Chair rails are a beautiful finish in virtually any room, but they must be installed correctly. When chair rails were first conceived, they were used as bumpers which protected a room’s walls from being scraped and damaged by the backs of chairs. This function has transformed and evolved over time, however, and today, chair rails create the sense that a room is complete, polished and aesthetically cohesive.

In order to achieve all of these design goals in your own home, you will want to make sure that this finish is installed properly. It is thus suggested that you hire a professional to help you install your chair rail as there are a number of unanticipated situations that may come into play. Here are just a few of your chair rail’s features that a professional will handle with ease.

Tricky Corners

Many zealous homeowners attempt to install their own chair rails, only to stumble when it comes to the corners of their space. After all, managing chair rail at the corners of your room requires cutting chair rail in a precise, slanted manner.

A professional will be able to handle this facet of your chair rail with ease. Professionals know how to make, what are termed coped cuts, in your molding. These coped cuts are what allow your moldings to fit together seamlessly on the inside corners of your room. If a professional is working with the outside corners of a room, he or she will make what are called miter cuts in the chair rail. Without knowing how and where to make these coped or miter cuts, most homeowners produce gaps between their moldings. This creates the sense that a room is unfinished and poorly designed, completely negating the initial purpose of the chair.

Determining The Height Of Your Chair Rail

Determining the height of your chair rail can be quite a tricky determination to make without professional insight and expertise. After all, the standard height at which chair rail should be laid changes depending on the dimensions of your space. On this note, many homeowners who attempt to install chair rail on their own tend to mark the height with a pencil first and jump immediately to installation. However, pencil markings do not provide an accurate representation of how chair rail will actually appear once installed.

A professional contractor can work with you to determine the height at which you ought to lay your chair rail. The standard or conventional height at which homeowners lay chair rail is 32 inches, which your contractor will likely work with as a starting point. However, they will also consider the dimensions of your space as well as your design plan to make adjustments. In addition, your contractor will see to it that there are studs located in and around the height at which your chair rail is located.

A Professional Will Help Prime and Protect Your Materials

Any time you move forward with home renovations, there is a certain financial investment involved. While this investment is ultimately worthwhile by adding value to your home, you will want to protect it. This means protecting your renovation materials: including your chair rail.

Many homeowners make the mistake of installing chair rails without properly measuring its cuts or priming the wood. But, once a chair rail is installed incorrectly, or with a lack of care, it can rarely be remedied without replacing the material altogether. Having to pry chair rail from the wall to reposition it will undoubtedly cause damage to both the molding and the wall on which it lies. A professional uses his or her expertise, time and care to protect all of your valuable materials.

A Professional Will Save You Time

Last but certainly not least, a professional will save you time when installing your chair rail. In our current moment, a lack of time is a challenge that many homeowners encounter, and there are jobs to juggle, social lives to handle and other projects that pop up throughout the week. A seasoned professional should be able to install chair rail in a large space within the span of a day. If you want to integrate chair rail throughout your home, a professional should be able to do so over the course of a long weekend. By saving you time, a professional affords you the opportunity to relax in your home and enjoy your newly renovated space all the sooner.

All in all, many homeowners consider a chair rail to be a minor home improvement. As such, many homeowners make the decision to go ahead and install their chair rail without the help of others, but doing so may lead to disaster. A professional contractor will help to ensure that chair rail is cut and installed appropriately, at a height that works well within your specific space. In addition a professional will save you a lot of precious time, time spent better with loved ones.