Should dado rail follow floor or ceiling?

[joysexreno]

We have a hallway with uneven floors. Our builder insists that the modern way to handle this is the dado rail just goes straight across. He has installed it in this way, but will change the rail to follow the floor/stairs if we insist.

Nb: The rail for the stairs from ground floor is up very temporarily and doesn't angle as it will when finally installed.

All thoughts welcome!

I like it how it is. Seems sleeker and less fussy. I love the look of your house!

I think it looks very odd the way he’s done it. I dare say it’s the modern way because it’s easier for him.

Follow the floor

Thank you!

I have to admit that I was wondering this...

He's managed to slope it up the stairs, there should be a small slope in the rail where the two steps are so the dado rail is the same height from the floor in both halls

Straight. Choose a height from a fixed point and then keep the rail horizontal. Do NOT attempt to follow anything that is already out of square. Your builder is correct.

The ceiling steps up where you have the two steps too so there should be a step there. But is the ceiling step and teh floor step different? I'd have a dado rail a consistent height from the floor.

Oh, good point. The ceiling also isn't totally even.

I've no idea what is "correct" but I think I'd prefer it the way it's been done than going up and down with the floor.

I'm on the "his way is ridiculous and is just an excuse for laziness or covering up a mistake" bus. He's followed the floor level on the other side with the rail going down the stairs - by his reasoning that should just go straight across the wall as well. It should move down at the 2-step staircase exactly the same as it goes down at the 13-step staircase.

This is what it looked like in the past. The previous owners did follow the stairs. I think there's also a potential safety element? The stairs are a bit scary and unexpected, and the visual cue of the dado rail may mitigate against the risk of falling?

"His way" is ridiculous. It has to be a certain height above the floor otherwise it just looks wrong. The whole point of it is that it's chair-back height above the floor isn't it?

He might claim it's the "modern" way but your house isn't modern so that made up fact is irrelevant.

I think the dado rail should be a consistent height above the floor, so there should be a small slope where the two steps are. "Dado", wiki tells me, means the lower part of the wall, and the dado rail goes along the top of the dado.

Update: I am constantly worried about people falling down the stairs in the hallway at night, so I have asked the builder to change it.

He was very agreeable to this, suggesting that he was in fact just trying it on to create less work.

Mine follows the floor

Parallel with the rail on the banister for me, and following any floor level changes. But I would probably not have a continuous rail in these circumstances , but divide it into discreet panels which mark out each change.

I prefer the way it was originally. As others have said, a dado rail is to stop backs of chairs from damaging the wall so it should be the same height from the floor all the way round.

I'm not seeing a photo with your original post.

i removed the dado rails here because nothing seemed right because of the 'floor & ceiling not being 'straight'

up your stairs I'd have a straight rail from bottom to top. If that's any help??

like @PinkCamelias

If you click "see all" on the OP it magically appears

Yup. Ours follow the stairs. We have 3steods down then a half landing. You are right it gives a visual clue.

Generally speaking it should follow the floor and stairs. The ‘modern way’ is jist
another way of saying lazy.

This looks much better. Just get him to copy these photos.

Old house with split staircase here. We put the dado rail in, didn't exist prior. It would have looked odd to be a straight line across.

@SoupDragon

ive just come back to the thread & it's there, but I'll keep that in mind for next time. Thanks.