You can do this, Homeslice.

The hallway, mes amis, is done.

Well, mostly done. I actually need to put one more coat of paint on there but that's not getting done until all 4 children are asleep. Because, frankly, my boys and painting is like Homer and donuts.

Kids: painting sucks. It's not fun. You should learn that now.

But as I was saying, you can do this, Homeslice. All.by.yourself. This is the easiest, cheesiest, molding on the planet. And off we go with a brief tutorial, shall we?

First. The easiest/more expensive way.

You need:
-strips of wood
-nail gun & compressor OR those teeny nails and hammer
-level
-tape measurer

Begin by measuring your wall. How tall do you want your trim? Roughly, how spaced do you want the slats? There is no wrong answer. You could always use this site to divide your feet and inches to be exact. 'Cause we need exactness here, of course. Draw this all up on a piece of paper so you know EXACTLY how many slats you want, how tall you want them, how far spaced apart, etc.

Now get on your horse and head to your favorite home improvement store. WITH your cut list in your hand.

I believe (don't quote me on this man) that poplar might be the cheapest wood. You can buy this in slats of 4x4x1/4 in. I think. If I was going this route, I would do it 4 feet high. Why not? Why waste wood? Why make more cuts? Or, or! You could go 3 feet high, and have the last foot cut off for the 2nd layer if you were going that route. Just a thought. Anyway, buy those 4x4 inch for your vertical slats, and by some 4x8 in. slats for going along the top and bottom.

If you are doing the double decker, you need long slats for the bottom, the mid, and the top. Also, if you are doing the double decker, I would suggest doing the 2nd layer 1/3 the length of the bottom. I believe it's pleasing to the eye.

I just made that last part up.

Now, have the home improvement store dude cut the slats to fit the horizontal length of your wall. That way, you're going home with all your pieces already cut and good to go. For anywhere near a 10 foot wall, I'd expect to pay anywhere around $30-$50. Depending on how far apart you space your slats. AND, if you're topping it all off with a chair rail (like I did here), expect to pay more. (the cheapest chair rail is $1 per linear foot).

Draw this all on your wall in pencil. All of it. Measure it, use your level, & mark it. Measure it again. Be sure. Once you've done that, the rest is a breeze. Start nailing those bad boys up and you'll be done in no time, and ready to paint.



Second. The cheap way.

Same thing. 'Cept you're gonna buy a huge piece of um, what the heck is that called? Wood. Of some sort. Is it plywood? I think it's plywood. It's $12 for a 4 ftx8ft sheet. You're gonna have to cut it all up. Sucks. It's a lot of cuts-- but it's only $12 total. You can't beat that with a stick.

So did I just talk down to you? Are you going, yeah DUH. You can always make fun of my lack of know-how involving wood and the proper way to notate feet and inches in comments. Hey, I might deserve it.