Picture Rail Calculator

Picture rail is typically fixed between 1.8m and 2.1m from the finished floor, usually about 300-500mm below the ceiling. In a standard 2.4m room, 2.0m from the floor is the most common height. In rooms with higher ceilings (2.7m+), the rail can be set higher at 2.2-2.4m. The rail should be high enough that pictures hang at eye level when using picture hooks and wire.

Picture rail sits near the top of the wall (1.8-2.1m from the floor) and has a specially shaped top edge designed to accept S-hooks for hanging pictures. Dado rail sits at about 900mm from the floor and historically protected the lower wall from chair backs. Both are decorative mouldings, but they serve different purposes and have different profiles. Use our Dado Rail Calculator for dado rail quantities.

Use picture rail hooks (also called moulding hooks or S-hooks) that clip over the top of the rail. Attach picture wire or cord to the hook and adjust the length to hang the picture at the desired height. This system lets you hang and rearrange pictures without making holes in the walls — one of the main advantages of picture rail.

In most rooms, picture rail runs continuously around all four walls, stopping only at door openings. However, some people choose to only fit it on the walls where they plan to hang pictures. For the best visual effect and period authenticity, run it around the entire room. It also provides a natural line for a two-tone paint scheme.

Enter the room's overall length and overall width as if it were a full rectangle, or use the toggle to enter the measured perimeter directly. For any room shaped like a rectangle with a corner cut off, the perimeter is exactly 2 × (overall length + overall width) of the bounding rectangle, because the two walls of the notch take the place of the wall sections they replace, so the rail run is identical and this is not an approximation. Update the corner counts: a plain L-shaped room has 5 internal corners and 1 external corner (the corner that points into the room). A chimney breast adds rail rather than removing it: add the depth of the breast to your room length measurement (the calculator doubles the length, which covers both return sides), and count 2 extra internal and 2 extra external corners for it. Door openings are handled by the door field, and are only deducted when the rail height means the rail actually meets the architrave.

Apply grab adhesive (No More Nails or similar) in a zigzag along the back of the rail. Pin into place with 40mm panel pins or a brad nailer near each corner and then at roughly 600mm intervals — the pins only hold the rail steady while the adhesive cures, so they do not need to be close together. On masonry walls, you can also use screws and wall plugs, countersinking the screw heads and filling. On stud walls, try to hit at least some studs with your fixings.

Absolutely. Picture rail adds character to any home and provides a practical way to hang artwork without drilling holes in walls. Modern picture rail profiles like pencil round suit contemporary interiors, while ogee and torus profiles suit traditional and period settings. The rail also creates a visual break for paint colour changes.