- 1). Determine the height of the wainscot, and make a pencil mark at that height from the floor, adding an additional two inches to accommodate any unevenness of the floor. Lay the level horizontally at the mark and use it to draw a level pencil line across the wall.
- 2). Mark the center of the horizontal line, and stand the level vertically there. Draw a plum line against the level.
- 3). For any plug sockets on the wall, measure the distance from the horizontal line to the top of the socket, and from the plum line to the socket, and the dimensions of the socket itself. Transfer those measurements to the back of one of the wainscot panels, and use the level and pencil to square out the area that needs to be cut for the socket hole. Set the panel on sawhorses and cut the hole from behind, using a jigsaw.
- 4). Spread carpenter's glue around the back of the wainscot panel, and press it to the wall, bordered on one side by the plum line and on the top by the vertical line. Nail in the panel with a hammer and trim nails, putting them in the lines of the wainscot where possible, to make them less obvious. Stop hammering just before each nail head gets to the surface of the wood, then set it just under the surface with the nail set. Use a stud-finder to ensure that at least a few of the nails are hitting studs.
- 5). Proceed until you've hung all the full panels that will fit on the wall in either direction. For the space at the end, measure the space that's left from the edge of the last full sheet of wainscot to the corner. Measure it on the top and on the bottom. Transfer that measurement to a new sheet of wainscoting, measuring from the factory end at the top and bottom and marking at the two measurements that were taken. Hold the level between those two marks and draw a pencil line. Lay the sheet on two sawhorses and, with a circular saw, cut along the line. Hang it as before, and repeat for the other end of the wall.
- 6). Repeat the same process for the remaining walls. You can now install the base trim and top chair rail trim.
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