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.

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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

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!

Wainscoting

We've had a lot going on in our house. The wife has me doing some home improvement. It started when our youngest, who's autistic, figured out he could peel the paint off the walls. This went on for some time, and he peeled all of the paint off of our stairwell and most of our main hall. He then moved into the kitchen. This led to a big drywall repair session.

Basically, I skim coated all of the walls. In turn, this meant a ton of dust from the sanding.

After the sanding, I two-tone painted all of the walls. The bottom is white. The top of the hall is a tan, and in the kitchen a colonial blue.

I drew up the plans on Google Sketch Up, and got them approved by the planning board (the wife.). I started in the kitchen, using 1/2 inch MDF (multidensity fiberboard.). This paints well, and is relatively cheep. The only negative is that the cut sides need to be sealed. The cost effective way to do this is with drywall compound. You simply apply a thin coat. This will dry hard and take paint very well. here is the first wall.

I then moved on to the pantry.

I still have to buy some more paint to finish the wainscoting.

From there the foreman asked for some more changes. Our house was built in the 70's, and we have slab front, contractor grade cabinets. I found some small accent moulding at the Lowes. I don't understand the rules of English that make you add the extra 'the' in front of hardware stores, but it exists. Before:

After:

I am now painting them a cream color, then we will be antiquing them.

We then decided to move our pan storage. We had a wall mounted hook rack that blocked our window. We ran out to Ikea and bought some wall mounted ones. We now have out of the way pan storage.

Then, Saturday night I caught the youngest trying to peel the paint on our stairwell. I had repaired this, and repainted it. The hallway, and stairs are stage two of the wainscoting project, and I know I didn't do the best around the edges (as they would be covered.) So I grabbed the last of the 1/2 inch MDF I had, and did this:

Needless the say, the wife is happy, and excited for the rest to go in. She can't wait for the paint. I'll post more pics as I go. Enjoy!