# Judge Paneling - need help



## burkehenry

I have attached some photos to help with my question. Let me first start by saying I "think" what we want to do is called judges panelling. It is common in ours and surrounding neighborhoods but it isn't actually panelling, but more just finish trim "boxes" affixed to the drywall and painted with high gloss paint to resemble panelling. The first two photos I have attached show what we are trying to accomplish. This is my parent's dining room. 

I have also attached a photo of our dining room that the molding in question will be going into. Our molding that will be on the top and bottom are much smaller scale than my parents' so I think we would need to scale down the size of the molding used to create the "boxes". Hope that makes sense.

So the question(s) are 1) what would we use to create the boxes? 2) would we need to scale down the size of the molding that is in my parents' house since our room is smaller and the current molding is smaller as well? 3) Am I calling this the correct thing? When I google judges panelling I get instructions for making actual panelling.

We get the basics of how to affix the molding to the wall, paint it etc... And we have access to a great miter box.

Thanks in advance. Any help is appreciated!


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## cabinetman

It's called "wainscot", or "wainscoting". The boxes are just pieces forming the frame, with an applied moulding. The widths or profiles of what you choose don't necessarily have to be scaled down.













 







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## firemedic

cabinetman said:


> It's called "wainscot", or "wainscoting". The boxes are just pieces forming the frame, with an applied moulding. The widths or profiles of what you choose don't necessarily have to be scaled down.
> .


+1 ... are you going with pannels are directly on the gyp?


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## burkehenry

*Firemedic*

Yes, our thought was to just use adhesive to apply the molding to (what is now) painted drywall, then use finishing nails to permanently attach them. Then we would paint the entire section a high gloss white to give it the appearance of panelling.

What kind of moulding would we use to build the "boxes"?


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## burkehenry

*Additional Info*

We do realize that what we are doing is not necessarily the "best" way to do this project, and it at the very least a shortcut, but it is an accepted practice in ours (and other local) subdivisions in Georgia.


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## firemedic

burkehenry said:


> Yes, our thought was to just use adhesive to apply the molding to (what is now) painted drywall, then use finishing nails to permanently attach them. Then we would paint the entire section a high gloss white to give it the appearance of panelling.
> 
> What kind of moulding would we use to build the "boxes"?


Kinda what I figured, that's why I asked...

My concern would be that the gloss paint won't look so hot on dry-wall? I'd suggest putting primed panneling (hard board... Basically thin cheap mdf like pannels) you can buy chair rail molding with a back cut to sit flat at the top edge of the panneling.

As for molding it's nothing special. If you want to do it on the cheap check out a builder's supply, much cheaper than box stores, and buy MDF molding... it's already primed too!

Down south beaded board wainscoating is more common... Same concept though just with beaded panneling...


~tom


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## GeorgeC

I have done wainscoting like you are writing about. However, I did the whole thing out of wood and did not apply the moldings directly to the sheet rock. I used 1/4 ply for the field. 

Since you did not provide anything by which to judge scale it is difficult to say if you should change size.

Personally I do not think I would like anything done directly on the rock. However, I have not done it so cannot say for sure.

George


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## BigJim

I have used a "clover leaf" molding and it will be fine to apply it directly to the sheet rock. The top molding is just a chair rail type trim or in your picture it is two different sizes clover leaf moldings with a margin between the two runs.


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## Locodcdude

Very nice work man, I like it. Good idea with the 1/4" plywood backing. It's nice with the paint because you can almost use any kind of material, because no one is going to see what it actually is


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## burkehenry

*Thanks!*

Thanks jiju1943. I think we are going to give it a go this weekend. I'll post the results. 

GeorgeC...that is beautiful work! We already have top and bottom molding in place so I can see the additional 1/4" depth being an issue. But if we have to punt and start over, I'm definitely using your idea. I really like the wider cross boards too.


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## burkehenry

George C.. did you just use standard base molding to create the wainscoting effect? I see that you used 1/4" plywood as a base.


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## GeorgeC

burkehenry said:


> George C.. did you just use standard base molding to create the wainscoting effect? I see that you used 1/4" plywood as a base.


The only purchased molding used was quarter round and corner cove, which is really not visible in the photos.

Everything was built up using 1 x clear pine, the 1/4" plywood and the molding, except for the top chair rail which was routed. The chair rails routing is also not very visible in the photos. The corner cove was used under the top rail.

When I got through I counted and there were one hundred and twenty some seperate pieces of wood in the project.

This was the first step in a total refurbishment of the interior of my home. All new baseboards and crown molding added to most rooms. Bead board wainscoting in the kitchen. That was probably the simplest of the projects.

George


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## sausagefingers

As long as you sand off any texture on the drywall and put a couple coats of primer on it it will look just as good as if there was wood behind it. You might consider using an oil based paint too so that will smooth out some of the imperfections in the drywall. I've seen wainscoting just like what you're planning on doing and only realized that the moulding was just attached to drywall after having to tear part of it out. Good luck.


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## kerigollance

burkehenry said:


> Yes, our thought was to just use adhesive to apply the molding to (what is now) painted drywall, then use finishing nails to permanently attach them. Then we would paint the entire section a high gloss white to give it the appearance of panelling.
> 
> What kind of moulding would we use to build the "boxes"?


I've done lots of 'wainscoting' using the method you mention. Although it may be deemed as the easy way I find it looks nice. I've used base board cap and smaller chair railing molding in my projects. I try to get away with not nailing and use paneling adhensive. I also use painters tape to help hold the frames in place while the glue dries. I use chalking to fill in any gaps on the sides. My house is 125 years old and the walls are definitely uneven.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

I attached pictures in a post below.


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## Willie T

Might I suggest that rather than trying to construct the frames directly on the wall, (whether it's d/w or wood), you build the frames independently and then attach them to the walls. It's much easier to make good, tight corner miter joints that way... especially if you use Collins Clamps (Google them), or some other type of corner clamp.


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## kerigollance

burkehenry said:


> Yes, our thought was to just use adhesive to apply the molding to (what is now) painted drywall, then use finishing nails to permanently attach them. Then we would paint the entire section a high gloss white to give it the appearance of panelling.
> 
> What kind of moulding would we use to build the "boxes"?


I attached a picture representing the type of project I did which I think was what you were talking about.


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## NYwoodworks

That is a very cheap and simple way to dress up your walls. I have done this many times for builders and just having the drywall behind it works fine and is very typical. 


The molding is called base cap I did a quick search and found that lowes has it in vinyl but I have bought it in wood this is the basic shape that is used.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_209629-1487...se+cap&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0__s?Ntt=base+cap


Then for the top use a chair rail of your choice.


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## woodjoiner

As seen in the many posts prior to this one, there are many ways to accomplish this. 
What it boils down to is what looks good to you. 
It is more economical to simply adhere the panels on the drywall, however if the drywall surface is wavy and you paint it with a gloss paint all of the imperfections of the wall will be magnified significantly. I hope this helps in some way.


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