How to Add Wainscoting to Board and Batten Walls

Measure from the bottom of the wall to the desired top height of the wainscoting. While this is generally between 32 and 34 inches, it can be any height you like. Keep in mind that a wainscoting cap will add an additional 2 to 3 inches to the height. Figure this into the measurement.

Snap a chalk line from one corner of the wall to the other to represent the top line of the wainscoting cap.

Cut the batts along the chalk line with a handsaw. The batts are the thick strips that overlay the seams where the wall boards meet.

Remove the batts from the wall below the cut line with a flat bar. Pull any remaining nails out of the wall boards. Leave the batts on the upper part of the wall.

Install the wainscoting cap first, pushing it up beneath the bottom edge of the cut batts. The top of the wainscoting cap should be flush with the chalk line.

Insert 4d finish nails, with a pneumatic pinner, every 8 inches into the wainscoting cap. The pinner requires an air compressor.

Start at one corner of the wall, and install the first wainscoting board with the groove edge in the corner and the tongue edge facing outward. Push the top of the board snug against the bottom of the wainscoting cap, leaving a 1/4-inch gap at the floor. If you have to trim the boards to fit, use a chop saw.

Nail the first board in place with the pneumatic pinner, inserting 4d finish nails 1/2 inch from the corner and 8 inches apart.

Insert additional 4d nails into the tongue of the first board, one every 8 inches, slanting the nails at a 45-degree angle beneath the board. By doing it this way, the nails will be not be seen when you fit the next board in place. This is called “blind nailing.”

Position the next wainscoting board next to the first, and push the grooved edge of the second board firmly in place over the tongue of the first board.

Blind nail the second board in place through the tongue as you did the first board, but do not surface nail it anywhere. If the pinner does not automatically countersink the nails, use a hammer and nail set to sink each one manually.

Continue installing wainscoting boards until you reach an electrical outlet. With the outlet plate removed from the outlet box, measure the wainscoting board and notch it with a jigsaw to fit around the outlet box. Fit and nail the board as you did the others.

Cut off the excess width of the last wainscoting board when you reach the corner, using a jigsaw. Surface nail the top of the final board, 1/2 inch from the corner, every 8 inches.

Install matching base molding along the bottom edge of the wainscoting, and install scribe molding in the corners for a finished look. Insert one nail every 8 inches for both types of molding.

Fill the holes in the wainscoting cap and base and at the corners with wood putty that matches the wainscoting.