What is Wainscoting?
During the early days of house construction, interior walls often suffered from a wicking effect called rising damp. In an effort to reinforce the lower third of the wall and create a bit of camouflage, builders added wooden panels called wainscoting. These tongue-in-groove wooden slats extend upwards from the baseboards and end anywhere from three to eight feet up the wall. The top of the wainscoting is capped with a piece of molding to prevent a chair from damaging the wall. The effect of the dark wood against the lighter plaster wall also provides a pleasant visual contrast. The problems leading to rising damp have mostly been eradicated, but the practice of using wainscoting still lives on. Most modern wainscoting panels are cut between 36 and 42 inches, approximately 1 to 1.5 meters. Other materials such as tile and vinyl paneling may also be used as wainscoting. The idea is to delineate approximately one third of the wall surface for decorative interest. Modern wainscoting is sti
