How to install chair rail (wainscoting) onto rendered brick walls?

EwMcChicken

We live in WA and therefore have a standard brick wall home. Im comfortable installing things into the brick walls with masonry drill bits and wall plugs etc. However im considering installing chair rail in my kids rooms and im wondering if there is a better way to do it?

Is there a specific nail gun that will work into brick? Or is that going to be a huge tool ill need to hire? Will it be easier to just drill holes and screw each piece to the wall as i would usually mount anything else.

I hope my question makes sense.

Thank you for any info!

Erin

JacobZ

Hi Erin (@EwMcChicken),

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community and thank you for your question.

The strongest hold you can get is from using wall plugs with screws, however, this would take a lot of predrilling and filling to conceal the screws. Ultimately, it is the best way to do it, but 

If the render is fairly smooth so the wainscoting sits flush to the wall the whole way along its length, you can use a combination of Liquid Nails and brad nails to attach the wainscoting to the wall. The liquid nails will do the vast majority of the work with the nails mainly there to hold the timber against the wall while the liquid nails sets.

You can use this For Hire: Trim Master Gas Bradder for the job. Give your local store a call to confirm they have availability as they are often in high demand.

You'll need to use a short brad nail that only penetrates the wall a small amount. These Paslode 32 x 1.6mm 20° Pneumatic C Brads are a good option.

Once the Liquid Nails has dried, you can fill your nail holes with Spakfilla and seal the bottom edges of the wainscoting with No More Gaps. Once filled and sanded, you can paint the wainscoting to finish the job.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob