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Made to order in Epsom, Surrey · Delivered in 5–7 working days · Free click & collect
Made to order in Epsom, Surrey · Delivered in 5–7 working days · Free click & collect

Hardwood Dado Rails

Solid hardwood dado rails in twenty profiles, matched to the skirting and architrave range. Primed or unprimed, in 3m lengths.

Machined in American tulipwood, ready to paint.

Made to order Moisture-resistant MDF Made in Britain
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Showing 20 profiles
The Kilvington Contemporary Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Kilvington Contemporary Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Kilburn Edwardian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Kilburn Edwardian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Islington Victorian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Islington Victorian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Helmsley Georgian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Helmsley Georgian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Grosmont Edwardian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Grosmont Edwardian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Giggleswick Contemporary Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Giggleswick Contemporary Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Folifoot Contemporary Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Folifoot Contemporary Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Easby Edwardian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Easby Edwardian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £61.50£51.25 /length
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The Derwent Edwardian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Derwent Edwardian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £61.50£51.25 /length
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The Dentdale Contemporary Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Dentdale Contemporary Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £61.50£51.25 /length
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The Denby Edwardian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Denby Edwardian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Craven Edwardian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Craven Edwardian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Cooper Contemporary Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Cooper Contemporary Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Broughton Victorian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Broughton Victorian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £74.30£61.92 /length
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The Benham Edwardian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Benham Edwardian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Beckwithshaw Georgian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Beckwithshaw Georgian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Ayton Georgian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Ayton Georgian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Aysgarth Georgian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Aysgarth Georgian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Ampleforth Victorian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Ampleforth Victorian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £52.80£44.00 /length
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The Aldwark Victorian Tulip Dado Rail-MR Mouldings Ltd
Made to order
Aldwark Victorian Tulipwood Dado Rail
from £40.50£33.75 /length
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Matches our skirtingCoordinated profile families
Moisture-resistant MDFWon't warp, twist or crack
Made in BritainMachined in our Epsom workshop since 2003
UK delivery in 5–7 working daysOr free collection from Epsom

Hardwood Dado Rails Overview

What a dado rail is for

Dado rails started as chair rails — a timber line at the height a chair back hits the plaster. They still do that job in a dining room or hallway, and they give a tall room a horizontal break that stops the walls reading as one flat expanse. Below the rail, panelling or a darker paint finishes the scheme.

Hardwood or MDF dado rail?

A wooden dado rail takes the knocks a rail at chair height is there to take, and can be sanded back and repainted instead of replaced. MDF is the cheaper route to the same painted look and is perfectly sound above furniture height — the wider dado rail range covers both.

Where to set the height

Traditionally around a third of the wall height, which in most houses lands somewhere near 90cm from the floor. Run a length along the wall and look at it before fixing: the right height depends on the furniture and the skirting below it more than on any rule. Up a staircase, keep the rail parallel to the string rather than level.

Matching mouldings

Each profile has a matching hardwood skirting board and architrave. For panelling below the rail, see the hardwood panel moulding.

Overview

The common questions, answered — so you order the right profile first time.

Painting the rail the same colour as the wall makes a room feel taller and the rail read as texture rather than a divider. Picking it out in the skirting colour emphasises the split and suits a period scheme with a darker lower wall. Neither is wrong; the deciding factor is usually ceiling height.

Matching skirting boards and panel moulding are available in every profile.

External corners are mitred at 45 degrees; internal corners are best scribed, cutting the second length to the profile of the first so an out-of-square wall cannot open the joint. Join lengths along a straight run with a 45 degree scarf rather than a butt joint — it stays invisible when the timber moves.

Run the rail parallel to the string, measuring the same vertical height above the nosing of each tread so the line stays true to the stairs rather than to the floor below. The mitres where the raking rail meets the level runs are compound cuts: take the angle off the actual pitch with a sliding bevel and cut a test piece before committing a full length.

Traditionally about a third of the wall height, which lands near 90cm from the floor in most houses. Hold a length against the wall with the furniture in place before fixing anything — the right height answers to the room and the skirting below it more than to any rule.

A dado rail is a horizontal moulding fixed part-way up a wall, originally to stop chair backs marking the plaster — which is why it is also called a chair rail. It still does that job in a dining room or hallway, and it gives a tall room a break that stops the walls reading as one flat expanse.