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The quality of the ceiling finish greatly affects the appearance of the room. Therefore, they try to make everything perfect, or very close to it. The finishing touch in the design is the ceiling plinth. They give the finish a finished and holistic look. The strips themselves are mounted on flat surfaces simply: with a special white glue, but there are problems with the design of the corners. Without knowing how to make the corner of the ceiling plinth correctly, a lot of material deteriorates. We will tell you about how and with what to cut it in the corners.
What is it made of and what is it called
The very first skirting boards on the ceiling were made of gypsum. They were cast in special molds, then they were installed on the ceiling on the mortar. Such curly ornaments were called fillets. Today you can see them infrequently: they are expensive, and outwardly they are almost no different from cheaper options. And the name is almost lost.
The most popular today are ceiling plinths made of polyurethane or polystyrene. They are inexpensive, look great, are easy to install, and 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 an appropriate interior. Wooden products are most often used here – style dictates its own conditions.
There is also a similar finish made of plastic. It is mainly installed in bathrooms. But even in damp rooms, you can safely mount polyurethane strips – they are not afraid of dampness.
Cut the ceiling plinth in the corners of any material using one of the methods described below. The only exception is plastic skirting boards: you can make such an angle only using ready-made corners.
What and how to cut
Working with skirting boards of different materials means using different cutting tools. When working with a ceiling plinth made of wood, it is more convenient to work with a wood saw. All the rest, including plastic, foam and other polymers, are better cut with a metal blade. It turns out a more even cut, less burr. Saws are usually used when working with a miter box.
When working with foam skirting boards without special tools, they are cut with a good clerical knife. Its blade is quite thin and even, the cut is smooth, not jammed. If you work with polyurethane or polystyrene with a saw, do not press hard: you can wrinkle.
In general, in order to get used to the tool and material a little, take some piece and practice on it: cut, saw, cut. So at work there will be less problems.
You can read about the design of the ceiling in this article.
How to get the right angle
Most of the problems when working with ceiling plinths arise when making corners. Since the surface of the products is complex, simply cutting at the right angle will not work: you also need to cut them so that they fit together and preferably without large gaps. In fact, there are several ways to make the corner of the ceiling plinth perfect (or almost).
Using a chair
If the corners and walls in the room are even, you can use a special carpentry tool – a miter box. This is an inverted U-shaped chute with lines for 90° and 45° cuts. The part in which you want to make a wash is laid inside, a saw is inserted into the guides. The part is held in place, cut at the required angle.
In the case of skirting boards, everything is not so simple: they must simultaneously adhere to two surfaces, therefore they must be pressed against one or another wall of the miter box. When working with ceiling, they are pressed against the side closest to you.
The sequence of actions when finishing the outer corner you need to make washed down at an angle of 45 degrees. Put the chair in front of you. Try 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 the ceiling plinth correctly, lay the plank that will be located on the right on the right, the one on the left – on the left.
With the part that is on the ceiling, press it to the bottom of the miter box. The other side is closer to you and raised. You lean it on the wall of the fixture so that it does not stagger when cutting. That is, the front part of the plinth is turned away from you. Make the cut direction as shown in the photo below. Putting the two cut parts together, you get a protruding – outer or outer corner.
The sawn off parts are first applied to the place “dry”, without applying glue. If the geometry of the corner turned out to be not so ideal, you can tweak it a little with a knife. Small errors are easier to cover with a special putty.
With the inner corner of the ceiling plinth, the situation is very similar. First, try on which side will be on the ceiling, press this part to the bottom of the miter box, rest the second part on the wall closest to you and make cuts as shown in the photo below.
And again, first try on without applying glue, if necessary, slightly adjust. Then apply a thin bead of adhesive to both surfaces that will be attached to the wall or ceiling.
Your version of how to properly use the miter box is shown in the video.
How to make a corner of a ceiling plinth without a miter box
Few people in apartments or houses have exactly 90 ° angles. 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 finely defined pencil (hard – it is not so visible on the ceiling, but leaves fairly clear marks close up), a small piece of plinth, a ruler and a good stationery knife if you work with polyurethane (polystyrene) baguettes or a metal saw to work with the rest of the materials.
Apply the plinth to the corner, draw along the outer edge with a pencil. Apply to the other side of the corner, also note. You have a cross on the ceiling, the center of which marks the place where the strips of the ceiling plinth should meet (see photo). Having installed a segment of the plinth in the corner, which will be glued there and resting it with its end against the wall, transfer the mark to it.
Now take a ruler and connect the edge of the plinth with the marked mark. If you just put the plinth on the table and cut along the line, the two parts in the corner will still not add up: the inside will interfere. It can be trimmed later, trying on the ceiling. The second way is to set the piece to be cut on the table with the piece that will be on the ceiling. And cut along the line, but holding the knife at an angle of about 45 °. You will still need to correct, but much less (and less likely to make a mistake).
Repeat the same operation with the second bar. You put it against the desired wall, rest the end against the adjoining wall, mark the place where the cross is drawn, draw a line and then cut it off. Correction is carried out “dry” without applying glue.
You repeat exactly the same actions for the outer (protruding) corner. Now you know another way to make a corner of a ceiling plinth, and without a string or other special devices.
How to install sliding interior doors can be found here.
With decorative corners
There is another, the easiest way. For skirting boards made of polyurethane or polystyrene, use ready-made, factory-made decorative corners. They are installed in a corner, the strips are glued closely to them. Cutting them if necessary is very simple: a few millimeters with an ordinary clerical knife.
How to join in corners
If the installation of the first corner is completed, we can assume that you have already learned to do almost everything. “Almost” because you still need to learn how to connect the corners and cut the planks to length. When some part is already glued and there is a small distance to the corner, how can one not make a mistake with the length? The answer is simple: leave a margin.
At first, you can cut off a piece 10-15 cm longer: there will be an opportunity to redo it several times if something does not work out right away. Then you make a corner in the way described above, try it on dry, adjust everything so that the result suits you. Only after that you can put the already cut bar into the corner and mark the place to which it can be shortened. You need to cut exactly at 90 °. It is not necessary to use a stool. Just try to put the knife (hacksaw) perpendicular to the surface.