I'd go 36" to 39". In my old house, the chair rail going up the stairs was 36". I always thought it was too low. The wainscoting in my current dining room is 39" and I like it so much better.

Photos:
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Our wainscotting is 39" from top of stair to top of rail.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I love wainscoting, and what everyone has done looks fabulous! The thing i'm wondering~if you have textured walls, and want the chair railing with the panel look, did you use a thin layer of plywood to make the lower section of wall somooth, and then add the picture frame moulding? NEWHOMEBUILDER, is this what you did on your stairway, or leave it textured? Or were you lucky enough to have all smooth walls?

I thought this was what TEXASHOTTIE was doing when she had her's installed. Does anyone know if she ever showed the completed pictures of her BLACK dining room? Maybe she'll see this? ;o)

No, I don't have textured walls. All smooth Sheetrock.

I would add a thin luan sheet to your walls before adding the moulding.

judiegal - I meant to tell you that I love your staircase. They remind me of stairs from my grandparents house.

Look for a new thread about those stairs... called NOSTALGIA.

NHB, THAT'S' what *texashottie* used, not plywood. Thanks a bunch.

I sure wish I had smooth walls. ;o( Do you mind if I ask how much it added to your build, or the amount per sq ft.?

Your grandparents stairway is gorgeous. I can only imagine what the rest of the home must have looked like. You were a lucky little girl. ;o)

What are your walls made of?

There is no additional cost for smooth walls down in the south. Sheetrock is a standard building material. Older homes (like in my grandparents home), the walls were made of plaster.

Jesemy- can you post some pics of the faux waincotting you did in your dining room please? Thanks

I want to install wainscoting in my children's rooms. I've gone to the local hardware stores (Lowe's, Home Depot) and they can't help. Do I use 1/4" plywood and paint it in a semi-gloss or is there something different and better to use? The sheets come in 4'X8'. Do I cut the sheets down to a different height or is 4' okay?
I need help desperately. I have a child on the way in August and I want to finish the rooms before she arrives.
Help!!!

If you want very basic wainscotting. My husband put some in our powder room. He got a sheet of MDF and cut it in strips. Put it on like in the photo, above the baseboard and then top off the panels with chair rail.
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Does anyone have any tips on how to do the math/figure out the size and spacing for the rectangles for the style Newhomebuilder used, please? Are there any visual rules to follow in proportion? How tall is yours and do you like the height (with regular height walls, 8').

Did you paint your wainscoting stark white? Or some tone of white? Satin finish? Semigloss?

Lyban, if you're still here, I love what your DH did. Did he rout fancy edges on it? Or did it look just fine without them?

Anyone else have pictures to share, or experiences to share?

I did install wainscot panelling in my last house. The hard part for me was measuring and cutting for the electrical outlets. But with the kind NHB did, that's not a problem.

Oh, one more question. Why can't we just lightly sand the texture off our textured walls? That's easier (and cheaper) than putting up board.