How To Properly Cut Wooden Skirting Boards
How to properly cut wooden plinths Ceilings Ceiling plinth performs not only a decorative function, visually separating walls from the ceiling, but can also hide the joints of various finishing materials of the ceiling and walls.
How to trim a ceiling plinth using a miter box template
Something resembling a miter box can be done by applying the required cut angles to paper, cardboard or wood. Draw two parallel mowing lines, locate the center, and then set the required angles using a protractor. The advantage of this method is that you can postpone any angle, including more than 90 degrees. Of course, before cutting the corners of the ceiling plinth, you must first check the angle between the walls with a corner and measure it with a protractor.
The technique for cutting a ceiling plinth using a painted miter box is exactly the same as using the miter box itself. We press the plinth plank to one of the parallel lines, then set the hacksaw at the desired angle, which is already outlined, and cut it off.
Ceilings
The ceiling plinth performs not only a decorative function, visually separating the walls from the ceiling, but can also hide the joints of various finishing materials of the ceiling and walls. Not every interior design involves the use of a skirting board, but more often than not, the overall appearance of the room seems incomplete without it. There is nothing difficult in attaching this fillet element, almost all types of skirting boards are attached with glue. But the question of how to properly cut the ceiling plinth in the corners of the premises can confuse many. Indeed, even in the simplest room there are internal corners, where the plinths of the ceiling plinth must be precisely and beautifully docked. And in a more complex configuration of the room, you will also have to dock the skirting boards, performing the outer corner. In this article, we will look at various options for how to cut a ceiling plinth with and without tools at hand.
First, you need to figure out how to cut the ceiling plinth, the answer to it depends on the material from which the fillet is made. At the moment, we sell ceiling skirting boards made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), expanded polystyrene (foam), polyurethane and wood.
PVC ceiling skirting boards are the cheapest. They are easily dents and creases that cannot be repaired, so the product must be thrown away. Also their disadvantage is electrostaticity, the ability to attract dust. You can cut them with a sharp construction knife or a hacksaw.
Styrofoam ceiling skirting boards are also cheap. This material is very fragile, it crumbles easily during processing, therefore, it is necessary to cut the expanded polystyrene with a sharp knife or a hacksaw on metal, without making too strong pressing forces.
Ceiling skirting boards made of extruded polystyrene foam are slightly more expensive than polystyrene foam, they are denser and more difficult to cut. However, they crumble less, making them easier and more comfortable to work with. They are cut with a construction knife and a hacksaw for metal.
Polyurethane ceiling skirting boards are the most expensive at the moment. They are durable, elastic and moisture resistant, easily cut with a construction knife and do not crumble. The disadvantage of polyurethane skirting boards is their dependence on temperature changes. For example, over a gas stove, a polyurethane skirting board will permanently deform and begin to crackle slightly. If you try to process or cut such a plinth, it may bend or deform in other ways.
Wooden ceiling skirting boards are dense, heavy pieces that can only be cut with a hacksaw, preferably with fine, dense teeth. You can also use a cloth for metal.
Before proceeding to the enumeration of the ways of how to properly cut the ceiling plinth, I would like to note that there is a possibility not to cut the plinth with great precision. Available for sale special corner pieces, into which the edges of the skirting board are inserted. In this case, it is enough to cut the plinth strip at an angle of 90, and the corner element will hide all the flaws. But this method is not always used, since the dimensions of the corner elements are slightly larger than the skirting boards themselves, therefore the corners in the room will stand out against the general background. Sometimes it can look bulky. However, if the design of the room allows the use of corner pieces for ceiling skirting boards, it makes sense to use them. Further instructions will come in handy for those who nevertheless decided to accurately cut the skirting boards at a given angle.
How to trim the corner of a ceiling plinth using ceiling markings
Marking the skirting board on the ceiling also allows you to cut the corner straight and precisely. The only drawback of this method is that it is difficult and inconvenient to keep the plinth strip suspended during the cutting process. Otherwise, you can mark the angle for cutting in this way even more accurately than in other ways. Applying the plinth to the installation site, all wall flaws and deviations in the angle size are immediately taken into account.
Cutting the corner of the skirting board:
- The first step is to cut two workpieces at a 90 degree angle.
- Then we first apply one plank, resting its end against the perpendicular wall. We draw a line on the ceiling, outlining the contour of the plinth.
- We remove this bar and apply a striker, also pushing its end against the wall. We outline the line.
- The intersection point of the marked lines will be the mark at which the skirting board needs to be cut.
- Again, we apply each bar in turn and mark the cutting point on them.
- We draw the line from this point to the other edge of the plinth.
We cut off the skirting boards along the outlined lines, join them and apply them to the installation site. Please note that this method is easier to cut inside corners.
How to cut a corner of a ceiling plinth using a miter box
The miter box is a simple carpentry tool that allows you to cut the workpiece at the desired angle. Most often it is a tray made of plastic, wood or metal with vertical slots for cutting at an angle of 90 and 45. There are also more complex designs of a miter box for cutting at angles of 90, 60 and 45 degrees. For more professional work, a miter box with a rotary mechanism is used, where the hacksaw can be fixed at any angle to the workpiece.
How to cut a ceiling plinth with a miter box:
- We apply the plinth to the ceiling, measure the required length.
- Then we install the plinth plinth in the miter box so that the position coincides with the position of the plinth on the ceiling.
- The plinth strip should be pressed against the far wall of the miter box.
- We hold the plinth with your left hand.
- We choose such a position of the hacksaw when the angle is 45 degrees and at the same time the handle of the hacksaw is as close as possible to the left hand.
- We cut the workpiece without making excessive pressure on the saw.
- The next step is to trim the plinth striker. We also install it to the far wall of the miter box.
- Press and hold with your right hand.
- We choose a position for the hacksaw when the angle is 45 degrees and the handle of the hacksaw approaches the right hand.
- Cut off the skirting board.
Next, we join the trimmed plinths and check the cutting accuracy. For a more accurate orientation, they also say that to complete the inner corner, you must start cutting from the front of the skirting board. Wooden skirting boards will most likely need to be filed after trimming.
How to cut a ceiling plinth with a miter box outside corner:
- In order not to be mistaken with the dimensions, it is better to start by marking the inner corner, and then cut out the outer corner. Otherwise, a situation is possible when the planks may not be enough in length.
- It is necessary to attach the plank to the ceiling and outline the dimensions.
- Install the plinth strip and press it against the nearest wall.
- Hold it with your left hand and choose a position for the hacksaw at an angle of 45 degrees, when the handle approaches the left hand.
- We cut off the workpiece.
- Install the striker to the nearest wall, hold it with your right hand.
- We set the hacksaw at a 45 degree angle when the handle approaches the right hand.
- Cut off the workpiece and join the corner.
Trimming the workpiece with a miter box is only suitable if the angle between the walls is even 90 degrees. If the accuracy is poor, you will have to use other methods.
DIY impromptu miter box
Making a miter box with your own hands is also not difficult.
Method 1. You will need three wooden planks or boards, which must be put together in a U-shaped box. Then the required angles are marked on the walls of the box, and a cut is made with a hacksaw. As a result, you should get a wooden miter box in which grooves are cut.
Method 2. A combination of an impromptu miter box and a template with marked lines. For the convenience of cutting, it is necessary to build something in which it will be convenient to hold the plinth strip, since it is difficult to keep it suspended. It is enough to put together a corner from two wooden planks or boards. On paper, you need to draw a mowing line with angles for cutting at 45 degrees or at any other. Then we apply the baseboard blank to the corner, press it with our hand, as described in the technology for using the miter box, move the piece of paper with the template under the edge where we are going to cut it, and cut it off. In the process of cutting, we focus on the line drawn on the paper.
Method 3. As an impromptu miter box, you can use anything, anything. That we form an angle. For example, a table pushed against a wall.
It is not necessary to fix the plinths of the ceiling plinths before you cut the striker and try on their location. Only after the two strikers are perfectly aligned in the corner, you can start attaching them to the ceiling. Minor flaws can be finished with a file or a nail file in the case of wooden and polyurethane skirting boards. To fit the foam products, you will have to wield a sharp knife.
If suddenly, even after adjusting the skirting boards, a small gap remains between them, do not despair, it can be repaired with putty. Cutting the ceiling plinth yourself is not difficult. But in order not to spoil many products, it is better to pre-practice on small blanks.
Arbitrary joint preparation
Cutting with a stencil Since the walls in the rooms do not always adjoin one another at 90 degrees, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the technique of preparing an arbitrary cut angle.
This technique is implemented, as a rule, in the following two ways:
- Using a cardboard stencil, the halves of which are obtained by cutting it at the angle you need. Using such a stencil as a template, according to which the cuts of the skirting boards are formed, you can get the perfect corner joint.
- The second method involves preparing the cutting site using pencil markings and is as follows:
- Pencil markup method both joining blanks are sawn off at an angle of 90 degrees;
- One of them is applied to the corner, and then a line is outlined on it for the abutment of the plinth to the ceiling;
- The same actions are carried out with the second workpiece (on the adjacent wall);
- The point of intersection of the two lines obtained should be carefully transferred to both blanks;
- From the marks obtained on the blanks after transferring them from the ceiling, draw an oblique line to the opposite corner of the plinth and get a cutting line.
Preparing the cut line Pay particular attention to the fact that with this method of marking it is necessary to maintain maximum accuracy. The quality of the resulting joint will entirely depend on how accurately you carry out this procedure (and, of course, on the accuracy with which you will shape the cut on the blanks).
In the same sequence, the cutting lines for the outer corner are prepared. But at the same time, there is no need to transfer the intersection of the marking lines to the skirting boards, since in this situation it is the upper mating point of the corner parts of the blanks. In this case, the point of contact with the wall has to be transferred.
Methods for cutting skirting boards
Cutting technology
There are the following ways to cut the ceiling plinth:
- Cutting with a miter box.
- Cutting with a special stencil.
- Cutting by applying pencil markings.
A miter box is a special device with which you can form an arbitrary angle from those that are in its set of cuts.
Using a miter box
When working with this device, the skirting board must be inserted in exactly the same way as it will be located on the ceiling. While holding the upper part of the workpiece, its lower edge must be pressed against the wall of the fixture and cut in the shape of your choice.
You can use a conventional metal hacksaw to prepare your plastic skirting boards. But when using it, you should not make significant efforts, as this can lead to the formation of chips.
How to cut a ceiling plinth correctly
- 1 Methods for cutting skirting boards
- 2 Preparation of seams with an arbitrary angle
- 3 The final stage of work
- 4
It is known that in order to obtain a perfect articulation of two corner pieces of the ceiling plinth, it is necessary to correctly arrange the cutting line of each of them. In this article, you can learn how to properly cut a ceiling plinth, as well as familiarize yourself with the devices that are necessary for this.
The final stage of work
Final adjustment of the skirting board
Upon completion of the operations to form the joints, a control check of the fit of the blanks on the cut should be carried out.
In the event that there are gaps in the joint, you will have to make an exact fit by slightly cutting the baseboard or processing the sections with sandpaper.
And finally, we will acquaint you with how to properly cut the ceiling plinth more accurately. Adjustment of the mowing line for joining adjacent sections of the skirting board should be done even before you start marking and cutting its length. When the order of operations is reversed (first the length, and then the angle) and with a failed attempt to design the joint, you risk completely ruining the workpiece.
For more information on the technique of cutting the ceiling plinth for corners, see the following video:
Different materials and their features
- Wood. The most durable material in comparison with the other two, listed below, the advantages of which are in hardness, impact resistance and the ability to withstand certain mechanical loads. Nevertheless, wooden skirting boards (another name for fillets), glued to the ceiling, are also relatively easy to process, they can be cut (for this, a hacksaw is used for wood), 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 ones.
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 kind 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 they have a small recess specifically for hidden wiring.
Useful. Polyurethane stucco molding can transform the appearance of a standard apartment into an elegant, stylish interior.
Miter box tool for cutting skirting corners
There are two ways to cut corners with and without a tool (miter box). We’ll cover both methods.
The 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. The slots guide the hacksaw blade at a specific angle to the axis of the tray.
Trimming the edge of the skirting board using a template
If there is no desire to bother with the manufacture of a miter box, or you put the baseboards for centuries (i.E., the miter box will never be useful to you anywhere else), then you can make a regular template from thick cardboard. This method is especially suitable for those who have uneven walls and butt corners (for example, the corner of the wall joints is not rectangular).
You will need cardboard to measure and mark the cut lines on the skirting board (as a guide).
Step 1. Connect two planks at a right angle, fix them with nails.
Step 2. Place the skirting board in this tray in the same way as if it were installed on the ceiling, align the tray itself along the edge of the cardboard template.
Step 3. Guided by the markings, cut off the edge of the skirting board. Cut another fillet in the same way and install both strips butt-to-end.
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 similarly to 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) strip 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 knife), 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.
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 the markings directly on the ceiling! For this, the edge of the plinth is cut off at a right angle, then the plank is applied to the corner in the way 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, 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.
Making a miter box with your own hands
Unfortunately, not everyone at home has the entire arsenal of carpentry tools, however, a similarity of a miter box can be made independently. For this, a rectangular tray of planks is hammered together, then grooves are sawn in the walls at an angle of 45.
To measure the angle, you can use 2 knocked down boards and a protractor or an ordinary right-angled triangle, and that’s it!
What and how to cut
Working with skirting boards made from different materials means using different cutting tools. When working with a wooden skirting board, it is more convenient to work with a saw on wood. All others, including plastic ones, made of polystyrene and other polymers, are better cut with a blade for metal. The result is a smoother cut, less burr. Saws are usually used when working with a miter box.
Corner design looks attractive
When working with polystyrene skirting boards, they cut them with a good stationery knife without special devices. Its blade is quite thin and even, the cut is smooth, not wrinkled. If you work with a saw with polyurethane or polystyrene, do not press hard: you can wrinkle.
In general, in order to get used to the tool and material a little, take a piece and practice on it: cut, saw, trim. So there will be fewer problems when working.
What is it made of and what is it called
The very first skirting boards on the ceiling were made of plaster. They were cast in special molds and then installed on the ceiling with mortar. Such figured decorations were called fillets. Today you can rarely see them: they are expensive, and outwardly they are almost indistinguishable from the cheaper options. And the name is almost lost.
The most popular ceiling skirting boards are made of polyurethane or polystyrene. They are inexpensive, look great, easy to install, have a wide range of profiles and patterns. The width can be from 5 mm to 250 mm. They are used in almost any room, decorated in any style. An exception is wooden houses with a suitable interior. Wood products are most often used here; the style dictates its own terms.
There is also a similar plastic finish. It is mainly installed in bathrooms. But even in damp rooms, you can safely mount polyurethane strips, they are not afraid of dampness.
You need to cut the ceiling plinth in the corners of any material in one of the ways described below. The only exception is plastic skirting boards: you can arrange such a corner only using ready-made corners.
Using a miter box
If the corners and walls in the room are even, you can use a special miter box carpentry tool. This is a groove in the form of an inverted letter P, in which the mowing line is outlined for cutting at an angle of 90 and 45. The part in which you want to cut is laid inside, the saw is inserted into the guides. The part is held in place, cut at the desired angle.
This is what the miter box looks like. Can be plastic, wood or metal
In the case of skirting boards, not everything is so simple: they must simultaneously adhere to two surfaces, therefore they need to be pressed against one or the other wall of the miter box. When working with ceilings, they are pressed against the side closest to you.
The sequence of actions when finishing the outer corner, you need to make a gash at an angle of 45 degrees. Place the miter box in front of you. Trying on how the plinth will be located, determining which part of it will be attached to the ceiling. In order not to get confused and cut off the ceiling plinth correctly, put the strip that will be located on the right on the right, the one on the left on the left.
How to cut a corner on a ceiling plinth: install it correctly in a miter box
Press the part that is on the ceiling to the bottom of the miter box. The other side is closer to you and raised. Lean it on the wall of the device so that it does not stagger when cutting. That is, the front of the skirting board turns out to be turned away from you. Make the cutting direction as shown below. By folding the two cut pieces together, you get a projecting outer or outer corner.
How to make the outer corner of a skirting board using a chair
First put the cut off parts in place on a dry one, without applying glue. If the geometry of the corner is not so perfect, you can tweak it a little with a knife. It is easier to cover small errors with a special putty.
The situation is very similar with the inner corner of the skirting board. First, you try on which side will be on the ceiling, press this part to the bottom of the miter box, lean the second part on the wall closest to you and make cuts as shown below.
How to make an inner corner of a ceiling plinth using a miter box
And again, first try on without applying glue, if necessary, slightly adjust. Then apply a thin bead of glue to both surfaces that will adhere to the wall or ceiling.
Your own version of how to use the miter box correctly is shown in.
How to get the correct angle
Most of the problems when working with skirting boards arise in the design of corners. Since the surface of the products is complex, it will not be possible to simply cut off at the desired angle: it is also necessary to cut so that they dock and preferably without large gaps. There are actually several ways to make the corner of your skirting board perfect (or almost).
With decorative corners
There is one more, simpler way. For skirting boards made of polyurethane or polystyrene, use ready-made, factory decorative corners. They are installed in a corner, strips are glued to them closely. It is very easy to cut them if necessary: ​​by a few millimeters with an ordinary clerical knife.
Examples of finished fillet corners
How to make a corner of a ceiling plinth without a miter box
Few people in apartments or houses have angles exactly at 90. Small deviations are easily corrected after fitting. But not always. Then you have to mark everything in place under the ceiling.
You will need a thinly contoured pencil (hard it is not so visible on the ceiling, but leaves quite clear marks near), a small piece of baseboard, a ruler and a good stationery knife if you work with polyurethane (polystyrene) baguettes or a metal saw to work with the rest materials.
Apply the plinth to the corner, draw along the outer edge with a pencil. Apply to the other side of the corner, also mark. You have a cross on the ceiling, the center of which marks the place where the plinths of the ceiling plinth should converge (look at). Having installed a piece of plinth in the corner, which will be glued there and resting it with its end on the wall, transfer the mark to it.
How to make corners on skirting boards without using special tools
Now take a ruler and connect the edge of the skirting board to the marked mark. If you just put the plinth on the table and cut off along the mowing line, the two parts in the corner will still not fold: the inner part will interfere. It can be trimmed later by trying on the ceiling. The second way is to place the piece to be cut on the table with the piece that will be on the ceiling. And cut along the mowing line, but holding the knife at an angle of about 45. You will still need to adjust, but much less (and less chance of error).
Repeat the same operation with the second bar. Put it against the desired wall, rest the butt against the adjacent wall, mark the place where the cross is drawn, draw the line and then cut it off. Correction Carried out dry without applying glue.
You repeat exactly the same steps for the outer (protruding) corner. Now you know another way to make a corner of a ceiling plinth, and without a scissor or other special devices.