First Attempt at Wainscoting

I call this my first attempt at wainscoting, but to be honest, I should really call it my first attempt at making faux wood paneling that lines the lower part of a wall, because I didn’t learn about the word “wainscoting” until we had finished and I sat down to write this blog post.  Sara saw this project done on another blog a couple of years ago and thought it could help give texture to this wall in the first bathroom we renovated:

It’s been two years since we renovated this bathroom.  We re-tiled the shower and floor, upgraded to a quartz vanity top and painted the walls with the Behr color Seagull Gray in a satin finish. The project also involved removing a mirror cabinet on the wall opposite the vanity, which after finishing the project, left that wall feeling very empty.

Rather than installing paneling across the entire bottom half of the wall, I wanted to try a simpler approach: strips of pine trim.  I bought two 8 foot lengths and 5 pieces that were 4 feet in length.  I used primer before painting in a semi-gloss ultra white.  The primer helps keep pine sap from seeping through the paint later on.

Before I could nail the trim to the wall, I first needed to do a little more drywall work.  When I remodeled this bathroom, I replaced the drywall where the recessed mirror/cabinet used to be using the same 1/2″ concrete backer board I used behind the tiles in the shower.  However, the drywall in the rest of the bathroom is 5/8″.  This 1/8″ difference is quite noticeable on the finished wall, and would be even more evident with the wainscoting.

Photo from 2015 renovation shows hole for old mirror/cabinet. Drywall was replaced a couple of feet out from the tub with 1/2″ concrete backer board.

A few thick coats of drywall mud did the trick.  Flat surface!

I used a trim nail gun to put the wood in place.  The vertical pieces are just under 4′ in length.

I used moulding caulk to fill in the nail holes and also around the edges of the wood.  A quick sanding with fine-grit sandpaper, before painting the whole bottom half of the wall with ultra-white semi-gloss paint.  (3 coats did the trick)

The finishing touch:  3 hooks mounted using drywall anchors.

Finally, the before and after:

Oh yeah, we also replaced the door knob.

The Gutters

There are few things worse than the smell of rotting organic material.   This was just the first sign that our gutters would probably need some attention someday.  If you’ve ever dragged out a ladder, put on gloves, and held your breath to clean gutters, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  Gutters provide a valuable service to homes.  They collect rainwater from the roof and divert it away from the structure.  However, unless they have a leaf shield or screen, leaves are bound to fall inside too, and if it’s not cleared out on a regular basis, it becomes a make-shift compost pile.  One spot on our house was so bad, weeds were growing out of it.  Look closely in the photo below and you’ll see what I’m talking about:

The second sign that we needed new gutters, and what finally made us pull the trigger on replacements, was a small leak that developed above our back patio door.

I put Winnie’s water bowl under the drip because I was having concerns about the water splashing off of the deck and on to our house.  As homeowners, we have always been told that water can have a devastating impact on your house.  Not only that, the water that was falling from the gutters was a rusty brown color, and it was staining our siding.  I think the rust came from how the hole developed in the first place; years of standing water in steel gutters.  Knowing we were bound to replace the gutters within the next couple of weeks, I drilled holes in the bottom of the gutters to help the water flow out.  Look closely in this next video for the stained siding:

After a little bit of research and calling for estimates, we chose a local company to install new gutters for us.  We were presented three options.  All three included gutter technology aimed at keeping leaves out of the trough.  We chose the most affordable option, which came with a wire mesh and slightly larger downspouts.