# Forum Home Renovation General Odds & Sods  Dado/chair rail

## Daphne

Could someone please tell me how to cut dado/chair rail for the angle from a straight wall to going up a staircase?. We just can't seem to work it out.  
TIA

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## re do 4 u

what problems are you having?? don't the shapes of the mouldings match up? can't you get the angles right??

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## Sigidi

HI Daphne, 
you've probably fixed it by now - or torn your hair out and decided no more chair rail!!! :Tongue:   
If I understand correctly you are running a chair rail on the wall leading into the stairway and up the sairs? Is that right? 
If so... 
take a stringline from the top of your chair rail directly above the start of the stairs and run the line to the same height at the top of the stairs (or Landing) and use a sliding bevel gauge to mirror the angle made between plumb and the stringline. 
Now use this angle on a mitre-saw to cut the chair rail and the two should butt up to each other beautifully... 
hope it helps and it doesn't com after youv'e given up...

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## soundman

You may not have realised that you have to cut this as a compound mitre. 
If you areusing a drops saw it needs to tilt & angle.

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## Sigidi

Soundman, 
it appears that our original poster may have given up???? 
Just a little request, I'm a little perplexed with the need for a compound cut? 
If the horizontal rail is cut plumb with a crosscut, then would the rail to go up the stairs really need a compound cut rather than an angled cut. 
OR, (to put it another way) 
as both pieces are to be in the same plane and just at an angle to each other does the cut need to account for two angles?? 
Thanks in anticipation of your help.

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## Sigidi

Soundman, 
just had a thought, you are probably looking at doing the join between the two PROPERLY. That is not butting them together, but mitre-ing the join. 
Is that the case? if so can totally understand now! :Smilie:

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## soundman

I realised the day after my previous post  that it was a load of crap. 
I was not visualising the problem correctly. 
If you are going round a corner then up the stairs both changes of direction  need to be treated seperately. 
the corner join is a plain inside scribe or outside miter joint.
the knee to go up the stairs is treated by halving the angle.  
I hope thats better

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