Picture rails - DIY or not?

[MrBull]

How easy is it to install wooden picture rails yourself? We're beginner/intermediate level DIY'ers. They'll mainly be for decorative purposes but would like to be able to hang pictures off them too.

I've done it and once everything is measured and marked up it's fairly easy with a mitre box for sawing the rail. If you want to hang things from the rail you will need to screw it to the wall and fill the screw holes. I used No More Nails when I did mine as it was purely cosmetic.

We don't have a mitre box. I wonder if it'll be more cost effective to get a joiner to do it then.

It will be cheaper to buy a mitre box than get a joiner in.

If your walls are all pretty level then you can do it. Get a good long spirit level, mitre box, no more nails, saw, caulk, paint. Take your time and you’ll be able to do it.

Thanks, I thought it was a saw attachment but just noticed it's a guide box and they're quite cheap! Yes, bit of time, shouldn't be too difficult...

It depends upon the material you are working with, the finish, the profile and the state of the walls.
I put up European Oak, square section rails and finished in lacquer. This left no room for filling gaps. If you're finishing in paint you can get away with filling small gaps.
Be aware that no corner is square. If cutting mitres the best way to adjust is to gouge out the inside of the mitres to within a couple of mm of the edges then adjust with a block plane, chisel and abrasive paper (you're then only working the last couple of mm so it's much easier, also you are less likely to end up with grit holding the joint apart). Use plenty of glue on the joints, I prefer polyurethane, I would always mechanically fixings, in hardwood I would finish with pellets.

Don't paint the walls first or it will pull the paint off (voice of experience) use sticks like ### glue and tack in place with nails to hold it whilst glue is drying. We had a telly hanging off ours for several years. Putting it up yourself is a easy job. Might be worth bearing in mind that if you have an old house the walls/ ceiling might be wonky so probably worth marking out where it is going on the wall and checking if it looks OK before you start. Level with ceiling /doors/windows is probably the best plan.

Thanks all. It's not as an expensive job as I thought so I'm paying the joiner to put them up and we'll fill the holes and paint. We do have an old house so I can foresee issues with the levelling. Plus, it's lath and plaster behind so added complications when attaching to the wall if you don't get things attached in the right place. And I definitely want them strong enough to hang stuff from.