With any project, proper planning is the first and most important step. A remodeling project is no different. If you are installing moulding, the surfaces have to be very clean and smoother. You have to be ready to cut the molding and therefore have the right tools handy, such as a mitre box, clamps and a cope saw. Finishing material and finishing nails will also have to be at hand.



The purpose of a mitre box is to hold pieces of wood at a correct angle to be cut. They may come in different sizes and shapes, but they all serve this same purpose. Even if you are using pre-molded trim, you will have to make joint cuts at 45 degree angles.

When you are doing the trim in a room, measure hate entire room and then add for any cutting losses. It is easy to make a piece shorter, impossible to make it longer without seaming two pieces together, which will not look as good.

Moulding pieces are joined together at 45 % angles at corners or anywhere else there is not a straight run.

Take a lot of care doing the corners, since errors show readily here. You can make this easier in a number of ways. If you make the pieces end a little before the corner, you can use small rounded premade cuts to fill. Or, make the corner as best you can and then fill with wood putty and sand it down well.

No home is exactly square and level, so expect irregularities when you are working with moulding.In patio rooms"http://www.allsunrooms.com/index.html">furniture or patio rooms. You can join pieces together by hammering finishing nails at the ends or glue them together on the joined surface. If you do use nails, make sure to nail them in at a different level on one piece than the piece next to it. This way, you will not be hammering a nail into a piece right on the adjoining piece, which will cause the wood to crack.

You may still have some of the trim crack on you. If you press on the surface with a piece of plastic or wood, this will prevent this cracking. This will push the nail into the wood, instead of going outward to form a crack. The purpose of a cope saw is to be able to make clamped or free hand cuts for small adjustments. If you want your moulding to look professional, you should aim for pieces that fit as precisely as possible. Bent nails, gouges, bad angles, etc. will tell everyone this is an amateur job, since you can only hide so much with the stain.

You may have to sand the trim pieces. Have a few different grades of sandpaper on hand, down to a fine grit paper. Sand with the grain, not against it, and dust well to remove all sawdust. Wipe with a moistened towels to get the last remnants of dust.

You should finish all of the pieces before you begin to install. Make sure you use wood putty on any gauges or nicks. Let the putty dry and sand it down well so that it is even with the rest of the wood. Wipe with a moist cloth to remove dust and let it dry.

You can finish your moulding with stain, paint or varnish. It depends on your taste and how the room is decorated.

You may also have to consult the directions on the stain or varnish to make sure it works well with the type of wood you used. For example, you would not paint oak, but rather, stain or varnish it. If you paint your moulding, you will have to use two coats, a primer and final.

One other tip is to get the weather report for the upcoming days. You will need long periods of time between each step, and things will dry better if the temperature is moderate without too much humidity. Make sure you have proper ventilation when you are doing your painting or staining.