Home Improvement Ideas Molding & Trim Installation & How-To How to Install Wall Frame Molding Learn how to build and install decorative wall frame molding to add architectural interest to your home. By Caitlin Sole Caitlin Sole Caitlin Sole is the senior home editor at BHG. She is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of interior design expertise. She has vast experience with digital media, including SEO, photo shoot production, video production, eCommerce content, print collaboration, and custom sales content. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on July 18, 2022 Trending Videos Close this video player Project Overview Total Time: 1 hour Skill Level: Beginner Wall frame molding is a traditional design element commonly found in Georgian and neoclassical settings. However, they can be right at home in virtually any style—even a house that's decidedly modern. The frames are a purely decorative element that breaks up expanses of wall and add architectural interest. Popular locations include an entry, a hallway, a stairway, a living room, or a dining room. You can give the area inside a frame a distinctive treatment by choosing a different paint color from the rest of the wall and even choosing a third shade for the frame itself. If you do this, save yourself a lot of work by painting the walls before installing the frames. Prepaint the frames, too. Wallpaper or stenciled motifs are other possible treatments for the field inside the frame. Expect to spend about 1 hour for a single wall frame; time per frame decreases when you're making and installing a batch. Plan out the sizes of all desired frames before you begin. What You'll Need Equipment / Tools Miter saw 2-foot level Hammer or power nailer Measuring tape Nail set Materials Molding for frames 3/4-inch plywood for assembly jig and gauge block #6x1-1/4-inch flathead screws for construction of jig Construction adhesive Finishing nails Painter's caulk Instructions Design Wall Frame Molding Although you don't have to combine frames with a chair rail, frames that are located low on the wall (below the 36-inch height typical for a chair rail) usually have a longer horizontal element. Frames above the 36-inch mark are almost always vertical. Those installed near a staircase may be triangular, or you can intersperse rectangular and square frames. There are no absolute rules for the proportions of the frame, but the Golden Rectangle is a good starting point.Here's an example for a typical wall frame. The installation site has a 3-inch-high baseboard and a chair rail with its bottom edge 36 inches above the floor. Assume that you want the frame 5 inches above the baseboard and 3 inches below the chair rail. This produces a vertical frame size of 25 inches. Multiply that by 1.618 for a Golden Rectangle, and the length is 40.45 inches, or approximately 40-7/16 inches. If you're running a number of frames along a wall, the space between them should be about the same as the top and bottom spacing. In this case, 4 inches is a good compromise between the top and bottom spacing. Measure Placement Determine where you'd like your wall frame molding to hang and mark on the wall.Editor's Tip: To ensure your frames look scaled to the rest of your room, measure the length of the wall and decide how many frames you'd like per wall and how far apart you'd like them to hang. These measurements will prevent frames that are too large (or small) for the space. How to Install Baseboard Molding Create an Assembly Using desired measurements for the molding, cut a square piece of plywood as a guide. Hold the template up to the wall and mark each corner. Check for Level Holding your guide on the wall, check all sides for level. Even pieces are crucial—if one piece is slightly off, it won't line up with the other three. Trace Around Guide After it's leveled, trace around the guide. You will use these guidelines to start hanging the molding. Cut Joints for Frames Cut the miter joints for your wall frames, using a stop block setup to ensure uniform lengths. Some saws have an accessory for this purpose, but you can get accurate results by bolting your saw to a sturdy table and adjusting its distance from a wall. Attach Adhesive Squeeze a tiny bead of panel adhesive onto the rear face of the first piece. Make this bead as small as possible so you don't have to clean up messy squeezeout. If you know your walls are relatively flat, you may substitute dots of adhesive, placing one near each corner and no farther than 12 inches apart around the perimeter of the frame. DIY Faux Panel Walls to Upgrade Your Home's Look Position First Pieces of Frame Position the first piece of the frame on the wall. After you check the frame for level, nail it into position. Nails driven into studs offer the most security, but even nails driven at an angle into drywall will hold the frame until the adhesive takes over. A pneumatic brad nailer makes nailing easier and minimizes the risk of splitting moldings. Add Last Pieces Nail the corners of the third and fourth pieces last. On the last corner, check the alignment of each end before nailing the wall frame molding in place. Measure for Second Frame Mark the desired distance between frames. Mark each corner, as well as a few intervals along the length of the molding. Install Second Wall Frame Molding Following the same process outlined in steps 5-8, hang a second frame. Repeat for additional frames, as desired. 24 Creative Interior Wall Ideas to Add Dimension to Every Surface Fill in Gaps Fill any gaps between the wall and the edges of the frame with painter's caulk. If you cut the nozzle at a taper, you'll have better control and an accurate bead. If necessary, touch up the paint.