Sawing Corners With A Miter Box

How to saw off a ceiling plinth using a miter box

It seems to beginners that even a housewife can cut and fix the plinth. But when it comes to docking, the need to cut a corner turns into a real hard labor. Due to ignorance of how to cut a corner on the ceiling plinth, many apartment residents have no desire to repair something in the house once and for all. We sincerely hope that the skirting boards will not bring you white heat. After reading this material, you will no longer rack your brains over how to properly cut a corner on the ceiling plinth.

The most painful installation issue comes down to how to cut the ceiling plinth in the corners and achieve a perfect fit. It is known that plinths in the corners are fastened at an angle of 38 degrees to 45. How to properly cut a ceiling plinth when it is so difficult to cut at forty-five degrees? Indeed, on the inside, the cut edge often does not fit, the gaps are still visible.

Before starting work

Choosing the right baguette width is the key to a beautiful interior. The method in which you do it also plays an important role in the sawing process. We would like to give you a couple of recommendations that will help you achieve your plans.

So, how to choose the width of the material and how to trim the ceiling plinth in the corners:

  • The prepared surface of the walls is not a standard for evenness; use slats of smaller width, as they are more flexible and can cover the maximum number of defects. Accordingly, on the contrary, the more ideal the surface, the greater the width of the molding can be, however, keep in mind. mount a narrow molding in rooms with low ceilings so as not to reduce them visually;
  • Always apply the left side of the corner to the miter box while sawing on the left, the right side. on the right. In addition, it should be the side of the tool closest to you, the far side for the floor moldings. Please don’t be confused.

How to cut corners on a plinth ceiling at 45 degrees

Below we will deal with the task in more detail, where you will learn how to cut the corners of the ceiling plinth correctly and with the highest quality.

How to properly cut the corners of the ceiling plinth under the ceiling

The method is used when the walls have irregularities. straight sections offset relative to their axis and bends. A protractor won’t help here. The products must be attached to understand how to draw the line marking. Uncertainty can be measured, but surface bending is much more difficult to calculate than linear deviation. If you do not take into account the rounded shape, there will be a small gap. You have to put up with this when you can only cut on the floor. hard parts are difficult to handle in a suspended state. The easiest way to make prefabricated elements of soft polystyrene foam by weight.

The foam fillet is alternately pressed against two curved legs so that it repeats their shape, and outlined with a pencil. You should get two conditionally perpendicular mowing lines. The place of their intersection serves as the main reference point. It is selected so that the mowing line is visible on the surface. Then the bar is applied again, pressing the end, and trimmed from the obtained point to the intersection of the walls. The perpendicular element is also processed. The main thing is to keep the knife straight and not deviate from the given direction.

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 it so that they dock and, preferably, without large gaps. In reality, there are several ways to make the corner of your skirting board perfect (or almost).

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, made of foam and other polymers, are better cut with a metal sheet. The result is a smoother cut, less burr. Saws are usually used when working with a miter box.

When working with polystyrene skirting boards without special devices, they cut them with a good stationery knife. Its blade is quite thin and even, the cut is smooth, not wrinkled. If you use 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.

You can read about the design of the ceiling in this article.

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. Cutting them if necessary is very simple: a few millimeters with an ordinary clerical knife.

How to work with miter box?

We have shown you how to properly cut a ceiling plinth without any tools. Now let’s dwell on the method of working with miter box in more detail. Follow all the steps in the same sequence. and the outer corner of the ceiling plinth will be perfectly flat:

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, then they were 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 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, are 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. The exception is wooden houses with a corresponding interior. Wooden products are most often used here. the style dictates its conditions.

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 damp.

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.

Interior

There is a professional miter box, which has a turntable and can be moved apart to obtain arbitrary angles, as well as for home use, where special opportunities are limited. Usually, for repairs, it is enough to use the second option.

How to cut a ceiling plinth in corners without gaps

So, the basic principle is that the ceiling strips are cut off at the tool wall closest to you, we hope you have not forgotten.

The process in this case looks like this:

  • Measure the required length of the baguette by attaching it to the ceiling surface;
  • Place the molding strip in the miter box, while its position should fully correspond to the location of the baguette on the ceiling;
  • Press the bar against the near wall of the tool;
  • Choose the appropriate degree of cut, most often it is 45. Make sure that the handle of the hacksaw is as close as possible to the hand holding the bar to make the cut as accurately as possible;
  • Cut off the workpiece, but do not apply excessive force to the hacksaw;
  • Prepare and cut the opposite baguette strip, remembering that it should be pressed against the near wall of the miter box;
  • Choose the appropriate cutting angle for it, leaving a minimum distance between the hacksaw handle and the hand holding the molding;
  • Cut the edge of the plank.

Correct trimming of the ceiling plinth in the corners improves the appearance of the room

It remains to check the correctness of the joining of the segments, and if everything meets the expectations, install them in place.

Trimming ceiling skirting boards without miter box

In some situations, you have to dock the skirting board without a miter box. For example, if it is not at hand, or the walls are crooked. Therefore, it is advisable to know how to join the corners of the ceiling plinth using other tools.

There are several ways to do manual docking:

  • Using a protractor;
  • Making markings on the wall;
  • By drawing a miter box.

Making it is simple:

  • Screw a regular bar to any surface. it will serve as an emphasis for the joined baguettes;
  • If there is no bar, draw a flat line on the plane, and use a square as a limiter.

It should be noted that the miter box does not always help. Therefore, you need to know how to manually join the skirting board.

What you need to know

Ceiling plinth, also called fillets, is an integral part of modern interiors. Their use allows you to hide flaws at the junction of walls and ceilings and to give the interior a finished look. Ceiling moldings are made from different materials, but the most popular are foam and polyurethane. It is quite easy to work with them. they are light and easy to cut.

The skirting board is produced in strips up to 2 meters long, so during the installation process, joining of the strips will be inevitable. The most difficult joints are corner joints. They are of three types:

  • Internal.
  • Outdoor.
  • Non-standard.

Skirting boards are attached before finishing walls and ceilings, but the surface must be prepared, leveled and primed. If the walls are not perfectly flat, it is better to take a narrower plinth. it will be much easier to dock. Accordingly, wide skirting boards are best used on flat walls.

If the skirting board was not connected without gaps. this often happens when fitting non-standard connections, they can be sealed with a sealant. It is best to use acrylic. you can paint on it. After the gap is sealed, you need to form a joint. The sealant can be smeared with your finger and the rest can be wiped off with a sponge.

How to properly join ceiling skirting boards?

One of the important elements of interior decoration of premises is the ceiling plinth. It would seem like a small detail, but without it the room will have an unfinished look. Gluing straight elements is not difficult, difficulties may arise with adjusting the corners. Therefore, in order not to get stuck during installation, you need to know how to join the ceiling plinth. if you do it wrong, it will be quite difficult to hide defects.

Draw a miter box

Another cropping option is according to the drawn markup. The markings are drawn on the principle of a miter box. two parallel mowing lines are drawn, and the corners are marked between them. Also, you can transfer the values ​​from the goniometer to such a marking. it will be clearer to cut the baguettes. In this case, do not forget to put the plinth in the right position when cutting.

Of course, these methods, at first, will not give an ideal result. the joint will have to be adjusted, but this is done very simply. But over time, the hand will be packed, and the cuts will become much smoother.

Irregular corners

Sometimes you can face a situation when you have to glue fillets at non-standard corners. For example, how to join the ceiling plinth if the corners are semicircular? This is done quite simply.

Since it will not work to give the desired shape to the whole baguette. it needs to be cut into pieces of 3-5 cm.The size depends on the radius of the corner.

Installation sequence

The baguette must be glued in the following sequence:

  • The first is the ceiling plinth in the corners;
  • Then flat areas are glued.

Why you shouldn’t buy cropped items

Manufacturers of skirting boards decided to make life easier for finishers by releasing already trimmed elements. It would seem that this is the question of how to join the ceiling plinths in the corners can be closed. it is enough to purchase ready-made parts and glue them. Unfortunately, not everything is so simple.

Cons of finished corners:

  • High price;
  • often than not, the corners in the rooms are not even, i.e. Not 90 degrees, but more or less. Therefore, ready-made connectors are not suitable.

You can buy them only after checking all the corners in the room.

Why you need to glue fillets to wallpaper

Many novice craftsmen ask themselves this question. after all, if you are the first to glue fillets, the wallpaper will be harder to adjust. And if after. the uneven joint of the wallpaper with the ceiling will be closed with a plinth. You can glue in any sequence, each person decides for himself how he is more comfortable. But there is a difference.

If you glue the skirting board after the wallpaper:

  • All uneven seams will be closed with walls and ceilings;
  • When you change the wallpaper, you will have to change the baguettes;
  • There is a high probability of smearing the wallpaper with glue during the installation of skirting boards;
  • During installation, gaps may form between fillets and walls, which must be sealed with putty. If you do this on finished walls, they can get dirty.

If you glue the skirting board before the wallpaper:

  • You can stain the wall as much as you like. there is no finishing finish yet;
  • All cracks are closed without problems;

It turns out that it is better to glue fillets before finishing. this is much easier and faster to work.

Sequence of work

First of all, you need to prepare all the necessary tools. However, there is not much of it:

  • Construction knife or hacksaw for metal;
  • Pencil, tape measure;
  • Miter box;
  • Protractor;
  • Rubber spatula, sponge.

Before installing the baguettes, you need to do two things:

Sawing Corners With A Miter Box
  • Check the angle. if it is 90 degrees, then you can use a miter box to fit, if not, you will have to cut the plinth by hand.
  • Attach the plank to the ceiling and measure with a tape measure: how far does the plinth go to the ceiling.

This distance serves as a guide for correct fitting and installation of baguettes. Since the installation starts from the corners, each plank must be set at this level. Otherwise, you can get a situation when in different corners of the skirting boards will be glued at different heights.