How To Cut Ceiling Plinths Correctly

How to make installation

You need to cut with the help of such tools: a miter box, a hacksaw, a sharp knife. Insert a piece of material into the miter box at a 45 degree angle and press down firmly. Now it remains at the right angle and cut the ceiling plinth from the right side.

Take your time to glue the cornices along the straight sections. Take care of the corners first. in this case, you can trim them if necessary, or sand them until you get a good joint.

Now let’s figure out in more detail how the installation of the ceiling plinth is done with photo examples.

How to properly glue the ceiling plinth

So let’s get started. First, measure the footage of the perimeter of the room and determine how many fillets you need. The length usually goes according to the standard 2 meters. But it is best to purchase with a margin, just in case. Also decide on the width that suits you. They can be glued to the wall in different ways.

The first way: on a special putty or acrylic (before gluing the wallpaper). And the second: immediately on the wallpaper and on the sealant.

Most people prefer to attach directly to the wallpaper. As an option, we advise you to glue on the silicone sealant, it is perfect for this job. The manufacturer does not play much here. Everything will hold up perfectly. But this method is even suitable for those who have curved walls, since gaps can form between the wall and fillets, they will need to be covered with the same sealant. It is white, so it will turn out more or less normal.

It is advisable to align the walls. The master advises to glue the ceiling plinths on the putty, that is, before pasting the wallpaper. In this way, the gaps are sealed with a putty. And accordingly, adjust the wallpaper to the fillets themselves. This option will suit the more experienced.

Basically, craftsmen prefer to glue the foam plinth on an acrylic white sealant; it can be easily applied, it holds well and dries quickly. Its main property is that it can fill up cracks, corners and it can be painted well. The cost of acrylic sealant is within 100 rubles. And it doesn‘t make much sense to buy dear.

In general, everyone decides for himself which way to use.

Masking joints and painting

If, after gluing the ceiling plinth, there are small gaps between the strips, this is absolutely not a problem, because they can be easily eliminated by rubbing in a white sealant. If you have not yet whitewashed and painted the ceiling, then the following would be the best option.

With a light putty, you need to go over all the glued strips, smearing them like a dye composition, and after drying, you should remove the excess with a fine sandpaper or a special grinding sponge for plastering. After such a final finish, the ceiling and moldings will become a single whole, and you, in turn, will not find a single gap.

After you have glued the ceiling plinth and removed all the flaws, you can start painting the plinth. The process of painting the plinth is considered optional, but if you want to give your ceiling a finished and more attractive look, then the plinth must still be painted.

How to glue a ceiling plinth, cut fillet corners correctly

Do you want to cut and glue the skirting board correctly, but don’t know how to do it? At first glance, this does not seem difficult, but if you look at it in more detail, then everything is not so simple. The photo below shows how to properly cut and glue the inner and outer corner of the ceiling plinths (fillets) made of foam or polyurethane. All instructions are written in stages in an understandable form with examples.

How to cut the inner and outer corner of the ceiling fillet with a photo

Thus, we cut the plinth, if you need to get an outer corner.

As a result, these are the edges of the fillet.

Then the inner corner. Pay your attention, but at what angle and on which side of the miter box you need to cut the ceiling plinth.

Here’s what happened in the end, after cutting and gluing on the wall.

Do-it-yourself apartment renovation website advises to start practicing on pieces, if everything works out, then go ahead, cut out the inner and outer corners.

If everything was done correctly, then it turned out to cut the first corner. You can glue two corner skirting boards to the wall. If you have chosen the method of gluing on the wallpaper, then coat the fillets with glue and attach them more tightly to the wall. Remaining glue can be removed with a soft cloth. Also cover the cracks between the wall with glue.

If you have chosen a way to fix the ceiling skirting boards before gluing the wallpaper, then you need to fix them with a putty. Apply the putty to the fillet with a spatula. And attach it more tightly to the wall. Remove residues with a spatula or a damp cloth. The cracks can also be covered with putty.

Tips to ease the installation of ceiling dumbbells:

  • To correctly measure, the bar is measured between two corners. In this case, for internal corners, the length is measured from the internal elements, and the distance from the external corners is measured from a point that is spaced from the internal by a distance equal to the width of the plinth deep into the room.
  • When installing foam plinths at the junction between the wall and the stretch ceiling, glue is applied to the part of the plinth in contact with the wall, not with the canvas.
  • The final fixation of the plinth is carried out after adjusting the angle of the adjacent plank to it.
  • If there is a right angle near the wall, ceiling and floor, it is easier to fit the planks at the bottom by spreading the parts on the floor or on a prepared table.
  • Small gaps remaining in the corners are putty.
  • Particular attention should be paid to the installation of rare wood skirting boards. In this case, the putty of the gaps will most likely not give the expected result. A bright spot appears on the texture background.

Well, are the inner and outer corners ready? So you are doing the fillet installation correctly. Now take the next plank and in the same way attach it to the wall to the glued plinth and do not forget to grease the corner joint. When you proceed to the next corner, then carefully measure the distance that remains, and cut off the missing part, everything should be very accurate. The side that goes joint to joint with the skirting board will remain unchanged. So cut out every corner. When everything is glued, then they can be painted to match the color of the ceiling. Good luck gentlemen and remember that you need to cut after determining the exact size.

Way, guess

A simple "collective farm" option is to cut "by eye" at 45 °. For this, the abutting part is taken, which is adjusted to the previous angle in fact.

How To Cut Ceiling Plinths Correctly

You can try on the structure by weight, it is quite a long and painstaking business. Need maximum precision!

Continuously try the mate in place as you fit. Only after several fittings can you achieve a good result, and then glue the baseboard to the base. In short, you can’t do without experience 🙂

A way to fit a skirting board without using a miter box

Cutting skirting boards for ceilings without miter box

You also need to figure out how to glue the ceiling plinth without a miter box. this tool is far from always available. One of these methods involves marking the skirting boards on the ceiling. Perhaps the only drawback of this method is the fact that it is not very convenient to keep the bar motionless while applying the markings. Otherwise, the method is quite reliable. the measurement accuracy is higher, since when the plinth is applied to the place, all errors become noticeable.

Another method is associated with corner trimming of the baseboard. The edges of the two joining workpieces are cut at right angles. One of the planks is applied directly to the corner, after which a fishing line is applied to the ceiling along the contour of the plinth. The same operation is repeated with the opposite skirting board.

The point at which two separate mowing lines intersect is the point where the skirting board will need to be cut. The workpieces are in turn applied again to their places, on which the cut mowing line is marked. A straight line is drawn from the mark to the opposite edge of the part. The skirting boards are cut in accordance with the markings applied to them and are joined in place. This method is an excellent answer to the question of how to connect the corners of the ceiling plinth without a miter box, especially when it comes to internal corners.

Wood

Wooden ceiling skirting boards differ from analogues. Wood has a fairly large weight, which affects the mass of products from it. As a result, the skirting boards are quite dense, very resistant to mechanical damage and hard, which allows you not to be afraid of accidental deformation during installation or cutting.

Features of cutting different materials

The following materials are used for the manufacture of ceiling plinths:

  • Styrofoam;
  • Wood;
  • Expanded polystyrene;
  • Polyurethane.

Each option has a number of characteristics, so they need to be considered separately.

Styrofoam

Foam fillets are one of the cheapest options. However, the advantage in the form of low cost is offset by a large number of disadvantages. In particular, the foam itself is a rather brittle and soft material that is very easy to break. Even if you just squeeze such a product in your hand, it can deform.

Pruning with a miter box

To give the plinth the required angle, a special tool is used. a miter box. Structurally, this tool is a tray made of wood, metal or plastic. In certain areas of the miter box there are vertical slots that allow you to cut various parts at an angle of 45 or 90 degrees.

Polyurethane

Polyurethane skirting boards are the most expensive products. The high cost is due to a large number of advantages, including excellent resistance to moisture, high mechanical strength, reliability and elasticity. For most situations, this option will be optimal.

However, there are exceptions. polyurethane does not withstand temperature extremes. If you place such skirting boards in the kitchen near the stove, then over time, the polyurethane will deform and crack. The cutting of such fillets is performed with a special knife, and no complications arise during the work.

Method 2. trimming the edge of the skirting board without the help of a miter box

If you don’t want to waste time making a miter box, then you can make markings directly on the ceiling! To do this, the edge of the plinth is cut off at a right angle, then the plank is applied to the corner as it is planned to be installed, and the border of the plinth is marked.

Do the same with the second bar.

After spreading the lines, they mark the point of intersection of the two lines directly on the planks. this will be the line for cutting the edges of adjacent skirting boards.

How to properly cut the corners of ceiling plinths: both with and without a miter box

When planning the installation of ceiling plinths in the premises of their apartment, many people think about how difficult the work can be. However, everything is not so scary: the ceiling plinth can be installed with your own hands. the main thing is to know about some of the features of the materials from which this finishing element is made.

  • Different materials and their features
  • Miter box. tool for cutting skirting corners
  • Making a miter box with your own hands
  • Method 1. trimming the edge of the skirting board with a miter box
  • Method 2. trimming the edge of the skirting board without the help of a miter box
  • Method 3. trimming the edge of the skirting board using a "template"
  • Advice for decorating the corners of the skirting board

Miter box. tool for cutting skirting corners

There are two ways to cut corners. with a tool (miter box) and without it. We’ll cover both methods.

A miter box is a carpenter’s tool, which is a small rectangular tray (you can make it yourself from wood or purchase a ready-made one from plastic or metal), in the walls of which there are grooves. Slots guide the hacksaw blade at a specific angle to the axis of the tray.

Cutting "outside" corners

The difference between cutting the "outer" corner from the "inner" one is that the skirting boards should protrude slightly from the edge of the wall. for the so-called overlap.

Repeat steps 1, 2, 3 in the same way as for cutting the "inner" corners. However, it should be remembered that the upper part of the skirting board (one of the edges) should have a small allowance. The second (adjacent) overlay is cut in the same way, only mirrored to the first.

Cutting off the edges of a wooden skirting board is easier (and best) with a metal hacksaw. with fine, fine teeth. Then the cuts will be more accurate and even. And the foam is well cut with an ordinary sharp knife (or construction). but the blade must be well sharpened, otherwise the material will crumble when cutting.

If the cutting was done accurately and neatly, then the two adjacent planks will ideally coincide with each other at the edges. If there are irregularities or roughness at the edges, they can be cut off with a sharp knife for a tighter fit.

Different materials and their features

  • Wood. The most durable material in comparison with the other two, given below, the advantages of which are in hardness, impact resistance and the ability to withstand certain mechanical loads. Nevertheless, wooden skirting boards (another name. fillets), glued to the ceiling, are also relatively easy to process. they can be cut (a hacksaw is used for this), varnished. Wood will add warmth to the interior. Of the minuses, you can name a higher cost than foam. However, wooden fillets also retain their appearance longer than foam fillets.

Styrofoam. Perhaps this material is the most fragile. it is unstable to mechanical damage, scratches and even minor impacts. Of the advantages. light weight, the ability to paint in various colors and ease of processing (it can be cut with a clerical knife. however, very carefully).

Expanded polystyrene. This material can be considered a type of foam, however, its strength characteristics are slightly higher (extruded polystyrene foam is denser than foam). With regard to processing. expanded polystyrene is just as easy to cut with an ordinary sharp knife, and also has a low weight, and this is an important factor when considering the load on the walls.

Both polystyrene and expanded polystyrene have one significant advantage: the softness of the material allows you to press the plinth as tightly as possible to the corners and to each other, as a result of which there are no gaps. In addition, modern polystyrene skirting boards are made in such a way that there is a small depression in them. especially for hidden wiring.

Useful. Polyurethane stucco molding is able to transform the appearance of a standard apartment into an elegant stylish interior.

Cutting "inner" corners

Important! To cut the "inner" corner, the fillet should be placed on the bottom of the miter box with the upper part. the one that will stick to the ceiling. In this case, the lower part of the plank should be firmly pressed against the wall of the tray.

Step 1: correct measurement of the length of the plinth according to its markings on the wall, applying a "notch" with a pencil on the material for the future cut.

Step 2: installing the material in the miter box. The correct placement of the plinth in the tray will determine the correct cutting of fillet edges, and, accordingly, the accuracy of their placement on the ceiling.

Step 3: after the plinth is installed and firmly fixed in the miter box (you can just press the material firmly with one hand), a hacksaw is put into the groove at 45 °. The material can now be cut. The edges of the second plinth, which will be installed adjacent to the first, are cut in the same way, only as if in a mirror image (the plinth is installed in the opposite direction, the edges are cut in the same way at an angle of 45 °).

Outside corner

It is most correct to observe the dimensions more accurately, first start to mark the inner corner, and only after that move on to the outer.

Otherwise, it may happen that the entire length of the bar is insufficient.

The plank is applied to the ceiling, basting is made to size. Holding on with the left hand, the ceiling plinth is pressed against the nearest wall, the hacksaw handle is brought closer to the hand. The workpiece is cut.

The strike plate is pressed against the nearest wall, while holding it with the right hand. The blade of the hacksaw should be at an angle of 45 °, the handle of the tool comes close to the hand of the master. A piece of the workpiece is cut off, the corner will neatly fit.

Such processing with the edge of parts with wort is good in cases where the angle between the walls is even and straight (90 °).

If its indicators leave much to be desired, then you should use a different method.

How to make a miter box template with your own hands

If you don’t have a miter box, you don’t have to buy a one-time tool. You can create a template with similar functions yourself.

To do this, the required cut angles are applied to wood, paper or cardboard.

Then you need to draw a pair of parallel lines, find the center, and then use the protractor to measure the angles of any given value.

This method is especially convenient in that, using it, you can postpone an angle of any value, even more than a straight line.

The technique of processing a baseboard blank using a homemade tool is practically no different from working with the original. The bar is pressed against one of the parallels, after which the hacksaw is set at the required angle and cut off.

How to cut a skirting board without a miter box? Factory ready corners

Note that every craftsman has the opportunity not to pore over precise cutting and fitting corners.

It is enough to measure the required length of the workpiece and cut it at right angles.

All defects and flaws will be hidden by this special element. But it is not always possible to use such a convenient method, since the standard dimensions of such factory corners can differ markedly from the size of the plinth itself.

Such angles will stand out for their disproportion, and it will not look very neat. But if the design of the room and the size of the blanks allow you to use this method, then you should not neglect it.

For those who have to use one of the methods of trimming the ceiling plinth, the following tips will come in handy.

Skirting materials and cutting methods

First of all, let’s try to determine what fillet can be made of, and what specific material is better to cut.

On sale today you can find products made of polystyrene (polyvinyl chloride), wood, expanded polystyrene and polyurethane.

Styrofoam

Perhaps one of the cheapest skirting boards is made of foam, which is a fragile, soft and brittle material.

Even the fingers of the hands can leave dents on them, wrinkles and defects are easily formed on them. It is quite difficult to trim the corner of the PVC-based skirting board nicely and evenly.

For an inexperienced craftsman, a large amount of purchased material may go to waste for this very reason. Also, this polymer has high electrostatic properties, which explains its ability to collect dust.

It is most convenient to cut such a plinth with a hacksaw or a sharp construction knife.

Expanded polystyrene

Products made of expanded polystyrene are also inexpensive, although this material is a more durable analogue of traditional foam.

Can also be cut with a sharp tool.

Extruded expanded polystyrene

Extruded polystyrene skirting boards are slightly more expensive, they are somewhat denser and more difficult to cut. But they crumble and break much less.

Therefore, cutting them is more convenient and easier. For this purpose, it is convenient to use a hacksaw or a sharp knife.

Polyurethane

Polyurethane skirting boards for the ceiling are currently perhaps one of the most expensive.

But they justify their cost: moisture resistant, quite strong and dense, quite elastic.

The skirting board above the stove may deform and even crackle slightly.

They are perfectly cut with a special knife without forming a crumb. But these products are very sensitive to temperature changes.

Wood

Wooden skirting boards for the ceiling are quite heavy and dense products, solid and durable.

They lend themselves well to processing with a special fine-toothed hacksaw. You can also use a reliable metal blade. So how to cut the ceiling plinth correctly?

Ceiling markings

In all other respects, using this method, you will be able to mark the angle for cutting even more accurately than others.

When the skirting board is applied to the intended installation location, all dimensional deviations and inaccuracies are noticeable and immediately taken into account.