Replies

1. 
   DougU | Dec 02, 2007 02:58am | #1

   I saved this picture that Ragnar(BT member) posted because I thought the proportions looked good.

   There are many examples of wainscoting and many differing heights, don't think any of them are right or wrong. Others will offer more examples.

   Sorry about that first pic, open the second one if your on dial up.

   Doug

1. 
   Matt | Dec 02, 2007 08:05pm | #6

   Doug:

   Do you have a comment pertaining to the above post?

1. 
   DougU | Dec 03, 2007 03:39am | #15

   Matt

   Do you have a comment pertaining to the above post?

   You know I have an opinion!!! But seriously, I think its all a matter of taste. I've installed it anywhere from the 1/3 that Bambam suggested, and for the same reasons - economics.

   I've installed it 12" down from the ceiling. 24" down............I think I could probably site 25 more examples of heights that we used so I'm not sure that there is a right answer.

   I know that Ragnar17(the person who originally posted that pic, seams that its his work as well)has a lot of interest in the arts and crafts/craftsman period so I was hoping that he'd come along and offer up some better advice than mine!

   I have a few examples that I can post of my work but I think I only have one example of arts and crafts, have to do it on another post because I didn't turn off my blockers.

   Doug

    

   Edited 12/2/2007 8:31 pm ET by DougU

1. 
   Matt | Dec 03, 2007 04:22am | #18

   Thanks Doug:

   The cherry wainscoting is exquisite - as is all of your work that I have seen.

    

2. 
   DougU | Dec 03, 2007 03:49am | #16

   Another pic that Ragnar posted, that I also stole! What can I say, I like his work.

   View Image

   Skip that big picture!

   One pic of a cherry wainscoting that I did, not arts and crafts but another example.

   I've got an example of some A&C that I did but cant find it right now. Have to keep looking.

   Doug

   Edited 12/2/2007 7:50 pm ET by DougU

1. 
   DougU | Dec 03, 2007 03:52am | #17

   Heres the pic of the arts and crafts that I was trying to find.

   View Image

   I'm guessing the height to be around 48" to 54".

   Doug

   Edited 12/2/2007 7:52 pm ET by DougU

2. 
   JHOLE | Dec 04, 2007 02:22am | #24

   There has got to be a story behind the spacing around that window.

   EEEEYYYYYUUUUUCCCChHH.

   I couldn't sit in that room.

   Would make my beer taste bad.

   Like the cherry.Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City

3. 
   JHOLE | Dec 04, 2007 02:24am | #25

   Did you make those cherry panels/components?Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City

1. 
   DougU | Dec 04, 2007 04:11am | #26

   Yes

4. 
   Faulted1 | Dec 05, 2007 06:06am | #32

   That cherry is great!

2. 
   liam | Dec 03, 2007 01:27am | #13

   That was some beautiful work but the chair was too low for the craftsman style I need.  Thanks I will remember them for the future.   Liam

1. 
   catfish | Dec 03, 2007 02:51am | #14

   The book "The Elements of Style" has all kinds of pictures of detail both drawings and descriptions.

3. 
   JDRHI | Dec 04, 2007 02:10am | #22

   No doubt ragnar does some really nice work....but I gotta say, I think whoever designed the wainscotte in that pic REALLY missed the mark.

   Why in the world would you not bring the height of the wainscotte up to fall in line with the rail of the door?!

   Obviously there may be other things around the room to take into consideration.....but based on the pic itself, its a shame.

   J. D. ReynoldsHome Improvements

    

    

1. 
   DougU | Dec 04, 2007 04:20am | #27

   Why in the world would you not bring the height of the wainscotte up to fall in line with the rail of the door?!

   I don't know, not going to assume something that I cant see. The pic only shows one wall with one door, I'd have to see the whole room before critiquing it!

   Doug

   Edited 12/3/2007 8:21 pm ET by DougU

1. 
   JDRHI | Dec 04, 2007 06:30am | #30

   The pic only shows one wall with one door....

   Oh come on....that's no reason to refrain from going off half cocked! LOL

   J. D. ReynoldsHome Improvements

    

    

1. 
   DougU | Dec 04, 2007 07:04am | #31

   that's no reason to refrain from going off half cocked!

   I reserve that for political commentary!

   Doug

   Edited 12/3/2007 11:05 pm ET by DougU

2. 
   Matt | Dec 02, 2007 03:45am | #2

   As far as I know, like Dough said I don't think there is a standard height. 

   It might be smart though to at least consider the size of your material when choosing a height.  Let's take the pic Doug posted for example... Now let's say that it was going to take 52 of those vertical pieces to go all the way around the room.  If the material comes in 16' lengths and you choose a height that required 48 1/2" lengths, you would right off the bat come up with a 25% waste factor....

   You may also want to consider the height of your light switches.

   Here are a few pics for you:

    

3. 
   catfish | Dec 02, 2007 06:01pm | #3

    

   I use 40% of total wall height for wainscoting.

   Looks like the high wainscoting picture has the 40% at the top

   
   

   ---

   Edited 12/2/2007 10:03 am ET by catfish

4. 
   bambam | Dec 02, 2007 06:35pm | #4

   Most around here is 33% of wall height. It could be a regional thing though. My father (builder from way back ) told me it was economics though and not necessarily looks. When they came out with plywood/ paneling they could get 3 pieces per sheet on an 8' wall. If someone wanted a taller one they would just raise it up and use 1x6 base.Most do keep in (around here anyway) with the same 33% on taller walls though.

   This includes Craftsman style also but in East Texas the tastes are much simplified.

   Where there's a will, there are 500 relatives

1. 
   Matt | Dec 02, 2007 08:04pm | #5

   As far as standard wainscoting height being a % of the wall height, by that guideline that would mean that homes with 8', 9' and 10' ceilings would all get significantly different wainscoting height: for the 40% example, 8'=38", 9'=43" and  10'=48".  I don't see that happening... anyone else?

   I'm not saying that the scale of things shouldn't change as ceiling height changes, indeed it should, but what I am suggesting is that it might be more along the line of  8'=34-35", 9'=35-37" and  10'=37"-39" or similar.  Of course this doesn't pretain to the high craftsman style wainscoting. 

5. 
   fingersandtoes | Dec 02, 2007 08:46pm | #7

   Like all elements on an elevation, whether interior or on the facade, it's a matter of proportion, and is affected by many things - ceiling height, room size, windows etc. Unfortunately there is no rule of thumb. A sense of appropriate proportion comes with practice. It used to be taught in art and architectural schools, but with the advent of modernism has been neglected. Try running a piece of tape across the wall at several heights, and (no joke) you might try asking your wife.

6. 
   rjw | Dec 02, 2007 09:05pm | #8

   FWIW, for my dining room I moved my dining chairs to the wall and figured the height needed to protect the wall from the chairs.

   I figured that was what it's for, but, ...?

   ---

   May your whole life become a response to the truth that you've always been loved, you are loved and you always will be loved" Rob Bell, Nooma, "Bullhorn"

   "We Live"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kuBgh0VCqI&mode=related&search

   And Annie Ross's "Twisted" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lqivrCIRGo&mode=related&search=

    

1. 
   BryanSayer | Dec 02, 2007 09:48pm | #10

   The wainscot isn't necessarily to protect from the chairs, but often in rooms with chairs the wainscot is topped by chair rail, which ends up defining the height of the wainscot. Which will mean that is doesn't vary by ceiling height.In some rooms it may be defined by the height of the window sill, in order to mate into the window trim nicely.

7. 
   wooderson | Dec 02, 2007 09:14pm | #9

   This my not help you, but it is interesting. I was watching the movie "Old School" last night, which is very funny and worth watching. The house that they buy and turn into a Frat house is a great old craftsman with really nice wainscot with the brackets at the top. Check it out.

8. 
   Piffin | Dec 02, 2007 11:57pm | #11

   You are getting responces from all over the map on this one.

   That is partly because not everyone noticed that you mentioned "craftsman" style.
   A typical wainscot is topped with a chair-rail at about 38" or where the back of the chair would hit the wall and scar it.

   But my understanding of the arts and crafts styles is that it bortrows somewhat from other styles eclecticly. I am not well versed in Craftsman, but I think it borrows from the shakers in setting that top of the wainscot. The Shakers were a very practical simple sect who built their own homes and furniture.

   They ran a band around the wall just above where you might hit it with your head, but could still reach it for various reasons. It was topped with a flat shelf about 4" deep sometimes and things could be placed there. pegs were fitted into the band regularly around the room and their straight ladder-back chairs could be hung from those pegs when nobody was sitting in them so the floor could be swept clean. They also had implements such as candle holders designed to be hung from those same pegs, and it would be possible to hang clothing for drying from them.

   I do not have an exact measure available, but it seems like this and and shelf would be about 6' to 6'4" AFF.

   I have also worked in homes where the wainscot was placed at about five feet as shown in some of the previous attached photos. I do not see any of those as being purely Craftsman style though.

   In the end, because that arts and crafts movement was somewhat eclectic, what matters is how it suits you, more than that you are following some rule.

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   liam | Dec 03, 2007 01:24am | #12

   I think you were correct in that some did not notice the "craftsman" part of the text. It looks as if there is no hard and fast rule and all the suggestion have merit. I think I will refer to some books, of which there are many, that depict the wainscot and try to get a feel for scale. I was just wondering if there was a set height on an 8ft wall and I would try that first.  The Shaker Idea is also right on and I believe that may have influenced the A&C movement in its display of joinery,and simply lines with wood as a focus. I think Stickley saw something in it. There is a book on Craftsman interiors by I think a man called Landy and I will track it down.   Thanks to everyone for the response and the effort.   Liam

9. 
   unTreatedwood | Dec 03, 2007 08:52pm | #19

   I've been doing some research on this as I am going to add it to my own house.  In a style review, one speaker said that early on, wainscoting was installed at window sill height, or shelve height...it seemed to make sense to me, other than the 66/33 golden "rectangle" design notion.

   "The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a governmental program"  -Ronald Reagan 

1. 
   Piffin | Dec 03, 2007 10:40pm | #20

   The Golden rectangle is closer to 38% 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   unTreatedwood | Dec 03, 2007 10:41pm | #21

   fair enough!!"The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a governmental program"  -Ronald Reagan 

10. 
    basswood | Dec 04, 2007 02:13am | #23

    The wainscot just needs to be tall enough to reach the chair rail. ;o)

1. 
   DougU | Dec 04, 2007 04:23am | #28

   All wainscoting does not end with a chair rail cap! ;o)

   Doug

1. 
   mike_maines | Dec 04, 2007 05:21am | #29

   If you really want to confuse people, tell them everything below the chair rail is properly called the "dado."