Replies

1. 
   Pro-Dek | Feb 08, 2001 08:24pm | #1

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   There really is no standard height for wainscoting that I am aware of.It is a visual thing except perhaps how functional you want your chair rail cap to be.My chair rail is 34" and dies under the counter and seems to be a perfect height because my chairs hit the chair rail instead of the wall.

1. 
   G.LaLonde | Feb 08, 2001 08:34pm | #2

   *Jasper, You should also consider the length of the stock you will be using. If you choose an odd finished cut, you could waste a lot of material. I am doing a project like this right now and the owners prefer the " high look" because they happen to have high ceilings. It looks beautiful. You must eyeball it with the height of your ceilings etc. For instance, a 32" (which is a common height) wainscoting looks silly with a 9 or 10 foot ceiling height. I am also installing wainscoting above the countertops and it looks very nice. Do it whatever way makes the most sense to your situation!

1. 
   doug_hubbard | Feb 08, 2001 10:47pm | #3

   *I've installed it anywhere from 30 inches to six feet- depends on the wall and the look you are shooting for. If you go high why not take it to the bottom of the wall cabs and run the cap rail into them?

1. 
   calvin_ | Feb 09, 2001 02:05am | #4

   *Maybe use ceramic as a full splash or from the lam splash to the bot. of the cabs. Run your wainscot where it will look good and work and return the chair rail to itself when you hit the tile/or die into the 4" splash with the chair rail. Best of luck holding pcs up till you see what you want.

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   Jeff_J._Buck | Feb 09, 2001 06:13am | #5

   *Combine Doug's and Calvins posts. Try running it to the bottom of the uppers. Let the cap die into the uppers. And run the wainscot as the back splash above the counter top. Cap that with a small half-round detail, or a smaller version or the full size cap. Jeff

2. 
   Jasper_Ziller | Feb 09, 2001 06:13am | #6

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   I have just built and installed new cabinets in our kitchen. Most of the walls are covered by the cabinets, but there's about 14' of wall space left. I would like to put wainscotting on the lower part, and leave the plaster exposed on top. My question is, what is the standard height of the wainscotting? If I go with 36", it will come into the cabinets at the countertop height. If I go with 40, it will hit at the backsplash height. Previously, there was paneling up to 48", but that seems high. The house is a cape, the cabinets will be painted white, and the countertop is blue formica with a clear maple edging. We live in New England, and are somewhat going for the New England Cape style, though we are flexable. The wainscotting will be painted white, and the upper walls some soft color.

   One concern I have is where the wainscotting meets the cabinets, if it is higher then the backsplash, I will have to run it above the countertop all around (if the wainscotting is 48", there will be 8" above the counterop). This seems like it would look odd, especially with a chair rail covering the top of the wainscotting. There would then be 6" of wall above the wainscotting to the upper cabinets.

   If I go with 36", the chair rail will hit at the countertop height, and I will have to match the chair rail molding to the maple edging on the countertop. Not a problem since I milled out the edging, but would mean a continuious strip of clear maple all around the whole kitchen at 36".

   What is standard for this height?

   Thanks for any responses,
   Ziller