How to Place a Chair Rail & Railing on the Same Wall

Move a stud finder along the wall where you want to install the chair railing. Mark the location of each stud with a vertical pencil mark approximately 37 inches off the floor.

Measure the length of the wall from the stop points of the railing. Often this will be from one inside corner to another, or from an inside corner to the door trim. Some railings will end short of an uncased opening.

Cut backer molding to your desired length. Cut each end at a 45-degree angle using your miter box with the points on the back or wall side of the board when you are continuing the board on adjacent walls. Cut an end at 90 degrees if you are ending at a door trim.

A backer molding is a 4- to 6-inch molding that has a flat face with identical molding features along the top and bottom edge. This molding is used behind other moldings.

Position the backer molding on the wall with the top edge at 36 inches from the floor. Use a level to keep the molding straight. Nail the molding to the wall at each stud mark using a finish nail gun. Nail into the grooves of the design along the top and bottom edges. Use two nails per stud. Repeat this for each adjacent wall that will also have chair railing.

Measure your board from the inside corner to the inside corner and subtract 4 inches. Divide your measurement to provide an even amount of 48 inches or less. For example, if your wall is 15 feet and you divide by 2, you will have 7 1/2 feet in between or too much space. If you divide your 15 feet by 4, you will have 3 3/4 feet, which is perfect.

Measure 2 inches in from each end and mark the board with a B. Measure between your marks and mark your board with your measurements. Use the same B marking. These marks are your grab railing bracket locations.

Measure 2 inches away from your bracket locations and mark with a C. Each C is one end of the chair railing. Your combined railing will start with a 2-inch blank space, a bracket, a 2-inch blank, a chair railing, a 2-inch blank, a bracket, a 2-inch blank, a chair railing, etc. Measure the distance of one chair railing section.

Cut each end of the chair railing at a 45-degree angle with the points toward you using a miter saw. Nail the chair railing to the backer board centered in the height of the board and level. Line up the ends with your C marks. Nail the chair railing at the stud locations with finish nails hidden in the contours of the molding using two nails at each stud.

Use the cut ends of the chair railing to fit to the mitered corners. Measure from the tip to the backer board and transfer your marks to the cut end pieces. Cut the end to the correct length at a 90-degree angle. Add carpenter's glue to the cut edge. Press the piece into position at the end of the chair railing and nail once. Repeat for the second end. Repeat for all of your chair railings.

Line up your grab railing bracket on the backer board. Center the bracket on the B mark. Place a sample piece of the grab bar on the top of the bracket. Move the bracket down until the top of the grab bar is visually even with the top of the backer board. Mark your screw locations. Screw the brackets into place by using these measurements for all of the brackets.

Measure and cut your grab bar the same way you did your other trim pieces. If your bar continues to adjacent walls, miter with and inside a 45-degree cut. If your bar ends flat on a wall, use a 90-degree end cut. If your bar dies back to the same wall it is mounted on, use an outside 45-degree miter cut and a 90-degree cut where the railing meets the wall.