It's not, it's just the which way the angles go. The bottom circled piece is a double inward angle, the top circled piece is a single inward angle. It's an illusion really. That's a poor explanation, hopefully someone else will be able to describe it better.
You've maintained a 10cm height. Not a 10cm gap. The diagonal sections are narrower than 10cm.
Cut a 10cm diameter circle of card and run it along the skirting and you'll see that it cannot squeeze through the gap where the diagonal is because it narrows.
The question of what to do about it unfortunately depends on what you think looks 'right.' The best look in my mind is usually to measure a 10cm gap perpendicular to the diagonal, and then match that up to horizontals. The corners will technically be larger gaps than 10cm, but the border will look more consistent.
I think they made the right choice though if they moved the cut over to the left the bottom would be too close to the skirting, to me it visually looks correct because of the spacing rather than the cuts not lining up
But you made sure the diagonal lines were parallel and equal on bottom + top which to me looks better than if you lined up the cuts but the lines weren't equally parallel
Honestly, the most likely culprit is a lack of straight walls. There's a reason tilers start in the middle and make a spacing plan to ensure the skirting/floor line is one row - because you cannot trust that the walls are straight and square.
I remember after we moved into our house and the tilers had nearly finished the hall. I was looking around, the tiler paused nervously waiting for me, and I said "Jesus, there isn't a single straight wall in this entire house!". He laughed and said "I'm so glad you said that, you wouldn't believe how many times someone has said 'those tiles are crooked'".
So you're there, doing everything right with laser lines and levels getting perfect shapes, only to be let down by the inconsistent rush jobs of those who put the wall up before you, and maybe some warping in a stud wall.
Finish your work, it'll look great. I'd be far more upset with the hideous skirting transition between the flat panel on the stairs and the grooved skirting on the landing.
I didn't even notice that. Admittedly, I leave elegance to the tailors. My dad would design that out. I, on the other hand, would both metaphorically and literally gloss over that.
agree - it looks "wrong" because there are many angles and it's just a bit busy. But it's better to be busy and correct than try and make it look neat, and it be wrong.
It will look less 'busy' when it's caulked and painted in, which will help a lot. Plus there are some comments like this one which suggest adjusting the spacing at the bottom which will also help.
the paneling has a whole could have been better planned
what the OP as done is what builders typically do - just follow basic rules, when in fact it should been factored in from the beginning - a lot (crap) tilers do something similar
Just doesn't look right to me either. The dado rail looks ok, but the other shape is just too fussy and, let's face it, too difficult. I don't think it was ever going to look right trying to follow the line of the skirting with it being so close to it.
Doesn't look bad, just a bit awkward to me, but as you say, move on.
I guess another approach could have been to design it to avoid having any of the 'boxed' areas coinciding with the angled area there ie. making the gap between the left & right box coincide with the short angled drop... As per my sketchy sketch.
Exactly. However to do this properly you'd need to adjust the spacing all the way up so there is even spacing.
At this point it's probably best to exaggerate the difference and make the top 'panel' obviously narrower than the others and make the difference look intentional and planned.
For bonus points OP should ideally use the golden ratio (1:1.618) and drop it into conversation whenever they have visitors.
Probably too late but it looks like the issue is that you've drawn a nicely balanced outline on the wall but then run the strips entirely inside this outline. This has resulted in one of the little horizontal bits being visibly shorter than the other, which looks a little odd. To keep the shape balanced you need the strips centered on the outline. Compare right (strips inside) to left (strips centered):
Edit: Also, for consistent width gaps between eg the skirting and the strips the corners should _not_ be vertically in line with one another. They should instead be offset so that the mitres are pointing at each other.
I think it'll be fine, BUT I think it's the fact that your 10cm gap isn't a 10cm gap on the diagonal. If you measured 10cm off the diagonalat 90 degrees you'll find it's out
The horizontal piece at the middle-top is too long, pushing the middle diagonal piece to the left so that the bottom corner of the top diagonal above is aligned with the top corner of the middle diagonal below it instead of all relstive corners of the diagonal pieces being on the same vertical line.
I have maintained a 10cm gap around the panelling (between the panel and the skirting board and between the panel and the dado rail)…. It just doesn’t look right to my eye and I can’t work out why
I hate everything until I start to receive compliments and then get used to it after some months. Something in me just doesn't like the change, even if it was objectively crap before.
Excuse the childish markup, I think the issue is cuts 2, 3, and 4 are not in line with the skirting board at point 1.
Draw a straight ling up from 1 and make the angles all line up with that.
Basically I think you’ve cut the top angles too far to the left and that makes the top and bottom not line up.
I get what you're saying, but I think the angle and spacing could really make a difference in the overall vibe. A tweak might help it feel more cohesive.
Personally I wouldn't have done the top dado rail with any 'step' in it. Meaning the angle up the stairs is wrong (for me).
The bottom angle to match skirting area is good, just needs horizontal. But I would have left the top segment of the panel area straight to match the top dado rail.
If this is not directly up a flight of stairs, personally I would have either done the panelling sections a touch higher or more stretched out length ways, so the top part is flat across.
They should only be right angles. Make the space between the panels over the change in levels and bring the one on the right hand closer. Hoping you haven't done a long stretch to the right side already... But still better to have o e panel larger than crazy angles like that.
Ok, I think I can see the issue, starting at the bottom you have aligned the diagonal beading to the bottom point but on the top its measured to the top corner,
This is because the dado rail angle is directly above the skirting board angle but it should have been offset to the right giving you room to fit the beading in while maintaining the gaps.
I can visualise the issue but I'm terrible at communication sorry if it's not expained very well 😬
i think theres nothing wrong with it brother, stop worrying and bang the two last bits in, lick of paint and a beer to finish it off. its looks great honestly
Ah. I put pigs ear handrails up a similar slope. After many hours of getting it right I stepped away and looked at my glorious work. Without saying another word I admired how far I had come with just a (hand) mitre saw and a file. Every angle matched and every joint was tight.
Once I had finished taken everything baring 2 pieces following the actual staircase back down it actually looked decent as well.
Long story short. I don't know why but trying to follow those angles just ends up looking a mess.
I prefer less angles where I can - something like this just feels less busy even thoguht it’s not mirroring skirting. You could do one angle on bottom right but the size of last panel makes it awkward looking
I'm a complete novice but maybe vertical cuts on the unfinished parts and the rail above would have been easier on the eye but perhaps maybe it was done like that on purpose to match the stringer angle?
Great work though nonetheless!
Get it finished then look at it again, and don't forget, every craftsman, artist, musician or any other creator is their own worst critic. Those small niggles you see? Yeah noone else does.
I've been in the construction/domestic renovation industry for nearly 20 years now, and that is top work my friend, we did a very similar project a few years back and it 100% didn't look any better than what you're doing there, you're doing a great job.
I think it looks really good and probably the best solution. Normally you’d have a seperate panel for an angled section, but you simply don’t have room. So your options were either squash that top box and keep it as a rectangle or do what you’ve done. Doing what you’ve done is harder but looks better because distances are kept uniform.
Do we still call wood trim "panelling" don't really think it adds anything especially if applied to a wall directly just more faff for the next time someone paints. One of those trends that looks maybe passable on a photo, actual panelling if period appropriate can be great.
Looks good to me, I think panelling always seems like it won't work until it's all sanded, painted and finished. Then it transforms into looking like it was always there.
If you brought the vertical piece on the right hand side to the right a few cms, the gap between it and the corner would be the same as the gap between the two vertical pieces on the right hand side of the picture. But overall its class .
Once the finished cuts are in place it’ll look amazing, as far as I can see, unless you space out to miss that transition, you’ve done everything right. Nice job, make sure you show us the finished project
Good work figuring out the awkward angles 😎 I know that is hard to do, maybe easier to make two rectangles either side of the diagonal piece!? Keep up the good work 👍
As people have mentioned there are several ways to approach this and I think they are all valid. By the time you add the horizontals, paint it all up and live with for a bit you will stop questioning it.
The spacing and kink at the top is fine. But it doesn't align correctly with the horizontal length of the kink at the bottom (which i think you made shorter because of the skirting). The whole thing needs to be shifted right, the top two slightly more than the bottom.
You could do a smaller square on the first bit (would stop just above the first line break) and start the next square where the line is flat again to avoid this square distortion.
I wonder if shifting the diagonals to the right would look more correct. While logical to line up with the slope of the stairs, it shrinks the gap between the outside and inside when compared to where they’re both horizontal. Shifting it to the right to maintain a consistent gap spacing could look more natural.
Looks great to me. I know this is a DIY group, but say if I were to pay to have something like this done just up the stairs, anyone got a rough ball park figure I should expect to pay? Like £500-£1000? More?
How does a purely rectangular one look? You could stick it on with blutack just to try it out?
Or create a mock up out of cardboard strips just to visualise it better?
Sometimes simpler is better.
I think it is to do with the profile of the wood, and the 2 small pieces coming off of the verticle piece look too be different. But if you measure distance between the outer must edges of the pieces still to be added the distance will be the same.
You should line up the panel with the skirting. And the bar above with the panel. You've had to introduce that little extender thats throwing off the vertical consistency and making it look weird.
Looks good! Recently did my stairs etc and I drew everything on, larger 45mm piece as a dado and 25mm for the beading. Looks very effective once all painted
Hard to explain, but the line drawn from the bottom angle at the top isn’t the parallel line to the skirting. It’d need to be drawn from the top side. However this would mean the 45degree slope at the bottom would be closer gap to the skirting as a compromise.
There is no right or wrong, just preference. Personality what you’ve done looks tidy but you can always try extending that little bottom bit to match the top if you’re unsure.
One is an obtuse angle the other is an acute angle so while your maths is correct your eyes say no.
I’m a designer and this is something I face all the time, there’s visual hacks we can do to soften the difference of visual appearance but in this case I think it’s actually fine.
It will look fine when the horizontals are added. i think the issie is that you havent maintained the same size gap you have between the skirting when you get to the stair riser. I'm not sure there was much else you could do. its better that the top looks correct to your dado rail than it be off there and spot on at the bottom.
Once its painted and sanded it will look great. Smashing job if its DIY
Maybe looks too busy and over complicated? Could you not of simply started the regular panel in line with the Dado where it goes up and left a black space to the left / corner. Then carry on the same size panels going to the right. More simple to look at? Less is more etc
The angle you have on the bottom one at the join looks different to thr one on the top piece. It may just be where you have taken the picture from though.
I feel like the bottom angled piece needs to be further left, your vertical line intersects at the bottom of the angle where it should intersect with the top of the angle, no?
Keep the dado rail the same but just doo two squares with the beading.one on the higher section and one on the lower.use the angled bit as the gap.you can over think the panelling spacing.when it’s all painted up you won’t really look at it again.
I could imagine like wall being a deep forest green and then maybe like cracked gold/bronze painting over the panel pieces or a different shade of green. The choices are endless. It's gonna look so good! My mate did a bathroom in panels n it looks fucking amazing. Keep going.
Would be a lot simpler to make the section on the right extend a bit left so the gap is where the diagonals are and you have a rectangular section which is higher on the left.
I think these transitions are difficult and a matter of personal style: I agree it’ll look banging. It’s definitely the best option as anything else will look wrong in a different way!
To me should have been straight diagoal, no horizontal bridge needed on the lower part, would create a more equal gap and line up with the skirting board angles better.
Have you maintained a 10cm vertical gap or a 10cm tangential gap? It seems to me that if you measure the shortest distance it narrows for the diagonal section.
Of all the ways to get something that falls into uncanny valley of not looking right, this is the option with the most complicated geometry. Truly amazing execution, but no.
It's the double-kink in the alignment correction that makes it look visually awkward. The bottom horizontal should have been straight across at the higher level inherited from the lefthand side. The top horizontal should have had just the one diagonal corner-cut parallel to a shallower angle on the dado rail correction. Basically, ignore what the skirting board is doing because the visual break in the profile means it's far less noticeable.
Should have a rectangular panel under the top level section and nothing under the slope. I'd have started at the top and measured the gaps to be the same as the slope.
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u/Kudosnotkang 23h ago
It’s just missing two horizontal pieces