Step-By-Step Guide to Installing Wainscoting

1. Lay out the panels and stiles from the kit, starting at the room center, to establish the final sequence and determine if you have to move any electrical outlets.

2. Use a power sprayer to expedite the task of painting all the wainscoting parts. A makeshift sawhorse easel allows you to paint several panels at once.

3. Fasten the base rail with 2 1/2 -in. finishing nails driven into the wall studs. Be sure the rail is level.

4. Apply two dabs of construction adhesive to the back of each stile, then press it to the wall.

5. Set the panel in the base rail, then mark the top and bottom of the electrical box onto the panel's edge.

6. Mark the sides of the electrical box on the end of the panel. Connect the four lines on the back of the panel and cut the outlet hole.

7. Slip a plastic extension ring over the outlet and attach it to the box in the wall. Adjust the ring flush, then screw the outlet to the ring.

8. Notch a stile to fit around the sides of the window. Use a hammer and scrap of wood to tap it into position. Fill any gaps with caulk.

9. Trim down a stile to the proper width, then slide it into the corner. Fill any gaps with paintable caulk.

12. Check your work. You've got wainscoting.

10. Press the shoe molding down tight to the floor, then fasten it to the base rail with 1 1/4-in. finishing nails spaced 12 to 16 in. apart.

11. Fasten the decorative cap rail onto the top rail with 1 1/4-in. finishing nails. Cut miter joints at all inside and outside corners.