the walls so that wood strips or planks can
its interior edge overhangs the apron beneath it. And note that the stool’s “horns”
expand and contract seasonally. Baseboards
extend 3⁄4 in. to 11⁄2 in. beyond the width of the side casings. You can still buy replace-
cover that gap along the base of the walls. You
ment stools for window renovations in older houses.
should also install door casing before baseboards
so that baseboards can butt to side casing or
plinth blocks. Back-cutting the baseboard slightly
yields a tight butt joint against plinth blocks or
casing, even if the trim boards are not perfectly
square to each other.
496 Chapter 17
INSTALLING MITereD JAMB AND HeAD CASING
2. Although many carpenters install both jamb casings
before measuring the head casing, this carpenter chose to
dry-fit the second jamb and head as a pair so he could
adjust the miter joint in place. An unglued biscuit held the
pieces of casing together as he finessed the joint.
1. After installing stop-strips inside the window frame and scribing reveal
lines on all three jamb edges, cut and tack up the first piece of casing.
zzzzzz Baseboard strategies
Cap molding bends
to fit wall irregularities.
3. Set nails, fill holes, and touch-up
Drywall
sand all surfaces before finishing the
wood casing. Generally, there won’t
be many nails to set if you’ve used a
pneumatic nailer.
Baseboard
P R O T I P
When ripping down a base-
Finished floor
board, keep the sawblade just off
the scribed pencil line. after cut-
ting, clamp the board to a bench
and sand exactly to the line,
Scribed line follows
using a belt sander held perpen-
floor line.
dicular to the board edge. in this
Base shoe will hide
case, 80-grit to 120-grit sandpa-
floor gaps.
per is effective because it’s not
overly aggressive.
If you can’t scribe and cut the bottom of the baseboard,
use base shoe to cover gaps.
Finish Carpentry
497
CASING AN ArCHeD WINDOW
Arched windows require complex framing around the arch so you have something solid to nail
finish walls and casing to.
1. After scribing a reveal line along the edge of the
arched head jamb, tack a finish nail at the apex of the line,
and hang (balance) the arched head casing from it. Then
level across the “spring lines” of the casing—the points at
which the casing springs into its curve.
2. After cutting the arched casing at its spring
lines, align the inner edge of the arched casing to the
reveal line.
498 Chapter 17
4. Work around the window, nailing the casing every 16 in. The thickness of
the casing determines the nail size. In this case, the carpenter used 1-in. brads
to nail the inside edge of casing to the frame edges and 6d finish nails along
the outside.
3. Install the straight side casing, cutting it a little long
on the bottom and then trimming as needed until the
casing fits tightly between the arched head casing and the
window stool. After dry-fitting the side casing, apply glue
and tack it up.
5. If the casing is not wide or thick
enough for biscuit joinery, angle 6d
finish nails to draw the joint together.
To avoid splitting the casing, you first
need to snip off the nail points.
Finish Carpentry
499
installing CroWn Molding
Crown molding dresses up the wall–ceiling joint,
as do its fancy cousins cornices, which are
formed from several boards. Crown molding can
be as simple as a single piece of shaped trim
angled along the corners of the ceiling, or you
can pair it with a backing trim to ensure a solid
nailing surface, which is not always present in an
old houses with irregular framing and springy
plaster. Backing trim is, basically, a flat board
with a shaped bottom edge.
Start by locating and marking stud and joist
centers on the walls and ceilings. Where joists
run parallel to a wall or where you can’t find
framing on a regular nailing interval, install a
row of triangular nailing blocks along the tops of
walls, as shown below. Predrill these blocks to
avoid splitting them, and nail them with 8d finish
nails to the top plates or studs, spacing the blocks
every 24 in. to 32 in. Cut nailing blocks at the
same angle as the crown molding, when correctly
Scribe baseboards so they follow the
seated to wall and ceiling.
floor. Or, if you’re installing the
Locating studs beforehand will make installa-
baseboard before the floors are in,
To determine that angle, cut a short section
tion easier. If walls have been newly drywalled,
shim the trim so it will be a consistent
of crown molding to use as a seating gauge. Hold
look along the base of the walls for screws or nails
height above the subfloor. Use scrap
the gauge so that trim edges seat solidly on both
to cushion the trim from hammer
where drywall is fastened to studs. Otherwise,
the ceiling and the wall. Using this gauge, make a
blows, as you tap the trim to align
rap the base of walls with your knuckle until you
its edges.
think you’ve found a stud. Then drive in a 6d
finish nail to locate the stud exactly. Stud finders
work, but they are less reliable with plaster walls,
whose lath nails meander all over the place.
Scribe the bottom of baseboards to follow the
zzzzzz Crown Molding and
Blocking
Nailing block
contour of the floor, especially if the floors are
Ceiling
P R O T I P
irregular. But first, shim the baseboard(s) up
about 1 in. above the floor, butt one end of the
Crown molding must be solidly
board to a corner or a door casing, and tack the
nailed. so, as you locate studs
baseboard to a stud or two to keep it upright.
and ceiling joists, affix a small
Then run the scribe or compass along the bottom
piece of blue painter’s tape to
to transfer the floor contour to the baseboard.
indicate their centers. place tape
Cut the scribed line with a fairly rigid sabersaw
Gap
sufficiently back from the trim
blade that can cut with the grain yet not wander.
path so you can still see the tape
Baseboard joinery employs basic techniques
as you position the trim. using
described earlier. Miter outside corners, cope
Wall
painter’s tape is easier than
inside ones, and glue all joints before nailing
erasing pencil marks, and th
e
tape won’t pull off paint.
them off. Use two 8d nails (aligned vertically) at
every other stud center, and use a single 4d finish
nail top and bottom to draw mitered corners
tight. Used as baseboard caps, standard mold-
ings, such as quarter-rounds, can hide irregulari-
Crown
Backing trim
ties between the top of the baseboard and the
molding
screwed to framing
wall, and they dress up the top of the board.
Routed edge
Where baseboards abut door casing and there’s
no stud directly behind the end of the baseboard,
nail the bottom of the board to the wall plate,
When instal ing nailing blocks without backing
and angle-nail the top to the side of the casing or
trim, nail the blocks directly to the wal plates.
plinth block, using an 18-ga. brad to avoid split-
Keep a 1/16-in. space between the back of the
ting the trim. Finally, set the nails, fill the holes,
molding and the face of the blocks to
and caulk all seams before painting.
accommodate wall-ceiling irregularities.
500 Chapter 17
Outside corners are seldom square, requiring that miters
be marked in place. Here, scrap was positioned on both
sides of the corner to guide a pencil line along its top
edge. At that intersection, the top point of the miter was
marked on both scrap pieces. The bottom point of the
Cut or assemble a small section of crown molding to use
miter is the corner itself, here being marked.
as a seating gauge to tell you where the bottom of the
molding will meet the wall. A pencil mark every 3 ft. to
4 ft. should do; don’t use a chalkline because it could
bleed through finish paint.
the bottom of the miter box. (Inverting the mold-
ing in the miter box is the only way to support
both of the molding’s edges and re-create the
light pencil mark every 3 ft. to 4 ft. so that when
same angle the crown molding will have when
you nail up the molding you’ll have reference
installed against the wall and ceiling. If you cut
marks for its bottom edge. (Because crown mold-
the molding right side up in the miter box, the
ing is relatively thin, it easily twists and mis-
top edge of the molding would be unsupported.)
aligns.) Nail molding roughly every 3 ft. or to
Use the seating gauge you made earlier to estab-
every other 16-in. on-center stud and joist. If
lish this angle on your miter saw. Screw a piece
walls are too long for a single piece of molding,
of scrap to the saw bed to hold the molding stock
splice boards over stud centers. Use a nailer to
in place as you cut it. When in doubt, test the
attach crown molding and cornices—hand nail-
joints by cutting and joining pieces of scrap.
ing is too erratic. If you’re nailing molding to
P R O T I P
blocks, use 18-ga. brads to avoid splits; other-
False BeaMs
wise, use 6d finish nails. Nail the bottom edge
first, then the top, keeping the nails back from
There are several ways to construct false beams.
When installing crown mold-
edges by at least
ing, leave the last 2 ft. to 3 ft.
3⁄8 in.
Two are shown here. The first is to make a ladder
unnailed until you’ve test-fitted
To install backing trim, snap a chalkline to
frame (imagine a ladder set horizontally) clad
all joints. sometimes the mold-
line up the bottom edges of the trim. Backing
with finish boards. This type, shown in the top
ing needs to come up or down to
trim is a godsend when you’ve got level upper
photo on p. 502, runs perpendicular to ceiling
make a coped joint fit exactly.
cabinets but an unlevel ceiling. Install the back-
joists so its top board can be screwed to them;
ing trim level and the crown molding snug
end-nail “ladder rungs” to the top board before
against the ceiling. The amount of backing trim
installing it. Once the top board is secured to
revealed (exposed) will vary, but your eye won’t
joists, attach the bottom board and then the
notice it. Use screws to attach the backing trim
sides. A power nailer is a must because the
because they hold better and are less likely to
assembly is shaky until all the boards are on.
fracture plaster. Before nailing up crown mold-
The second type, shown in the bottom photos
ing, use a seating gauge to mark its position atop
on p. 502, is more correctly called a box beam
the backing trim.
because there’s nothing false about the steel
As with baseboard molding, miter outside cor-
I-beam it’s disguising. You can order I-beams
ners, cope inside ones, and glue all joints before
with bolt holes predrilled, making it easy to bolt
nailing them off. If the first piece of crown mold-
plywood nailing blocks to them. The plywood
ing is long enough to run from inside corner to
shown was faced with clear fir on three sides and
inside corner, just cut both ends square, pop into
stained to simulate redwood. Because the under-
place, and cope the ends of adjacent pieces.
side of the box was most visible at eye level, the
Miter-cut the crown molding upside down, with
carpenters took pains to create an even reveal
its bottom edge up—angled so that the molding’s
along the bottom of the beam. The gaps along the
lower edge rests against the back fence of the
top of the beam were later covered by the crown
miter box and the molding’s upper edge rests on
molding, shown in the left photo above.
Finish Carpentry
501
Scan left to right on the ceiling, and you’ll see the evolution of a false beam. Preassemble the top
board (which nails to the ceiling joists) and short nailer blocks. Install the bottom board, then the
sides. Use a pneumatic nailer only because hand nailing will loosen the assembly.
BOxING IN A STeeL I-BeAM
To provide nailing surfaces for the sides of the box beam, first bolt plywood strips to the predrilled
Because the underside is the most visible part of the box
I-beam. Attach the bottom panel of the box beam first, then the sides.
beam from eye level, measure to be sure the board reveals
are consistent. Measuring also tells you exactly where the
edge of the bottom board is—so nails don’t miss it. Cover
gaps along the ceiling with crown molding.
502 Chapter 17
WainsCoting
In the old days, when raised-panel wainscoting
was constructed from solid wood, fancy joinery
was required to accommodate the expansion and
contraction of the panels. Today, thanks to the
stability of MDF panels and readily available
stock molding, you can create good-looking
wainscoting with simple join
ery. Once painted,
this new wainscoting will be almost indistin-
guishable from that built with traditional materi-
als and methods.
Construct the frame rails (horizontal pieces)
and stiles (vertical pieces) from clear, straight
1x4s; if you need more than one board to attain
the length you need, use a biscuit joiner (see the
bottom photo on p. 480) to splice the board ends.
Use this tool to strengthen the butt joints
between rails and stiles, too. But first, snap
chalklines onto the walls to indicate the position
of rails and stiles; if any stiles coincide with
electrical outlets, it may be easiest to relocate the
outlets so that all the panels along a wall have a
consistent width.
Assemble the frame on the floor. After allow-
ing its glued and biscuited joints to cure, tilt the
frame upright and fasten it to wall studs with
15-ga. finish nails. To avoid stressing the frame
joints, have a helper tilt it up and hold it atop
spacer blocks as you nail it. The 3⁄4-in. MDF
panels are best routed in several passes to avoid
frying the router and scorching the panel edges.
Once you’re done routing, sand the panel edges
lightly and nail them to the wall, leaving an
even gap all around, between panel edges and
frame elements.
Although you can use any type of stock mold-
ing to cover the gaps around the panels, a shaped
molding adds visual interest and has a traditional
feel— bolection molding has a nice profile and a
rabbeted back edge that seats neatly against
frame edges. Cap the top of the top rail with
molding, too, to cover the slight gap between the
frame and the wall.
After screwing the preassembled frame to the studs, insert shaped MDF panels, nailing them
directly to the wall with 2-in. brads. Leave a 1-in. gap around each panel, which you’ll cover with
stock molding.
Finish Carpentry
503
18 Painting
Painting is probably the most popular reno- Essential Prep Work
vation task because its effects are immediate and If you want painted surfaces to look good and
striking. For not much money, you can get a
last long, the substrate—such as drywall, plaster,
complete change of scenery and heart. If you
and wood—must be stable and dry before you
Renovation 4th Edition Page 116