Use this two-row layout to decide where a horizontal split belongs on your wall. Three aligned columns sit within an 84-inch-high layout area, with a 5-inch clear gap between the rows. Check that split against furniture, switches, and any proposed chair rail. The single-row comparison shows a different complete composition, so read both the drawings and their material schedules.
Frame sizes are measured at the outside long points. Two-inch molding reduces each clear opening by four inches in both directions; the gaps remain outside the frames.
Example measurements
Layout area
120 × 84 in
Molding face
2 in
Top / bottom margins
6 in
Side margins / column gaps
4 in
Row gap
5 in
Layout result
Frames
6
Horizontal pieces
12
Required molding
68 ft 2 in
Four single-row frames or six double-row frames?
The single row uses 8 horizontal pieces. The two-row layout uses 12: 4 additional horizontal pieces. Frame heights and vertical lengths also change, so compare the complete molding list.
Frame sizes are measured at the outside long points. Two-inch molding reduces each clear opening by four inches in both directions; the gaps remain outside the frames.
Example measurements
Layout area
120 × 84 in
Molding face
2 in
Top / bottom margins
6 in
Side margins / column gaps
4 in
Row gap
None
Layout result
Frames
4
Horizontal pieces
8
Required molding
64 ft 8 in
Compare on the same wall
Only the named layout setting changes. Wall measurements stay the same.
Place the horizontal split where it serves the room
The bare band between the rows is measured from one outer molding edge to the next. It is not a center-to-center distance. If a chair rail will occupy that band, allow for its actual face and the exposed wall you want above and below it. Do not mistake the example’s clear gap for a ready-made rail detail.
Look at the lower boxes from the room’s usual viewing positions. If a sofa hides their upper corners as well as most of their interiors, that row may contribute little to the visible composition. Mark the split and the corners of one complete column with removable tape suitable for the finish. Check both rows together beside switches and furniture before adjusting small gap differences.
Read the single-row comparison correctly
The companion has four single-row frames; this plan has three columns across two rows. The displayed comparison counts the actual horizontal pieces in those complete layouts. Their vertical lengths also differ. A few additional lines in the preview are not enough to predict the total molding change.
For a controlled comparison, keep the wall size, column count, molding face, and outside margins fixed, then compare one row with two. Use the recalculated frame interiors to see what each row can contain. To compare horizontal density instead, retain two rows and try the neighboring column counts. This separates the effect of the split from the effect of narrower boxes.
Adapt margins and obstacles as a complete column
Enter the measured layout width and height, followed by the molding face and outer margins. Then choose the row gap around the feature that controls the split. The tool also allows unequal row heights; if the lower band should be shorter, compare that arrangement explicitly rather than shifting only one lower frame.
Treat each column as a pair when checking obstacles. A switch may clear the upper molding while an outlet intersects the lower box. Moving that lower box alone breaks the alignment shown here. Compare a different column count, group position, or margin before deciding that an exception is worth making.
Mark the outer top and bottom edges of both frames in one column, not only the row-gap center.
Check the first and last columns against the full casing boundaries at both elevations.
If the rows have different heights, confirm that each clear interior still serves its intended artwork or furniture relationship.
Keep row identity through the cutting process
Label the frames by row and column before reading their cut pieces. Carry those labels onto the top, bottom, and side members. Identical dimensions do not remove the need to identify the profile’s inward edge or the miter direction, and unequal row heights make loose piles of unlabeled side pieces especially confusing.
Set the actual stock lengths and cutting allowances after settling the composition. Check a sample corner, then compare one column’s outside marks at both heights with the wall. Look for a bowed surface or out-of-plumb casing that changes the local fit. The material schedule can account for specified cuts and allowances; it cannot establish those site conditions from a rectangular drawing.
Questions about this layout
How much more molding does two rows require?
Use the displayed comparison for these two complete examples. For your own wall, hold columns and margins fixed and compare the recalculated material totals after changing the row count; frame heights change too.
Is the 5-inch row gap a required standard?
No. It is an input chosen for this example. Locate your split around furniture, controls, and any rail that will occupy the gap, then inspect the remaining frame interiors.
Must upper and lower columns align?
They align in this composition. An offset arrangement is a separate design choice. Evaluate the whole elevation if you change it, rather than moving a single lower box to clear an obstacle.
Sources and assumptions
TrimLayout Calculation MethodsDefinitions of clear gaps, measurement references, finished pieces, and material allowances used in these examples.
NIST: SI Units — LengthUnit relationships for converting measured lengths; this source does not prescribe decorative proportions.