[This is part of Our Molding Makeover series. See all updates here.]
Installing the ceiling moldings in our little half bathroom was so easy, that I did it wrong. But I can fix it. What’s a renovation project without a little improvising anyway?
Ripping the Flat-Stock
Rip the flat-stock down to the appropriate width (I will devote an entire post to this process in the next day or so).
This is where I screwed up. It’s been two weeks since I took all of my measurements — and so I grabbed, and installed — the wrong size flat-stock. It should have been about 3/4″ inch wider. More on the fix later.
Since our ceiling is heavily textured, I use thick beads of Liquid nails to make sure I get good contact between the flat-stock and the ceiling.
But not so much that it squishes out the sides or tilts the molding in such a way that it will be hard to butt the other piece up to it evenly.
I’m using 1-1/2″ long, 18 gauge brad nails to hold the molding in place until the glue dries.
I’m using a simple butt joint to match the flat-stock together, so I smear some glue on both contact surfaces.
When you mate the two butt joint faces, smear one piece back and forth to sort of mix the glue together. This will give you a strong bond.
See how easy these first steps are? The hardest part is coming up with your final design, and then calculating the exact dimensions. Installation is easy.
For the inner panel molding we’re using a common mdf, ogee baseboard you can buy just about any place that sells moldings.
Don’t use the whole piece, though, rip it down to something like the one below. That is, if you want to base your design like we did on this historic building.
Using a Test Piece
This is one of those tricks of the trade that really help. Installing that first piece of molding inside a frame like this is usually not a one cut job. You want enough space for the mitered molding to fit snugly in there with no offset.
So I always use left and right test pieces to make sure I get a perfect fit before gluing or nailing that molding in place.
Do I use a lot of Liquid Nails in my molding installations? You bet I do!
And when I’m finished the room has a rigid frame of moldings that will stand the test of time.
Take your time installing that first piece, since your other moldings will guide from it.
There, that’s the kind of fit you want.
Our bathroom molding renovation is looking up!
See how easy all of this is? The rest of the walls will get the same treatment.
The next post will cover how I layout the ceiling molding pattern to accommodate the corner rosettes, and then install the moldings. That will be fun. I love creating ornate ceilings!
[This is part of Our Molding Makeover series. See all updates here.]
Where you have two ends that need to tie each other together, I use a biscuit in one and make a full biscuit slot in the other – this allows it to slide and the biscuit will make sure your two surfaces line up exactly. The slot will be covered by your mouldings.
Hi Tom,
You are right, biscuits are the prefered joint for this kind of installation. When I got out of the contracting business I reluctantly sold my Dewalt biscuit joiner. Shouldn’t have done that.
Since most folks who are new to installing moldings don’t have a biscuit joiner, then this tutorial will be a test case in using nothing more than Liquid Nails.