennis
Once you have what you think is a good setup, lay it out on the walls and take a step back, helps alot if you can visualize the layout and see if you like the sizing of the rails/stiles compared to the panel. Story sticks work well too.
Jim W.
Coventry Woodworking
Like other have said, the panel will differ with windows, doors, etc. Here are some pic's that will give you a visual idea of some differ options and layouts.
You can use the plywood for the rails and stiles or mdf, or poplar, and you can also use poplar or mdf and use a base cap for the inside molding, a few of those pics are there, unfinished and finished.
Since you are new, there was an article on a simple raised panel wainscoting in FHB a few issue ago, maybe back in Feb or so, check the archives, it was on the front cover. That article will give you some of the basics.
For the rails and stiles, I think the best option is building the whole wall with pocket hole screws (thats what they did in FHB) then attaching it to the wall. This way the pocket screws will make sure you do not have any expansion/contraction problems down the line (plywood or mdf should have little) and you also don't have any issues with any molding falling in between studs.