dado rail in hall to break up wall?
At the last stages of painting our stairs leading to the master bedroom.
The wall on the left goes up really high but the right side shrinks to a point (triangle shape) where the top rail starts.
We were going to add a hand rail on the left but we have never used one since living here and it's not a wide hall so don't want to shrink it further. Also it's old lath plaster inside and so trying to find the studs to fix it to is going to be a nightmare. So we can live without one for us.
However, I'm wondering if we could put a dado rail up the stairs so I can paint the bottom section darker and it gives you some wood to touch when walking down ie instead of getting dirty finger prints on the white wall! Lol!
Issue is the right side where it goes to a point as not sure how this could work??? Any ideas please?
Comments (33)
Tani H-S
3 years agoPic from the top looking down.
Would the dado on the left just stop at the grey floor level where the rails are?? Might look weird.
E D
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoRelated Discussions
Where to cut the picture rail after opening up a wall.
Comments (10)Hello Rachel, I would leave the arch plain as is. One fantastic way of dealing with dado and picture rails and even skirting is simply to paint it! By that I mean leave the beading off altogether and paint the separations. This was common in the servants quarters where details were left to a minimum but actually I love this look !! It not only suggests a period aesthetic but has a really modern and contemporary feel. The same can be done with skirting. With the floor have a simple bead around the edge of the floor to finish. Mask the height and paint a line. Same again to picture rail height etc etc... I would add architrave to doors only and then try my suggestions. If you really want to add detail to the skirting you can decide how high, then add beading along the top and several sections (depending on height overall of room) or base only if height minimal and skirting minimal. Then paint the lot the colour of your choosing. :))...See MoreDado rails or not?
Comments (8)Hi Hutsly, Thank you for giving your opinion which has been very useful. In the 1st, 3rd and 4th pictures, there is a shelf halfway up the stairs. Behind the piece of decorative skirting that forms the side of the shelf was housed a lot of the pipes for the house. I expect that this was a later addition but most of the houses up the street, which are identical, have something similar here. There is a mix of some of the houses in the street having dado rails and others not so we have assumed that they were original to the houses. We are trying to do the house up as sympathetically as possible, hence the refurbished leaded lights on the 2nd floor landing (picture 2). It is just difficult to decide whether today they just look out of place and should therefore be excluded or whether to be true to how the house was originally....See MoreDado Dilemma in Victorian hallway renovation
Comments (8)I love my dado rails. I have picture rails in all rooms but dado rails in the hallways as I find it really breaks up the room and my toddler uses them to wipe his sticky fingers on, rather than the walls. I think your rail may be a little high though, like ours were and we also had 'dado rail art' at the top of the stairs. Took plastering to fix. It's really nice having pictures up the stairs which I haven't got around to as I don't have picture rails and drills make me worry our ancient plaster will crumble...so wonder if picture rails could have helped with that. Just a couple of thoughts!...See Moredado rail issue
Comments (0)Hi my parents just moved into their new house . Dado rail in living room but as you can see the wall has a curve and the rail doesn’t. Lol what’s my options here ? Can you buy bendy dado rail or can a joiner put another one up that’s done in a way that it doesn’t look daft ? Thanks in advance...See MoreTani H-S
3 years ago
Sonia
3 years agoI have an original dado rail (1930s house) but it is a lot higher than normal, which may be better so you don’t have that point at the end? All the houses in my street are the same. As an old bird, there’s no way I could climb stairs without a handrail 😂 However, if you have a downstairs loo then there’ll be no need for older visitors to go upstairs, except to look at your lovely new decor!
Laura
3 years agoTani H-S
3 years ago
Ellie
3 years ago
Daisy England
3 years agoTani H-S
3 years agoberrecka
3 years agoE D
3 years ago- PRO
User
3 years ago Tani H-S
3 years agoberrecka
3 years agohow about spindles if you're afraid of the plaster not being able to take the weight of the rail? Ignore my runnerless stairs, it's at the end of a very long post-renovation list!
Jonathan
3 years agoPersonally I don’t like a dado rail in small spaces because I think it visually cinches in the space.... kinda like tightening a belt.
If you want drama why not paint one side a strong colour?- my choice would be the right side (right when going up the stairs).Even if you don’t really use a handrail I do understand the safety benefit of having something to grab if you fall. Have you considered a rope handrail? It uses as many fixings as a standard handrails so equal issue with the lathe and plaster.
If you put the hand rail on the right you could add wood paneling so you worry less about the lathe and plaster- I would add 12mm timber verticals at 400mm intervals (or something similar as per stair width) and create vertical panels to attach handrail fixing to.
Tani H-S
3 years agoTani H-S
3 years agoJonathan
3 years agoE D
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
Quite handy... If their name’s not on the list, they ain’t commin in! ☺️
Sorry Jonathan, couldn’t resist when I saw that photo. 😊Daisy England
3 years ago
rachelmidlands
3 years agoHi Tani. Have a look at ‘pigs ear hand rails’ (who comes up with these names 😅.) They can be directly fixed to the wall so might not protrude as much and kinda look like a dado rail. Would make stairs safer (example pic below).
Had a quick look at the building regs and from what I gather for new builds and refurbs where stairs are less than a metre wide then just one hand rail is necessary. However in older properties where there wasn’t a pre existing handrail then I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to install one but don’t quote me on that and you might have issues if you decide to rent or sell.
Just a thought but how about a using a picture rail but at dado height, needs to be the right profile so you could get your fingertips around it but would stick out a lot less. Something like this?https://www.dressermouldings.com/store/picture-rails/type-14-timber-picture-rail/
Victoria
3 years agoDaisy England
3 years agoVictoria
3 years agoTani H-S
3 years agoberrecka
3 years agoTani H-S
3 years agoTani H-S
3 years agominnie101
3 years agoVictoria
3 years agoOff top of head, think anything above 600mm from floor needs a handrail in current guidelines. We have a half landing on the third step of our new build and no hand rail below the newel on that landing.
Tani H-S
3 years ago
Sonia