How to Install Intrim DIY Wainscoting

Want to create character and beauty in your home, but on a tight budget? Don’t have all the tools needed for an extravagant wainscoting installation? Our DIY Wainscoting kits are simple to ‘stick on the wall’ and don’t require any power tools, heavy lifting or previous building experience to install.

WATCH How to Install

We give you all the instructions and tools to make it fast, simple and easy to DIY Wainscoting in the comfort of your home. Below are the simple to follow steps to take your interior from good to great.

WHAT EACH KIT CONTAINS & WHEN TO USE THEM

Option A

This is the base pack that provides you with the tools and product to create beautiful wainscoting on the bottom third of your wall as in the example below.

In this kit you will receive:

1. A length of chair rail at 1800mm long
2. 4 lengths of inlay mould at 720mm
3. 4 lengths of inlay mould 850mm long
4. 3 x 90x90mm spacer blocks to help with your install and measurements. (These little gems will help determine how many 90mm wide spaces there are between the wall panels including wall ends).
5. 2 chair rail corner blocks at 66mm long for use when applying wainscoting around an internal or external corner
6. 1 tube of Intrim Intense Grip Adhesive
7. 1 piece of sandpaper
8. A carpenters pencil

Option B

If you can’t stop there and want floor to ceiling wainscoting, we have created an add-on pack that allows you to create more beautiful panelling above the chair rail. This kit has been created with pre-cut lengths of inlay mould to suit a standard ceiling height of 2.7m.

1. 4 lengths of inlay mould at 1550mm
2. 4 lengths of inlay mould at 850mm long

You will not have to purchase additional glue, as the Intrim Intense Grip adhesive purchased in the base Option A pack is sufficient to use to adhere Option B inlay mould to the wall also.

Tools

What you will need to install this wainscoting is a hand saw, caulking gun and tape measure.

Don’t have these things at home? No worries! We’ve got you covered and can add them to your order so everything you need will be delivered at once ready to get you going.

Our high quality mitre box with hand saw, adhesive hand caulking gun and a tape measure are all the tools you need to get you started, and can be used in the future for all your other home renovation and handy man jobs.

HOW MANY KITS DO I NEED?

We have calculated the number of kits required based on your wall length. To work out how many kits you need, measure the overall length of wall you want to add wainscoting to, and use the panel chart below to determine how many kits are required.

Wall Panel Chart

WHAT SURFACES CAN I STICK THEM TOO?

The glue in this kit will stick to all surfaces – plaster, timber, brick or render. There does HAVE to be paint on the surfaces you are sticking to, and that must be in good condition (ie no flaking or cracking).

The bond is only as good as the surface it is glued too – So, if surface is flaky paint, then it will not adhere well to the wall.

If you’re worried about bonding to your surface, you may like to use masking tape to hold the inlay mould to the wall surface in some spots while glue is curing. This may help when applying to an uneven surface, like brickwork.

NOW FOR THE FUN! HOW TO INSTALL IT

Step 1 – Install Corner Blocks and Chair Rail from Kit A

1. Place drop sheet in place.

2. Cut end of Intrim Intense Grip adhesive tube.

3. Install nozzle onto Intrim Intense Grip adhesive tube.

4. Put tube into caulking gun.

5. Measure from top edge of your existing Skirting Boards to underside of Chair Rail 900mm high, and mark this at 3 intervals per 1.8m of wall length.

6. Install corner block.

External corner chair rail block application

Internal corner chair rail block application

7. Apply Intrim Intense Grip adhesive to chair rail. Apply 2 beads of Intrim Intense Grip adhesive along the back of chair rail.

8. Install 1.8m length of chair rail.

9. Mark the next length of chair rail to be installed.

10. Transfer pencil mark across the face of chair rail.

11. Cut the shorter piece of chair rail on the long wall with a mitre box.

12. Sand end of chair rail to remove rough edges.

13. Install short length of chair rail on long wall.

14. Mark short chair rail length on return wall.

15. Install short chair rail on return wall.

Step 2 – Installing lower wall panels / inlay moulds from Kit A

1. Measure the wall and refer to the Wall Panel Chart to determine how many wall panels and 90mm spacers are required.

For example, our wall length is 2635mm. The Wall Panel Chart tells us we require 3 wall panels and 4 x 90mm spaces. The 4 x 90mm spaces need to be set out from one end of the wall to determine the overall length of the 3 wall panels joined together.

2. Set out 90mm spacers between panels from one end of wall.

3. Measure distance between last spacer mark and other end of wall to determine overall horizontal length of wall panels.

4. Divide overall horizontal length of wall panels by number of panels to determine individual horizontal lengths of each panel to the long points of each mitre cut.

For example, in our wall here the overall length of wall is 2635mm, less/minus 360mm (4 x 90mm spaces) = 2275mm (this is overall horizontal length of the 3 wall panels joined together). This length, 2275mm, needs to be divided by 3 (number of wall panels for this section of our wall) = 758mm. This measurement determines individual length of each horizontal piece of inlay mould to the long points of the mitre cut on each end of inlay mould.

Please Note: These wall panel dimensions only apply to our wall. You will need to use the same formula to your particular wall.

That formula again to calculate the length of each horizontal inlay mould….

Total Wall Length – No. of 90mm spaces = Xmm / No. of wall panels for your wall 

5. Measure and mark the horizontal lengths of inlay mould to the long points of mitre cut.

6. Transfer 45-degree mark onto the face of the inlay mould to be cut.

7. Use the Mitre Box and saw to trim the top and bottom horizontal pieces to the calculated length. NOTE: all vertical lengths have been precut to 720mm long to suit 900mm chair rail height. PLEASE ENSURE YOU DO NOT CUT THESE LENGTHS. The vertical pieces will be 720mm long to long points of mitre cuts.

8. Mark out the 4 external corners of wall panels with 90mm spacer blocks.

9. Make the first wall panel box as per your corner marks. Start installing inlay mouldings for wall panels from one end of the wall by gluing the first base horizontal piece onto the wall, followed by the two vertical inlay mould pieces that are precut to 720mm long, then install the top final horizontal piece, to form the full wall panel box. Apply 1 bead of Intrim Intense Grip adhesive along the back of inlay mould. Apply pressure for 10 seconds to each piece of inlay mould when gluing to wall, taking special attention to the corner mitre joints. You may move the individual inlay pieces slightly, after the initial gluing, to align the corner joints, remembering that you will have to re-apply  pressure for 10 seconds to any inlay piece, you move.

10. Installing first horizontal piece of inlay to wall using the 90mm spacer block to support the end that has no location mark on wall

11. Installing first precut 720mm vertical piece to wall onto the premarked corner locations

12. Marking top right hand corner of wall panel using horizontal top inlay mould length and 90mm spacer block

13. Installing vertical and horizontal pieces of inlay mould to form the full first full wall panel box.

14. Mark out the next adjacent wall panel by using the 90mm spacer blocks and repeat the preceding steps to make next wall panel.

15. Continue these same steps to complete installation of wall panels along the length of wall.

Step 3 – Installing higher wall panels / inlay moulds for Kit B

1. Repeat the above steps 1 to 14 above for installation of wainscoting the higher section of the wall.

2. Cut all the horizontal 850mm long inlay moulds at one end to the same length as used on Kit A installation.

3. Determine the length of vertical pieces of inlay moulds.

4. Set out 2 x 90mm spacer blocks from the top of chair rail and mark height

5. Measure between underside of existing cornice to top of spacer block mark to establish the length of vertical inlay moulds to the long points of mitre cuts.

6. Mark out the 4 external corners of wall panels with 90mm spacer blocks.

7. Cut all vertical inlay moulds to length using mitre box and saw, using the same steps as set out in Option A kit for cutting the 850mm horizontal inlay moulds to length.

8. Make the first wall panel box as per your corner marks. Start installing inlay mouldings for wall panels from one end of the wall by gluing the first base horizontal piece onto the wall, followed by the two vertical inlay mould pieces, then install the top final horizontal piece, to form the full wall panel box. Apply 1 bead of Intrim Intense Grip adhesive along the back of inlay mould. Apply pressure for 10 seconds to each piece of inlay mould when gluing to wall, taking special attention to the corner mitre joints. You may move the individual inlay pieces slightly, after the initial gluing, to align the corner joints remembering that you will have to re apply  pressure for 10 seconds to any inlay piece, you move.

9. Install the first horizontal piece of inlay to wall using the 90mm spacer block to support the end that has no location mark on wall, as well as installing first vertical piece to wall onto the premarked corner locations.

10. Mark the top right-hand corner of wall panel using horizontal top inlay mould length.

11. Install the vertical and horizontal pieces of inlay mould to form the full first full wall panel box of upper wall.

12. Mark out the next adjacent wall panel by using the 90mm spacer blocks and repeat the preceding steps to make next wall panel.

13. Continue these same steps to complete installation of wall panels along the length of wall.