Weekend wainscot

I decided to use the time on Saturday, before the storm hit, to work on the wainscoting.

Luckily, I had ripped enough MDF down that I didn't need to move the car out of the garage. I only needed my miter box.

I focused on the upstairs hall, and was able to get it done quite quickly. The problem is its hard to take pictures of, but here is what I have.

!

I also painted the backs and sides of the cabinet doors. I have unique hinges, and they have been painted over, so I had to drill out the screws. Looks like I'll be replacing them.

I started painting the wainscoting in the kitchen. Originally we were going to paint this white, but I'm painting it the same cream as the cabinets. Not sure if we'll antique this or not, but after the cabinets are done I'll see how it looks.

It is starting to come together

Hallway wainscot

Did the first section of the hallway wainscot. I had to make some additions around the cold air intake, and will have to do something around the electrical outlets.

The wife is happy, so I am happy.

Stair wainscoting

So after the excitement of Friday, I used Saturday to work on the wainscot, specifically on the stairs.

I knew this would be the most dramatic part, because I was making a wall of panels. Here is my blank canvas.

So I'm using an eight inch base and a six inch top rail. You want to use a smaller to rail because visually the base will look smaller because it's farther away from your eyes.

On this big wall I wanted to make it a feature. So I ran multiple cross pieces to make panels.

I'm using four inch uprights. This gives a traditional arts & crafts look. In the corners I'm using a two inch upright.

Here is the completed wall, before paint.

Then I did the other side. I found something interesting, the wall on the middle of my stairs loses an inch in height from the bottom to the top. I actually have one of my uprights (battens) in the wrong place. I'll fix that tonight.

I think the hardest part of this project is finishing the edges. To save costs I used multi-density fiberboard (MDF). This paints really well because it is fine saw dust and glue pressed between paper. The problem is the edge. It absorbs paint. You have to cover it. You can buy an expensive product, but drywall compound works great. Now I have to cover all the edges, caulk, and fill nail holes. Then it's on to paint!