Fitting height for picture rail in hallway.

[marlb]

Hi all,

This is difficult to explain in words. here goes anyway!
I am going to put up a picture rail in my hallway. The usual height would be in line with the top of the door architrave. The problem I have is I want to carry the picture rail on up the stairs. I realise that I cannot have the picture rail sloping up the stairs but how do I end the rail downstairs? There is no natural break in the wall before it joins the wall going upstairs. I have had a victorian property before but it had a wooden arch built above the first step and part of the moulding for it, ran all the way to the floor. So the picture rail stopped at the moulding. If I just cut the picture rail at the point of the first step it will look odd!

any ideas??

I hope I have explained this ok.

 

[JohnD]

you could run the rail up the stairs at an angle, just for appearance, if you wanted to. Anything hung from it would have to be on nails or screw-eyes, not hooks.

 

[marlb]

I could but it would look odd as the rail would be running in the middle of the wall after about the 5th step. The ceiling height going up the stairs is not in line with the slope of the stairs. It rises upto the level of the upstairs ceiling just after the 2nd set. So the clearance above head height on the 2nd step is approx 2 ft the 3rd step is 8 - 9 ft.

 

[r896neo]

the ceiling height vs stair angle can't be resolved. i reckon if it is possible buy a couple of plaster mouldings like the ones that terminate an arch and butt the hallway rail to that.

Ie. In link below forget the arch, you can buy the ends as a seperate thing but i dont know what to call them.

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?i...ages?q=archway+mouldings&gbv=2&svnum=10&hl=en

 

[big-all]

often the only way to do it is to do a return end at a convenient point to terminate the rail on the level

you then carry on the decore below the picture rail up to the ceiling then at a convenient point up the stairs reintroduce the picture rail

a return end is where you mitre the end at 45% like you are going round the corner but you are actualy only putting a small piece in to cover the end grain