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Wainscoting Calculator

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Enter the wall length and the panel width you like to get an even wainscoting layout: how many panels fit and exactly how wide each one is, to the nearest 1/16 in.

in

The vertical boards between panels. A 1×4 is 3.5 in.

in
in

Floor to the top of the top rail.

in
in

Panels on this wall

Enter the wall length to lay out the panels.

How to use the wainscoting calculator

  1. Measure the wall from corner to corner, or between door and window casings, and enter it.
  2. Enter the width of the stiles, the vertical boards. A 1×4 is 3.5 in and a 1×3 is 2.5 in.
  3. Enter roughly how wide you want each panel. The calculator picks the whole number of panels that lands closest and gives the exact width.
  4. Enter the height and the rail widths to get the panel height and the trim lengths.

Formulas

Panels = (wall length − stile width) ÷ (target width + stile width), rounded to a whole number
Panel width = (wall length − (panels + 1) × stile width) ÷ panels
Stiles = panels + 1
Panel height = wainscoting height − top rail − bottom rail

The layout starts and ends with a stile, so there is always one more stile than there are panels. Run the calculator once per wall: panel widths will differ slightly from wall to wall, and a difference under an inch or so is not noticeable.

Worked example: a 12 ft wall with 1×4 stiles

  1. Wall: 12 ft = 144 in.
  2. Panels: (144 − 3.5) ÷ (24 + 3.5) = 5.1, so 5 panels.
  3. Stiles: 5 + 1 = 6, taking up 6 × 3.5 = 21 in.
  4. Panel width: (144 − 21) ÷ 5 = 24.6 in, or 24 5/8 in.
  5. Panel height at 36 in tall with a 3.5 in top rail and 5.5 in baseboard: 36 − 3.5 − 5.5 = 27 in.

Questions

How tall should wainscoting be?

The usual guide is about one third of the wall height: 32 to 36 in under an 8 ft ceiling and 36 to 42 in under a 9 ft ceiling. Taller, two-thirds-height wainscoting is a deliberate style choice in dining rooms and hallways.

How wide should wainscoting panels be?

Anything from about 16 to 30 in looks balanced on most walls. Keeping the panels a little taller than they are wide, or clearly wider, reads better than nearly square panels.

What do I do about outlets and switches?

Check where the stiles land before cutting. If a stile falls on an outlet, add or remove one panel on that wall, or shift the target width, so the box sits inside a panel.

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