HOW TO INSTALL CHAIR RAIL MOULDING
1. Individually measure and record the length of each wall in the room in which the chair railing is
to be installed. Add 3 to 4 inches to each wall measurement to allow for miter cuts during
installation.
2. Total the individual wall measurements in Step 1, and purchase the required feet of chair rail
molding.
3. Measure a distance of 32 inches from the floor and mark a point on each wall at 3-foot
intervals. Connect these points with a pencil line to designate the chair rail location.
4. Use stud finder to locate studs behind each wall, and mark an "X" at location of every third
stud along the line placed in Step 3 to designate nailing points during chair rail installation.
5. Cut a 45-degree angle on opposite ends of the first piece of chair rail to be installed.
6. Position this cut piece into an inside corner, and align it along the pencil line drawn in Step 3.
Mark center points where stud locations fall on the chair rail molding.
7. Use a 1/16-inch bit to drill pilot holes through the molding at each designated stud position.
8. Hold the molding into the corner, and aligned with the drawn pencil line. Nail to the first stud
using previously drilled pilot hole.
9. Move halfway down the molding, and use the pilot hole to nail the molding to a second stud
located at this point. Complete nailing molding to studs by using remaining pilot holes.
10. Measure the gap existing between the end of the previously nailed molding and the opposite
corner. Cut an opposing 45-degree angle to nest with the trailing end of the installed molding,
and cut a second 45-degree angle on the far end of the joined piece, which will nest into the
inside corner.
Add a thin coat of painter's caulk to one surface of the two 45 degree angles to be joined.
11. Nail the joined piece of molding as described in Steps 8 and 9.
12. Start installation on the second wall by cutting 45-degree angles on each end of the molding.
Then fit the first end into the corner to nest with the 45-degree angle cut in the previously
installed piece of molding. Prior to nailing, coat one surface of the 45-degree cuts with painter's
caulk.
13. Proceed by following nailing and joining as described in Steps 6 through 11 until all walls are
covered.
14. Seal the gap between the top of the chair rail molding and the wall by applying a thin coat of
painter's caulk around the entire perimeter of the room. This provides a finished look to the
molding.
15. Paint the chair rail moulding.
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