How to Install Wall Frames

In this video, This Old House senior technical editor Mark Powers puts up frames made from molding to give the illusion of wall paneling.

Steps:

1. Sand and prime the wall where the frames will go.

2. Calculate the frame sizes: Set frames at a consistent distance apart—2¾ to 3½ inches—all around the room. Space them 3 to 4 inches from the chair rail and baseboard. Subtract the spacing around your frames from the wall dimensions and divide the remaining space.

3. Draw a top layout line with a block, and mark off where the frame corners will fall.

4. Build a jig out of scrap plywood and blocks to keep the frame corners square.

5. Put a stop on your miter saw fence to help you cut uniform pieces of molding.

6. Cut all the frame sides ahead of time. Glue and nail the frame corners, using the jig to make the corners square.

7. Glue the frames to the wall with panel adhesive. Use hot glue in the corners to clamp the frames to the wall as the adhesives dries. Nail the frames to the wall at the studs.

8. Set and fill the nail holes and caulk the gaps.

9. Sand the frames, and paint the entire area with a semigloss paint.