How To Cut Corners Correctly

Skirting board material

Experts agree that polyurethane is the best material for the presented finishing products. But even he has a number of disadvantages. These should be taken into account before cutting corners on the skirting boards. Polyurethane is susceptible to temperature changes. Therefore, it is not used for decoration in the kitchen or bath. Otherwise, the skirting boards will quickly crack and lose their aesthetics.

Expanded polystyrene has almost all the positive characteristics inherent in polyurethane. But it is still more fragile material. It’s easy to break.

Polyvinyl chloride skirting boards are relatively cheap. But it is very easy to leave dents or dents on them. Therefore, work with such products should be very careful.

Wood looks very nice, but not in all interiors. In addition, it is rather difficult for a non-professional craftsman to work with such material. Do you want to make repairs yourself? Then you’d better still choose polyurethane or expanded polystyrene.

Outside corner

Quite often, the contour of the walls in a room has a complex shape. In this case, you will need to figure out how to cut the outer corner of the ceiling plinth. To do this, it is laid on the bottom of the miter box in the same way as in the previous version, with the side that is adjacent to the ceiling.

Other slots are used for these corners. They also have a slope of 45 degrees, but are on the other side. Further, after marking and cutting, 2 plinths are applied to the corresponding place on the ceiling. Adjustment in progress.

Difficulties can arise when it is necessary to cut the same skirting board on one side for the outer corner, and on the other for the inner one. Many people make a mistake here. First you need to cut the inner corner. Otherwise, a skirting board that is too shortened will not dock in any place.

Form, fittings

Studying the question of how to properly cut a corner on a ceiling plinth, you should pay attention to its shape and related products. There are raised and smooth fillets. Their width and length can vary significantly.

When choosing the size of the skirting boards, take into account the type of interior, as well as the height of the ceilings. For a small room, where the distance from the floor to the ceiling is no more than 2.75 m, wide skirting boards will not work. They will look out of place. For the same reason, a narrow fillet should not be used for high ceilings. In such rooms, a 45 mm plinth looks good.

For installation, you can purchase curly corners from the same material as the fillet. They are external and internal. But quite often the skirting boards are joined without them, directly. In this case, you need to perform an even, beautiful trimming of the corners.

How to cut corners on skirting boards? Step-by-step instructions, practical tips and advice

Repair is a responsible and costly undertaking. Although you can save a lot if you carry out the work yourself. Cosmetic finishing of the premises is carried out according to certain technologies. You can decorate the interior using a variety of materials.

Today, a very popular technique is the use of skirting boards to hide irregularities between the walls and the ceiling. In order for the contour to be aesthetic, it is necessary to do the work carefully. How to cut corners on skirting boards will help you understand the advice of experienced construction and repair masters. They will tell you how, using various tools, to perform the necessary manipulations with decorative finishes of various types.

Homemade tool

Don’t you have a miter box? No problem! You can do it yourself. When pruning for the first time, it is best to apply it in your work. This will require a plywood board, paper or cardboard.

Interested in how to cut the outer corner of the ceiling plinth, as well as its internal varieties, you need to take this approach into service. Draw two parallel mowing lines on the selected material. Next, using a protractor, angles of 45 degrees are made around the edges.

A homemade tool is applied to the baseboard, making the appropriate notes. The cutting technique is the same. The miter box is not used if the walls in the room are very uneven. When creating an angle of 45 degrees, gaps between the joints are obtained due to such inconsistencies. Therefore, pruning is done in the previous way. Before editing, the edges must be corrected.

General characteristics of finishing

Studying the question of how to properly cut a corner on the ceiling plinth, you should familiarize yourself with the features of such a finish. The stucco molding between the ceiling and walls is now made of artificial materials. It can be polyvinyl chloride, expanded polystyrene or polyurethane. Wood can be used from natural materials.

In the construction business, the ceiling plinth is called (scientifically) a fillet. Of all the materials from which such finishing elements are made, polyurethane is considered the highest quality. Therefore, it is better to choose it. Next, let’s try to figure out how to cut the corner of the ceiling plinth. Expert advice will help you do this job well.

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.

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

Method 1. Trimming the edge of the skirting board with a miter box

It is worth noting that ceiling corners can be both internal and external, and the difference between them lies in the methods of joining and different angles of cuts. The former are found at the joints of two walls and the ceiling, the latter are used in the design of ledges, columns, outer edges of niches, pilasters, etc.

The angle of inclination of the groove in the miter box can be equal to 45 °, and 60 °, and 90 °. Professional carpenters purchase a miter box with a swivel mechanism. This makes it very convenient to turn the cutting tool when cutting the plinth.

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.

Making a miter box with your own hands

Unfortunately, not everyone at home has the entire arsenal of carpentry tools, but a semblance of a miter box can be made independently. For this, a rectangular tray of planks is knocked 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. That’s the miter box and you’re done!

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: installation of 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 skirting board is installed and firmly fixed in the miter box (you can simply 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 °).

How to cut a ceiling plinth with a miter box template

Something resembling a miter box can be made 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 with 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 using a corner and measure 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 strip to one of the parallel lines, then set the hacksaw at the desired angle, which has already been outlined, and cut.

Ceilings

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 look of the room seems incomplete without it. There is nothing difficult in attaching this element. Fillets. 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. After all, 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 hacksaw.

Styrofoam ceiling skirting boards are also cheap. This material is very fragile, it easily crumbles 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. 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 crackle slightly. If you try to process or cut such a plinth, it may bend or deform in other ways.

Wooden ceiling plinths are dense, heavy products 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, so 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 be useful 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 plinth suspended during the cutting process. Otherwise, it is possible to 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 ceiling plinth:

• First of all, two workpieces must be cut at an angle of 90 degrees.

• 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 point of intersection 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 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 miter box designs. For cutting at angles of 90, 60 and 45 degrees. For more professional work, a miter box with a swivel mechanism is used, where the hacksaw can be fixed at any angle to the workpiece.

How to cut a skirting board with a miter box. Inner corner:

• We apply the plinth to the ceiling, measure the required length.
• Then we install the plinth strip in the miter box so that the position coincides with the position of the plinth on the ceiling.
• The plinth strip must be pressed against the far wall of the miter box.
• Hold the plinth with your left hand.
• We choose such a position of the hacksaw when the angle is 45 degrees and 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 such 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, it is necessary to start cutting from the front of the skirting board. After cutting, wooden skirting boards will most likely have to be adjusted with a file.

How to cut a skirting board 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 bar 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.
• Cut off the workpiece.
• Install the striker to the nearest wall, hold it with your right hand.
• We set the hacksaw at an angle of 45 degrees, 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 necessary 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 plinth, 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 skirting board blank to the corner, press it by 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, 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 imperfections can be finished with a file or nail file in the case of wooden and polyurethane skirting boards. To fit 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 a putty. Cutting the ceiling plinth yourself is not difficult. But in order not to spoil many products, it is better to pre-train on small blanks.

Necessary materials

The set of tools for making a corner ceiling joint without using a miter box is not so large, and in principle does not differ from a set with a miter box. Almost every home has these tools:

• Pencil;
• Roulette;
• Ruler;
• Construction knife with replaceable blades;
• Hacksaw;
• Ceiling plinth.

You will need a tape measure and a ruler for accurate measurements and drawing straight lines, everyone has them in the house. It must be borne in mind that without a ruler you will not be able to draw even mowing lines for cutting corners using the first method.

A construction or office knife with replaceable blades is an irreplaceable assistant in the house. Its cost, like a construction pencil, is low, and it is always available, it will give you the opportunity to cut off the necessary segments easily and evenly, cut out a corner or cut thin plates when adjusting the connection. Some skirting boards are made of a material that is recommended to be cut only with a knife, not with a hacksaw due to the softness of the material.

The ceiling plinth must be chosen for both aesthetic and practical reasons. It should harmoniously fit into your design, cover the joints of the ceiling and walls, hide defects and irregularities. When choosing a baguette, it is necessary to take into account the material from which it is made. This affects the choice of cutting tools and glue for installation, as well as the type of coating on which the skirting board will be glued.

Step-by-step instruction

When installing a ceiling plinth, first of all, you need to prepare the surface before gluing the plinth, it must be cleaned of minor irregularities, then you need to prime the gluing points to create maximum adhesion between the glue and the wall or ceiling. The primer is the same as that used for wallpapering or ceiling tiles.

Before gluing it is recommended to take a small piece of baguette and practice cutting corner joints so as not to spoil the excess.

Now that you’ve got everything set up, it’s time to start cutting out the corners. To create an inner corner, the first of the methods described above is perfect for you. If you have smooth walls, then you can cut off equal pieces from the baguettes, and cut out corner joints from them, then simply gluing long strips carefully point-blank to them. These manipulations will make it easier for you to work when trimming and exclude the possibility of bending the baguette or breaking it.

When cutting out the outer corner, it must be remembered that the inner corner rests against the wall, and the outer one, on the contrary, protrudes above it. Similar to the method described in the first method, you can try. The only difference will be that the skirting board should go beyond the wall to the width of your baguette plank. After trimming the planks to the desired angle and connecting them, you may need to manually correct the angle, since the angles in our homes are often not nearly 90 degrees. The rest of the methods described by us will allow you to more easily make the outer corner. Just like cutting the inner corner, it’s best to practice first. This will make your job easier and reduce skirting waste.

Before gluing the skirting boards, you need to make sure that the joints fit exactly. Modern assembly adhesives set very quickly, so you will have practically no time to correct the mistake, and tearing off the skirting board is both an opportunity to break it and the need to re-clean the surface of the skirting board and wall from glue. It is better to remove excess glue immediately with a small clean cloth or sponge so that there are no traces.

The ways

There are two most common methods for cutting flawless skirting corners correctly, easily and comfortably. The first implies the purchase of a special miter box with a large number of cuts along its perimeter, which help to cut the corner correctly and evenly. The second option is to cut corners without the help of a miter box, and we’ll talk about it today. This process for beginners is quite complicated and painstaking, besides, the presence of a miter box does not guarantee 100% facilitation of this work, be prepared for the fact that the first time you may not succeed.

There are several ways to create corner joints without using a miter box.

One of them is marking directly on the ceiling. To begin with, we need two pieces of baguette cut at a 90 degree angle. It is not necessary to take two-meter slats at once and try to cut them, you can cut off two pieces of 15-20 cm for easier holding with one hand in the position you need. Next, we apply them in the next order to the ceiling and draw a 5-centimeter line along the ceiling to the end of the baguette, pressing the plinth tightly. After that, we apply a second molding to the opposite corner, and do a similar action, and at the intersection of the baguette and the previously held mowing line, we make a neat pencil notch on the baguette. With the second plinth, you need to repeat the same, making a similar notch at the intersection of the baguette and the mowing line.

Now we can cut the baguette at the angle we need, for this, use a construction knife or a hacksaw, depending on the material from which the skirting boards are made (below we will tell you what materials the baguettes are made of and what is the best way to cut them). To cut the corner correctly, place the baseboard on the table or chair, and cut from the point you marked on the ceiling to the opposite corner of the baseboard. After that, you can easily join the corners and glue. It must be borne in mind that this method is suitable for fitting only the inner corners, it will not work to fit the outer corners.

The second method is to line a sheet of paper or plywood under the miter box, to do this, you need to draw two parallel mowing lines, then draw a perpendicular from one mowing line to the other, so we get a marking for a right angle. For marking at 45 degrees, you must use a clerical triangle or a protractor, passing two mowing lines through the perpendicular at 45 degrees relative to parallel lines. Further, as when working with a miter box, we put our plinth along the mowing line and cut at the required angle.

The third method is to make a primitive miter box with your own hands., why it will not become less effective. To do this, take three planks or planks and knock them down in the shape of the letter “P”, make slots at right angles and two slots at 45 degrees. This way you will cut corners without the “help” of the chair.

The fourth method is quite rare and inventive.. It consists of sophistication with thick paper or cardboard and a small bar. To do this, bend a sheet of cardboard at the angle you need, take a small block, which will serve as a template for cutting the corner. Press the prepared sheet of cardboard to it and, holding the knife or hacksaw strictly vertically, carefully cut the block at the angle you need. To trim the skirting board, simply place the piece on top of the skirting board, press firmly and cut along the mowing line of the piece.

The fifth way is the purchase of special accessories with ready-made ceiling corners: internal and external. Unfortunately, there are a lot of skirting board design variations; special inserts may not be found under your skirting board. But in general, it is very convenient for those who do not want to engage in cutting out corner joints.

But also if there are non-standard angles in your house, then ready-made blanks or a miter box will not help you. After all, there are only 45, 60 and 90 degrees you can cut the connection. In this case, cut the edge of the baguette by eye at an angle of 45 degrees, and when trying on to your corner, carefully trim it, so you will be able to achieve an almost perfect connection, with just one thing. There can be a lot of such fittings and trims.

How to make a corner on a skirting board without a miter box?

1. The ways
2. Necessary materials
3. Step-by-step instruction
4. Recommendations

Recommendations

Sometimes the unevenness of the walls or ceiling prevents you from gluing the plinth along the entire length, tightly pressed against the wall or ceiling, or you made a little mistake when cutting the inner corner, and you have a gap. To eliminate these defects, a white acrylic finishing putty is perfect. It paints well after drying, and with its help you can gently putty the joints. This putty is sold ready-made, you do not need to stir it with water yourself and worry about non-compliance with the proportions, the price of a small jar of such a putty ranges from 150 to 400 rubles, depending on the manufacturer. If you want to make everything aesthetically pleasing, then spare the money and buy a small jar. According to personal observations, 0.5 kg cans of ready-made putty will be enough for you for all the flaws in the joints of the ceiling plinth, and for eliminating other minor errors during the repair.

And also for easier trimming of corners, you can use a clerical triangle, it will give you the ability to accurately cut a 45 degree angle.

For information on how to make a corner undercut in a ceiling plinth without a miter box, see the following.