How Much Does It Cost to Install Wainscoting or Beadboard?

The walls that line the perimeter of your home present you with opportunities to indulge your sense of style. Treat them as blank canvases that you can beautify in any way you prefer. To beautify those elements of your home, you can consider installing some wainscoting.

Wainscoting is a specific type of wall covering that you can use to change the appearance of your home. Homeowners usually install wainscoting for decorative purposes, but it can also offer some measure of protection. If you’re interested in seeing what wainscoting looks like over your walls, you must first know how much it costs.

The average cost of installing wainscoting is $16 per square foot. The price will change depending on the type of wainscoting selected. If you’re going with beadboard as your wainscoting, you will have to pay $13 for each square foot of it. Professionals charge an average of $1,620 to install wainscoting and that also depends on the type you chose.

You can refresh or refine your home décor by adding some wainscoting to your walls. Now is a good time to start learning more about that topic. Continue with this article and find out exactly how much coating your walls with wainscoting will cost.

You can install different decorative additions on your walls, but wood paneling is an ideal choice if you want something understated. Wood paneling such as wainscoting can add a decorative flourish that makes your walls pop in just the right way. Expect to pay $16 per square foot for new wainscoting.

Not all types of wainscoting are the same. There are notable disparities between the available options and they will likely influence the option you select. Learn more about those available options below.

Many people make the mistake of saying beadboard when they mean wainscoting and vice versa. Just to clarify, beadboard is a type of wainscoting you can use to decorate your home. Beadboard wainscoting costs $13 per square foot.

In beadboard wainscoting, you’ll see vertical panels of material lined up next to one another. The vertical panels are separated by small grooves.

You may also see some trim running along the bottom of the panels. They help frame the beadboard and create a cleaner finish. Additional borders may also be placed around the panels if you want to keep them separated from their surroundings.

Homeowners also have the option of installing board and batten wainscoting. At $11 per square foot, board and batten is a reasonably priced option you can choose for your home.

With board and batten wainscoting, vertical boards are placed over your walls. They are laid next to each other, but small gaps are left behind.

Thin boards are used to cover those small gaps. Those are what we call the battens.

Board and batten wainscoting is bolder than beadboard. Decorate your walls with that kind of wainscoting if you want to make a stylish statement.

Flat-panel wainscoting is the option to choose if you don’t want to spend big on your wall décor. Suppliers sell flat-panel wainscoting for the price of $10 per square foot.

You should choose flat-panel wainscoting if you want to use other decorative items inside your home. The simple design of flat-panel wainscoting will not get in the way of your desired home décor.

Flat-panel wainscoting also makes sense if you want to experiment with your home’s design scheme. The flat panels will fit just about any design scheme so no clashing will occur.

Next up, we have overlay wainscoting. Overlay wainscoting is considerably more expensive than the aforementioned options. You’ll have to pay $30 per square foot if you want overlay wainscoting.

Overlay wainscoting is a combo of the flat-panel wainscoting we discussed earlier and the raised-panel wainscoting we will detail next. Two types of panels are used to create this wainscoting variant.

First, there’s a large panel installed on your wall. A smaller board will then be installed onto that back panel.

The edges of the back panel are left exposed to present a striking look. They also result in the overlay wainscoting gaining a textural element. After that, an even smaller board is added to the center of the paneling for decorative purposes.

You can imagine just how gorgeous overlay wainscoting will look on your walls. It’s pricey, but it’s also well worth the investment if you want to feature elaborately designed walls.

Raised-panel wainscoting is not quite as expensive as overlay wainscoting. You can get raised-panel wainscoting at the price of $20 per square foot.

The main difference between raised-panel wainscoting and overlay wainscoting is the innermost panel. The innermost panel is not included in raised-panel wainscoting. You’re still getting the textural element from the panels, but the additional decorative flourish is gone.

Instead of that extra panel, you can place something else in the middle of your raised-panel wainscoting. You can use the raised panels to frame other decorative elements inside your home better.

After choosing the pattern and material for your custom wainscoting, the carpenter can start crafting it. The average cost of installing custom wainscoting is $2,500.

Ideally, you want to give the carpenter a heads up if you want custom wainscoting. Give them time to gather the materials and plan out the design of the panels. You don’t want to just drop the assignment on them and expect them to complete it immediately.

Creating the panels will likely take a few days at least. Exercise patience if you want those custom panels lining your walls.

You can also get custom wainscoting for your home in exchange for $1,700. Paying only $1,700 means the wainscoting panels won’t be particularly elaborate. However, going with simple wainscoting panels is a good choice if you want them installed as soon as possible.

In some cases, carpenters may charge up to $4,000 for custom wainscoting. They will hike up their charges if you want expensive materials and intricate patterns featured in the panels.

Related Questions

What Is the Purpose of Wainscoting?

Wainscoting can do a lot for your home. First off, you can use wainscoting to change up the appearance of your home interior.You can also install wainscoting to conceal damage to your walls or to protect them. Wainscoting can also serve as added insulation.

What Rooms Should Have Wainscoting?

Feel free to install wainscoting just about anywhere in your home. The living room, bedroom, and even the bathroom can benefit from the addition of wainscoting.Choose the material for your wainscoting carefully before installation. Make sure the material makes sense for your chosen room.

How Long Does It Take to Install Wainscoting?

Professionals can finish the installation of your wainscoting in just one weekend. The installation will take about 12 hours. You can ask the workers to stay for an extended day or give them two days to finish the job.