Oh, and the white stuff in the gap between the chair rail pieces is caulking. I believe it will dry and crack in the future, which will be a pain.

I am not a woodworking expert. But this is what I would've said to my "team," who are supposedly experts, and who expect to be paid:

People, that looks like sh*t. You need to re-do.

that if I move the chair rail up several centimeters

Why would you move it up?

PPF: I need to move it up because otherwise, the chair rail is actually resting about two centimeters overtop the beadboard. As I said above, there's no notch in this chair rail in the back, so it is basically resting on top of the beadboard on an angle. This makes the top of the beadboard look fine, but the bottom sticks out quite a bit, making it look awful on the corners (see photo above). So I'm going to get different char rail for the contractor to install, and then it will be above where the light switches are.

Mrs. S.: I plan to tell the contractor to redo it, but I have no idea how he is going to deal with the light switch/chair rail issue. I want to think of some ideas because I know this is going to come up.

You could add to the back of the top edge of the chair rail to bring it out to the depth of the bead board.

A simple fix would be to remove that corner piece, put it on one of those special saws, and router it out so it fits. I know my terminology is incorrect, but that piece (or another piece like it) can be manipulated by a finish carpenter, such that it fits that space. I know "router" isn't the right word. It's a type of "coping" that can make the edges line up.

It's totally do-able. I'm sure your team can watch a youtube video.

Search: YouTube mitering or coping an outside joint. Maybe include the word baseboard molding.

That corner miter is horrible!! Contractor blew that big time. Do not cut the new rail to fit around (through?) the light switches. It's fairly simple to raise the light switches, but that also would involve patching the holes for the current switches, matching the wall texture and paint. Or have the contractor (maybe a new one who knows what he/she is doing) router a notch to fit with the bead board. PS - you should NOT have to be the one to come up with resolutions to a contractor's terrible work. He or she should know that the work is substandard and how to do it properly.

The easiest thing to do is rip that complete and total crap job out of there and get the proper molding.

No one would be able to make that trim 'work' installed like that.

But whoever did the work didn't have a clue anyway. Horrible caulking job--caulking is easy. Absolutely zero excuse for not sanding away the excess spackle where the nail holes were filled.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the bozos who installed this didn't even know that you had purchased the wrong molding.

My miter skills are better then that and my only teacher is Youtube. Really I cannot believe that a professional did this work. I would have it redone by someone different.

There is no reason to raise the chair rail. If the notch in the replacement isn't high enough, it's easy enough to rout out the back of the trim so it fits down at the right height.

Or, as D M suggested, just add a filler to the top that's the same thickness as the beadboard. I did that with a window frame that had to go down a wall and then on top of a tile tub surround. Worked great and completely invisible.

Thank you so much, everyone, for the suggestions and advice. I'm going to ask someone else to fix it.

Cut down bead board to leave chair rail at desired height or rabbit the back of chair rail more to allow it to sit lower.

First a chair rail does not belong in a bathroom so get over that idea. Think of what it is and unless you have chairs in the bathroom it does not belong.After that trim the bedboard to the right height and install that piece if you must.

I kept wondering why you called it a chair rail when it is just a topping for the bead board. I am sure, if you go to a big box store and tell them what you want, they will have suggestions.. Be sure you tell them it is for the bathroom and there will be no chairs there.

I doubt that the pictured chair rail has enough meat to be able to rabbet the back side. 99% sure that it can't be rabbeted and re-installed because the pieces will likely be too short, the existing miters likely to be 'off' and then there is the caulk contaminating the end grain/ cut.

'Panel molding' is one of the terms used for the type of trim that you need. Just be sure that whatever you buy has a rabbet that is deep enough to sit atop the beadboard and isn't too wide--to avoid having to deal with the light switches.

1. ask to see his contractors license.

2. stop pay on anything pending.

3. read your contract

4. rip that crap out and start over, with the correct material and a new contractor.

5. ask questions, always, or have them pick up the material. because that is plain horse sh*t

6. Ci_lantro knows his stuff.. wow.

I want trim for the top of the beadboard. Yes, I am aware that there are no chairs in the bathroom. I just called it chair rail because I thought all trim about that height was called chair rail. Lordy, I wasn't aware there are supposed to be certain kinds of trim in certain rooms. I'll just add that to the list of questions I should've asked the contractor about, too!

@Mrs. S, coping is for inside corners, not outside. :)

If the light switches are in the way after you put the new trim on, just cut the switch plate covers off at the bottom flush with the top of the molding. Better than making notches in the molding.

Please, do not cut the switch covers.

It looks to me like the molding you have was flat on the back, so they improvised and installed it at an angle, not vertically, right? The bottom sticks out further from the wall than the top does. They cut the miter right if they were going to install it flat, as it should be installed, but installed it at an angle coming away from the wall simply because when they nailed the top, snugging it up against the wall, the wainscotting pivoted it so the bottom of the molding was then floating in the air! So can you get a fingertip behind the bottom of the molding, between it and the beadboard wainscotting? Is the bottom of the molding even nailed? What Bozos!

I agree that you should first find the professional to hire, show them what needs to be done, and have them either purchase the molding or tell you precisely the type and size of molding to buy.

Why do you say not to cut the switch plates? It doesn't look like it would be very much. I would prefer that to cutting the molding, as I stated above. When you make a statement like that it would be helpful to see your reasoning. Maybe then I would understand.

I based my opinion on the cheap, corner-cutting, lack of planning look that having irregular switchplates would give. There are other solutions that make cutting them unnecessary. I did not give my reasoning because I had no desire to insult your idea, believing that simply disagreeing would be less rude.

That's okay, I'm not offended. We are each entitled to our own opinions. What other things do you think she could do? Lower the rail? That's what I would consider. I think it would look worse to notch the rail, IMO.

Ci_lantro and DM gave good solutions already. The new trim piece can lie directly over the beadboard. []If there is a gap behind it, they can simply put a board the same depth as the beadboard behind it and then use filler to make the top surface smooth before painting. Or they can do as Ci_lantro said, "Just be sure that whatever you buy has a rabbet that is deep enough to sit atop the beadboard and isn't too wide--to avoid having to deal with the light switches."