Picture Rails in a Small Terrace

[ThorntonReed]

Hello all,

My house is a small 2 up 2 down mid-terrace in South East London built around 1890 which in the time before my ownership has had pretty much every original period feature removed. After finding the original cast iron fireplace insert hiding behind some hardboard I've been inspired to try and reintroduce some other features back into the house where and when my wallet will allow it.

One of the jobs I was considering was putting up picture rails in the downstairs rooms, I like the idea of being able to hang things without drilling into the walls and I'm thinking it should be DIYable even with my limited skills. However the house does not have particularly high ceilings at approx 2.5m and I am wondering if picture rails would look odd without the high ceilings I would normally associate them with. Would a small workers' terrace house even have had picture rails originally? Are there any good references for the features you would typically find in such a house as opposed to the grander Victorian houses?

 

[88v8]

Hello and welcome.
8ft ceilings? No problem. Our previous houses, one detach one terraced, had 8ft ceilings, both had picture rails in all the rooms and the hall & landing.

If there were rails, when you strip the walls you will see the footprints. The paint line, and the holes where the cut nails were banged into the brick joints. Probably at about 6'3".

You'll find some interesting reading here
http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/ppuk_discovering_article_027.shtml

As to putting up the rails, when the house was new, the (lime) mortar was soft and it was easy to bang in cut nails. Not so now.
Personally I don't trust modern magic adhesives. I'd use screws and plugs into the brickwork, recess the screws into the wood with a Jennings bit and make infills with a plug cutter. Hopefully someone may be along with an easier method!

The standard picture rail mouldings you will still find in a timber merchants will look OK. The internal corners should be birdsmouthed, not mitred.

I'm a great fan of picture rails. They can make a big difference to a room. Cream ceiling and freize, wallpaper, mmmm.

Ivor

 

[Flyfisher]

I'd also use screws and plugs to fix, though I wouldn't bother with a plug cutter to cover the holes (except in the unlikely event that the wood will not be painted). A two-part wood filler is very easy to use, quick to set, easy to sand smooth and invisible once painted.

 

[ThorntonReed]

Thank you both for your advice.

I will see what is available at the timber yards around here and maybe try putting up a rail in the hallway first before committing to a whole room!

 

[88v8]

When selecting screws n plugs, bear in mind that you may wish to hang a mirror on it.
Or a clock.
Picture rails - not only pictures.

Another benefit I forgot to mention, the shorter drop makes wallpapering easier.

Ivor

 

[Easrow]

We added picture rails in a room in our house. We used decent length screws and grab adhesive. We have pictures and a heavy mirror on it with no issues. One thing to bear in mind is that a spirit level will probably be of no use as the ceiling probably won't be level which could make the rail look wrong if it is. Probably best to measure and do it by eye.

 

[88v8]

Forgot... in our houses, the rails were aligned with the top of the door architrave. So, what did I say, 6'3", that's a bit low.
What are your doors? 6'6"? That would make the top of the rail about 6'8".
When you start drilling, beware of hitting the brick joints. Can't make a decent plastic plug fixing into old lime mortar. As you may already know.

Ivor

 

[Lostgardensof]

We stuck ours with no more nails and have a large mirror hanging from it. However the slight bow to the walls made it tricky so I would go for screws too if I were doing it again.

 

[plasticpigeon]

The first room I did in my house is in a terrible state as I didn't know how to do anything. I got a cowboy builder in followed by a cowboy plasterer. The plasterer recommended glueing the pictiure rails on, so I did. Recently I wanted to see if I could hand some speakers from the picture rail, so pulled on it a little to se if it cold take and weight. It couldn't, it came straight off the wall, and dislodged the ones on adjacent walls for half their length too. Don't use glue please, only mechanical fixings seem to work. Tapered wooden plugs rammed into the vertical mortar joints is the traditional way, but plastic plugs and screws are just as good.

 

[ThorntonReed]

Forgot... in our houses, the rails were aligned with the top of the door architrave. So, what did I say, 6'3", that's a bit low.
What are your doors? 6'6"? That would make the top of the rail about 6'8".
When you start drilling, beware of hitting the brick joints. Can't make a decent plastic plug fixing into old lime mortar. As you may already know.

Ivor

Our doors are 6'3" so top of the architrave is probably 6'5-6'6". Did the top of your rails align with the top of the architrave then? I held up a bit of trim as a test and thought that 12" below the coving looked about right which is above the architrave.

Speaking of doors, all the interior doors in our house are approx 1911mm x 710mm which now I've noticed it seems a bit small, is that kind of door size typical for a 1890s property? I'm assuming the door frames haven't been made smaller during the refurbishments this house has endured but I could be wrong!

 

[88v8]

Our doors are 6'3" so top of the architrave is probably 6'5-6'6". Did the top of your rails align with the top of the architrave then? I held up a bit of trim as a test and thought that 12" below the coving looked about right which is above the architrave.

Speaking of doors, all the interior doors in our house are approx 1911mm x 710mm which now I've noticed it seems a bit small, is that kind of door size typical for a 1890s property?

The aesthetic problem with being just above the architrave is the resultant narrow strip betwixt architrave and rail. Yes, ours sat level with the top of the architrave, both downstairs where the ceilings were 8'3" and upstairs where they were 8'0".
The doors in our house were a bit of a hotchpotch downstairs - from 6'4" x 2'4" to 6'8" x 2'8", but upstairs all 6'6" x 2'6".

Your 6'3" x 2'4" is not what I would have regarded as a standard size, but individual developers may have had their own standards, and I suppose smaller doors could be a way to make small rooms look larger!
If they are panelled, which if original I presume they are, one can generally see if they have been thinned - if the stiles are thinner than the top rail, and if they have been lowered - where the bottom rail is not greater than the top and mid rails, or the top rail is narrower than the stiles. It's hard to imagine anyone systematically reducing door and frame size.
If you are on visiting terms with your neighbours, surviving elements of originality may give a clue.

Ivor

 

[Flyfisher]

We stuck ours with no more nails and have a large mirror hanging from it. However the slight bow to the walls made it tricky so I would go for screws too if I were doing it again.

Not too late to add a few screw fixings. I don't think I'd trust just glue, however advanced, to hold anything heavy, especially a large mirror.

 

[Lostgardensof]

It's been up for over 8 years with a pretty hefty mirror on it. Plus we are moving out in a few weeks.

 

[Flyfisher]

Ha! I had it in mind that you'd just put it up for some reason. After eight years and moving soon, I don't think I'd be messing about with it either.

 

[philpjuk100]

In the 50s my dad "Barry Bucknaled" our house, he took down the picture rails to find they had been fitted to the brickwork before plastering (nailed to wood driven into vertical brick joints)so after removing them the plaster did not line up and he learned a lot about plastering and sandpapering!(he also cut out the banister spindles and "hardboarded" the doors!)