How To Customize Your Home On A Low Budget With Raised Panel Wainscoting

Unlike the historical buildings where builders worked to create a legacy in terms of architecture and artistry, the current houses are mostly built on a basis of functionality. This means that unless you are willing to invest some time and money, your home will be like a factory box with minimal style and class. You do not have to be working from home or making a six-figure income to live in a stylish home. All you need is a few weekends of woodworking, the right ideas and a little money for the required tools and materials.

Decide on your objectives for the design

Like any other DIY job that involves woodwork, the planning phase determines the outcome. You need to have a clear picture of how you want your house to look. This means deciding on the basics like how high the panels will be, how much of the house you will be covering, which color you will paint on the panels and how much time you have to complete the work. It would be especially unwise to start the project when you do not have time over the weekends to finish it. Make sure you plan for it in advance to avoid leaving the materials lying around for too long.

Make a realistic budget

The trickiest part of remodeling your house is often the budget. If you do not have a budget, you may get stuck before you finish the project owing to lack of funds for materials or labor where required. This is why you must make a realistic budget and ensure that you are able to source for the funds that you need for the project. An incomplete project is often worse than a plain house. In order to come up with the budget, you may have to ask around and obtain the market prices of the materials and tools that you need.

Estimates may be useful at times, but here, you need the real prices to avoid underestimating the cost of the project. This means visiting various stores and finding a fair market price range on which to base your budget. This will also ensure that you know where to get the best deals and value for your money when you start the project.

Go shopping

Since you will be working during your free time, it is a good idea for you to buy all the things that you need in advance. This implies devoting one weekend or a few afternoons to a shopping spree for tools and materials needed in this kind of woodwork. You could also opt for online shopping but always be sure to be present during the delivery so as to ensure that you get the right products. You will also need to know where everything is stored in order to have an easy time finding them when you start working. If you have issues with storage space, you could speak to your vendor and have them deliver the materials in bits as per your working progress.

Prepare the frames

Depending on the length of your walls, you may build your frames in one long piece or shorter units. The frames are often made of top and bottom boards as well as the stiles. To accomplish this task, you will need to have some basic knowledge in woodwork. You will also need wood glue and some pocket screws among other things. You, however, need to be careful with the measurements since the position of the stiles will determine where the panels are placed. Your frames also have to be sturdy and smooth enough to look good on the walls. This part of the project may take a while depending on the size of your walls, the amount of hours that you can commit to the project and your speed in woodwork. Just take your time to create the best frames as per your ability.

Installation and painting

It is advisable to nail the frames onto the walls before installing the panels and painting your wainscoting. The panels will be obtained by cutting the boards into measured sizes depending on the decisions you made at the initial stage of the project. The measurements here must be exact because larger boards will not fit onto the frame, and neither will smaller ones. As for the painting, remember to use good quality paint and also to do a thorough job since the appearance and durability of your wainscoting depends on it.

Wainscoting helps you to create a custom look for your home, saving you from the bluntness of the modern day buildings with little artistic attention. If you are considering a custom look for your home, talk to us about raised panel wainscoting and we will be happy to offer you some more information on how to go about it.


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