Wainscoting Calculator

This lays out frame-and-panel wainscoting across a wall so every panel comes out the same width. Enter the wall width, the wainscot height and the sizes of the stile, top rail, base and cap, along with the panel width you are aiming at, and it picks the panel count that lands nearest that target and returns the width the panels actually come out at, the stile spacing, layout marks from the end of the wall, and the panel opening height left by the vertical stack. It also gives the linear feet of cap, top rail, base and stile stock, the panel area and a 4 x 8 sheet count, and a second tab does the same for a rectangular room. For the open batten-on-a-flat-wall treatment with no panel openings, the board and batten calculator is the closer fit. Door and window openings are not deducted here, so a wall with a door is better measured as two clear runs.

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Measurements In
Changes the whole page: a metric layout is marked out in millimetres rather than read off a tape in sixteenths, the runs come back in linear metres, and the panel stock becomes the 2440 by 1220 mm board.
Corner to corner, or between whatever the wainscoting dies into. Twelve feet is 144 in, or 3,658 mm.
Chair rail height is usually 32 to 36 in, or 810 to 915 mm. Three-quarter height runs 54 to 60 in, or 1,370 to 1,525 mm. Left blank it is 36 in, or 900 mm.
The vertical member between panels and at each end. A ripped 1x4 measures 3-1/2 in; 90 mm PAR is the metric equivalent. Left blank you get whichever of the two matches the choice above.
A target, not a rule. The panel count nearest this is chosen and the panels come out equal at whatever width that gives. Left blank it is 18 in, or 450 mm.
The horizontal member under the cap. Traditionally a little narrower than the stiles. Left blank it is 2.5 in, or 65 mm.
The baseboard usually doubles as the bottom rail. Traditionally taller than the top rail. Left blank it is 5.25 in, or a 140 mm skirting. Enter 0 for no base at all.
The chair rail cap sitting on top of the rail. Left blank it is 1.5 in, or 40 mm. Enter 0 if the top rail is the cap.
Ten percent covers mitres and offcuts on a straightforward room. A percentage is the same number in either system.
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Measurements In
The trim price follows too: per linear foot on one setting, per linear metre on the other. A blank woodwork box falls back to that market's own stock size, so metric gives a 900 mm dado on 90 mm stiles over a 140 mm skirting.

Each wall is laid out on its own, so the panels are equal along a wall even though the long walls and the short walls end up at slightly different widths.

Chair rail height is usually 32 to 36 in, or 810 to 915 mm. Three-quarter height runs 54 to 60 in, or 1,370 to 1,525 mm. Left blank it is 36 in, or 900 mm.
The vertical member between panels and at each end. A ripped 1x4 measures 3-1/2 in; 90 mm PAR is the metric equivalent. Left blank you get whichever of the two matches the choice above.
A target, not a rule. The panel count nearest this is chosen and the panels come out equal at whatever width that gives. Left blank it is 18 in, or 450 mm.
The horizontal member under the cap. Traditionally a little narrower than the stiles. Left blank it is 2.5 in, or 65 mm.
The baseboard usually doubles as the bottom rail. Traditionally taller than the top rail. Left blank it is 5.25 in, or a 140 mm skirting. Enter 0 for no base at all.
The chair rail cap sitting on top of the rail. Left blank it is 1.5 in, or 40 mm. Enter 0 if the top rail is the cap.
Ten percent covers mitres and offcuts on a straightforward room. A percentage is the same number in either system.
One blended price for cap, rails and stiles, per whichever run length the choice above puts the order in. Leave at zero to skip the cost.
A 4 x 8 foot board, or a 2440 x 1220 mm one, whichever the choice above puts you in.
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