Thank you so much as i have 2 mitre box's and couldn't understand why they wasn't cutting the corner at any angle then I bought the hand tool and still it wouldn't cut the right angle although I watched numerous trade experts show me how. Until I styled across your vid which said yo cut the internal corners I need yo cut from underneath. I double checked the packaging thinking I over looked it and it is not in the Instructions. Your a life saver and as someone who does a lot of DIY I was super frustrated.
Glad I could help! The only way I worked it out from memory was having some precut ones from a previous pack. I don't think I could find any instructions at the time either 😅
oh Vikkie, I feel your pain using the polystyrene coving... I'm surprised it's not put you off for life using it.... in the trade we don't use that.. it's too hard to get looking good. Top Tip Tuesday is use the plaster coving (the paper wrapped Gypro style). As the Wickes Coving cutter is for that style of coving, not the shaped coving you fitted. The Wickes cove cutter is very good, we use it when doing the plaster/gyproc and it's easy to use once you get into it. My tip.. use a tub of waterproof tile adhesive to stick it up. If you were using 'proper' plaster ornate cornice/coving. It's easier to offer up the cove to the corners, mark the wall and ceiling top and bottom.. and where the lines cross... that's where you need to cut the coving.. as 99.9% or corners are never true 45s. Another tip for anyone still reading my reply.. don't butt up coving. mitre/angle cut them and that way they slide together and it's easier to fill and make good. Keep up the good work.
I like the way you explain things and your results looks amazing. When joining 2 bits along a straight wall its best to use a miter cut rather than butt them up. I've done both here and the butt joint stands out alot more :)
Another cracking job vikkie. I used to fit the plaster coving years ago and we made a mitre block out of ply wood and just turn the coving upside down to cut and the mitres are bang on. Add a bit filler into the mitres before putting them together and take the waste off with a scraper and follow the pattern on the coving. 🤗 looks brilliant well done 👏👏👏👏🍻🍻
Coving is a linear Rhubic cube! All angles are different and even a cutting pattern is only a guide. I have struggled for ages on my own and now can see that others suffer also. Feminine logic applied to moving puts a new perspective on the job. Marvelous vidio. Thank you.
Thank you my love. I wonder how you got started. I spend my time trying to correct other mistakes or at worst bodges. I bet your southern sisters can't do as well. I'm Welsh with northern roots.
Very clear explanation and demonstration. Thank you. All other videos I’ve watched were very complicated and they used 127 straight coving. I was wondering how the decorative ends would look when joined together and if the mitre tool would give good results with decorative coving. I had been dreading doing it myself, but after your video, I’ll have a go tonight with mine. I’ll share the outcome :) Thank you so much!
I mixed my adhesive yesterday and made it into a lovely consistency, but it dried before I could put my little 800mm piece up! I scrapped it off, threw out my mix out, made a sloppy wet mix and got it up (with nails), but the mix was already dry before I could put it on my second 1m piece. It was supposed to set in one hour. What I thought would take minutes took hours - and a huge mess. Get the premix stuff! I love the tube ... work fast!
We used a mitre box and a very fine toothed hand saw. A friend of mine told me (after we'd finished) about a hot wire cutter he got of the Internet for about £20. He said it was quick and made really neat cuts. On our second go at coving we used the plaster coving. It's a bit heavier, so you have to use nails under the coving to support it, but it's easier to work with and gives a great finish. As for your pipes, unless you need to access the pipes frequently I'd box them in and make the box look like part of the chimney breast. It's well worth doing as the final look is great and you aren't sat there in six months looking at pipes or a half arsed boxing in job. It will also make doing the coving over it so much easier.
Tips:- do your coving before you paint your walls. Homebase adhesive for coving is cheap and excellent. Etch walls with a stanley knife for grip. If using heavier coving do the same to them as well. For cutting use a mitre saw and block plus keep your left overs as guides and mark them up left external etc...
I sometimes use the chop saw and if i dont have it with me a handsaw is quite good plus the joints can be filled easily and a pin gun to tack them on while the adhesive sets you did a great job another good episode 👍
Hi, I have done loads of that coving, and I always use normal wallpaper glue mixed with half the recommended water to make it a little thicker. I bought an expensive cutter that will make perfect cuts no matter what the angle is but that jig from Wicks looks much easier and it seems to work so I might pop out and get one.
I felt your pain when the frog tape lifted your paint, I had the exact same thing happen to me last weekend! I filled the lifted patches with some easy sand filler, rubbed the patches down flush and touched up them up, worked a treat :)
Fitting coving is surprisingly confusing. I used one of the Wickes tools too and labeled up a sample of each of the types of cuts on some scrap coving to compare with!
Also if you use coving adhesive made by Supercove you won't really need the nails as it becomes tacky almost immediately. I tried the Diall stuff but I found anything from that B&Q own brand is very poor quality and the coving was slipping down the wall straight away.
crown molding (what we call it here in The States) is one of those things where if you don't do it often, it's not the easiest thing to do, lol. the first time i did it was in our kitchen. the first 2 or 3 corners took me about an hour to figure out. after that, i sailed along and go the rest done in about half that time (10 corners, total). luckily, i have a miter saw with positive stops at the 2 angles that are needed for both inside and outside corners. that made it easier, but you need to know how to place the material on the saw to make sure it's cutting the correct way. that's where i kept getting messed up. but i got it figured out, finally, and told myself, "if i never have to do this, again, i'll be happy."
When I did my coving, I gave it 8 coats of paint over a full week. The result is that the polystyrene coving is indistinguishable from actual plaster. It's well worth it. Great Video.
@@MisterAmbassador Yeah, you're right, I was blinded by the 8 coat business but in that case a roller would have created a subtle stipple, also requiring a considerably less amount than 8 coats 🧐 Agree? Or no?
@@hansiesma16 it all depends on the paint and specifically the roller head if its short haired or long . But to get a better finish I always brush my covings. There's a coving out now that's polyurethane which is light weight and smooth better than the polystyrene and gyproc ones. And I think decorators caulk which is about just over a £1.00 will stick it up and the polystyrene ones.
Just found your UA-cam channel, great work on the coving. Luckily you've done a video for just about every single job I've got to do on a house I've just bought!
Where were you last week 😮😂 I was pissing about for ages. My TOP TIP to get perfect mitres is cut the 45' internal corner as normal . Mark your coving along ceiling to wall , as a rough guide . Using grab adhesive outa a cauk gun, run a bead along both sides . Secure to wall . Now in the corner...when you get a unsightly gap...just push either UP or DOWN & the mitre joint will close up, leaving a perfect mitre joint. Don't worry when your coving isn't aligned along your original pencil lines
Lovely job. I use a deep mitre box so I cut the coving as if it’s in the position it will be ultimately and use a hacksaw blade. . There are special ones that fully support the coving but they’re more expensive. Just let’s me visualise the cut. Takes up more space than the wicked tool though.
Person below said it , mitre box for about a 8 quid from (enter firm here lol ) use it for all jobs including floor trims and trims round windows doors/skirting boards e.t.c. Good video as usual and nice new hair cut 😉 👍👍
For the pipework for me there is only one effective solution, a box in job and then cove around the boxing in. Holes in the coving for the pipework just looks like a bodge job. It doesn't have to be huge boxing in just enough to cover cover the pipes and it may also double as some insulation for those pipe, be that hot or cold pipes. Nothing is worse that having cold water pipes running with condensation in the winter months when your heating is on on or it's always a bonus to have really nice hot water in the winter without having to wake up you boiler on high. A win win situation!
Ive got 2 pipes running up the wall, in the corner where the door hinges are and boxing wasn't an option. I spent ages sanding off old paint and plaster and now they look beautiful.
Looks great ! I usually use a chop saw when doing Crown molding but I still hate doing it and get confused on which way to do the cuts. The last piece you have to do with the pipes, I would just cut some slots and fill with caulk, it will look fine. Thanks for the video !
I wasted so much coving yesterday using the mitre box, I just couldn't visualise what I was doing, might even have to buy some more. The Wickes template is the way to go. I didn't realise you put it on the reverse for externals though
Respecting the voice to camera shots up on the ladder - that ain't easy to do either. :) I learnt to do the inside angles for dado rails at least, by butting one side at 90 against the wall and then cutting the marrying face to 45 degrees. Then using a coping saw to follow the profile. I think the advantage is you can't look into the corner if they ever pull apart - helping keep the join seamless. Not sure if it's possible to do the same for coving but it looks like it came out well.
It felt easier up there for some reason, like I was in the middle of the job 😂 I have a feeling this coving it probably too weak and fragile for coping, but could be wrong 🤔
This is so helpful, thanks for posting! EPS plaster-coated coving is a fantastic choice for DIYers. It's durable yet lightweight, low-maintenance, and affordable. For quality coving and trim, Homemerce Ltd can't be beaten. They offer subtle, versatile profiles to suit any style. Their products provide a stylish, upscale finish at a DIY budget.
Hey, great video. I'm interested how far out your ceiling was because I have a massive taper (due to.a somewhat lazy plasterer rebounding the ceiling) before you decided to just run with the ceiling line anyway. My guess is that it doesn't matter too much if you're painting the walls, but would look weird if you had patterned wallpaper. Thoughts?
That's a very good question which I'm not honestly sure about it. I'd be less inclined to go with a bold pattern that make it look obvious. Interestingly, I've been fixing cracks in our ceiling this week in our new place and had to add supports in tbe loft. I found the plasterboard wasn't mounted to the joists properly and they were sagging in places by an inch. Just a thought to check up there too!
So in one corner it’s out by just over an inch and a bit less on the other side. It’s at the top of the stairs so over a very long wall, probably just painted with no patterns or wallpaper I feel like it wouldn’t be noticeable. Hmmm, not sure I want to start it though and realise it was a bad idea 😂
Hi again, I forgot to tell you about cutting the coving. If you pop into your local pound shop (hopefully they haven't shut as mine has in Stockton-on-Tees) and get one of those through away knifes with the snap-off blade you can extend the blade and cut though in one go.
John Fithian-Franks thanks! You're right.. I have one of those snap on blades and used it on the last bit of coving and gives a MUCH professional finish!
its been a few years and ive only ever used gyproc cove ,cut that with a mitre box and woodsaw , like you keeping a sample to show exactly which way round to place it in the box for internal/external cuts , left and right to . artex was a fraction of the price of cove adheasive and lasted for hours once mixed , nails as resting guides yes . I recon a mitre box would be a better way to cut , just go slow and easy
Looks good, amazing what caulk can do lol...as for the masking tape, I used to use the same method untill the same happened to me, once it pulled emulsion off the walls I realised it wasn’t worth the hassle so I just took the extra care to cut in by hand with a paintbrush lol
Thanks! I've been painting this week again and have to agree. I think it's much easier with an artist's paint brush for little areas. I've tried various masking tape methods since, even low tack and paint ALWAYS comes off 😔
forge steel coving mitre box from Screwfix about a fiver it is a bit flimsy but as long as your careful works well filled with expanding foam and glued to an offcut of mdf
I've coving in all my rooms and there was a swear word or twenty when doing mine, even using the pre cut ends. BTW I used decorator caulk to put mine up with. God only knows what we did before decorators caulk was invented, lol.
Another job well done. :-) A shame to see the Frog Tape tearing colour from your walls. I wonder if warming it with a heat gun (or hair dryer?) might've helped? A tricky one with those pipes. I look forward to seeing your solution.
Vikki......Make a 3 sided box about 600m/m long with a 90 degree cut in middle and 2 others either side of it at 45 degree angles different ways, use an old panel saw for cuts. Works well for me. B
Great Video again, i hate fitting coving it has to be one of my most hated jobs but maybe thats why ive taken it all down. To help stop the masking tape from peeling the paint off the walls try using less pressure when applying it and try not to leave it on there to long as this can also affect how clean it pulls off along with if it gets wet and then left to dry out. Good quality masking masking tape is normally a little thicker than the cheaper stuff and uses a PSA (Pressure Sensitive Adhesive) type adhesive which mean the firmer you push it in place the better/stronger bond it creates to the surface your sticking it to. Also when it comes to removing the masking tape if you take it off just as the paint has started to go tacky you can get a sharper/crisp edge. any latter than tacky you run the risk of pulling the paint off, getting stringy bits of paint that wont flow back in or pulling it off to early you may get it running on to the other surface depending on how heavy its applied
God I've been struggling with a short run of coving all day and I'm supposed to be good at this sort of thing. The angles were doing my head in. Worse still it's at a customers house so I have yo pretend I know what I'm doing. The guide for internals will be useful. Thanks for making the vid and your work looks great 👌
Im going to take this on in the next few weeks this is a great help thanks! Question though: is that wickes mitre gizmo much easier than a standard mitre box?
I haven't watch the whole of you're video but if anybody should read this please don't make the mistake I made. You need to buy a coving mitre. Due to the Curve. I don't know why but I just thought an ordinary one would work. You live and learn. Right back to the video I go 👍🏿
Spend Time, Save Money, DIY any time and thanks so much for the tip! I might try that next time. Just setting it up sometimes puts me off as I don't have a proper place for DIY yet lol
Amazing video, I'm doing my living room this week. One question, how did you tackle the join along a straight wall? Did you butt them up straight or do 2 angled cuts to hide the join more?
I use a piece of equipment called a "magic mitre" for my coving (in what ever material including wood) have a search on you tube to see one (not sure if is still in production).
Ooh, that sounds trickier. Sorry, I don't have the answer as I've never had to do it. But I can imagine you'd need a sliding bevel to work out your angles and perhaps use the guide on a mitre chop saw. However, I've only ever used a hand saw for coving myself.
what size coving did you use, I have got 100 mm but they only seam to make that tool for 90mm and 127mm which is a bit strange, just wondering if you could use the 127mm tool on the 100 mm. I got a magnuson coving mitre box, which does external corners ok, but you don't appear to be able to do internal cuts, the angle of the cut comes out wrong, its like you need to put the coving in the box upside down to get the correct angle, but you cant actually do that :-(
The panel pins are always a good move and it is a method I would use because the panel pins almost act like an extra pair of hands and you can never have too many of those when doing DIY. The coving adhesive is rubbish and I have always used some sort of grab adhesive via a caulking gun which proves from rapid installation. Then use the same adhesive/filler to fill the panel pin holes. I am sure for the lightweight coving you are using you can even afford not to be to liberal as is really does not not weigh a lot. Some of the tips you have been given are great if you are using plaster coving but really for the lighter stuff you do not need to go as heavy duty. For cutting any coving lightweight or plaster I would always recommend using a mitre box of some sort of fine toothed saw, easier and faster when it comes to doing those mitre joints. I had looked at the Wickes coving tools you are using but for me it just seemed too finger and thumbs and for the sake of £3 for a mitre box from Wilko's it was a no brainer. It does take some experimentation getting the mitre joints right but I had watched a video on here by Woodies and they were great in showing you whats what.
Thanks!! We used a mitre box on the last room but found the angles weren't right, but had seen it needs to be cut while laid on an angle and not flat. Tempted to buy another and give it a go as I think we'd accidentally cut through the plastic on our old one!
That is odd for the angles not to be right, mind you if your house is anything like mine....everything is wonky in an older house, but with that said we didn't have any issues with the mitre box angles being off??? I suppose the only way you could confirm which it is, the mitre box or the wall is to measure the angle of the wall. Distortion of the angle on a plastic mitre box can happen if it has had some serious use but you can ones made of aluminium which are more durable if you find it does get a lot of use. Other than that you could use a mitre saw to get your desired angle quicker......well that is if you have one to hand.
Everyone who does coving, does it a different way - to within a little. There are no absolute rights or wrongs in that job; you just do what you need to do to get the stuff stuck to the top of the wall so it ends up looking as right as is humanly possible, making good with caulk and paint where needed. Then you kick back and wait for the usual choruses of "Nah! Don't do it like that, do it like this!" and "Y'shooda dun this" or "Y'shooda dun that". You did a terrific job (as usual) and the results are great :o) The only possible suggestion I can think of that MIGHT help is to take a sturdy kitchen knife to a grinder and sharpen it until it's scary. It will sit easier in your hand than a Stanley type knife and slice through polystyrene coving like a hot knife through butter. But again, if you like working with a Stanley, carry on regardless. Whomever told you about using pins to support the coving 'til it sets knows what they're on about; theirs is likely a voice of actual experience. I can hardly wait to see how you adapt and overcome the pipework problem!
haha... that DOES sound scary!! I've bought some boxing now with double pipe clips I'll be fitting this week, painting in the same wall colour and coving around it. I'm only doing part of it as they're turn on an angle, then covering the rest will a filler piece next to the wardrobe.
If you had used something with a bigger blade that guide would have guided the angle better, a pull saw or Japanese saw are great for all sorts of stuff with very fine teeth. Looked good at the end.
I've never done it, but my expectation is that the adhesive in the tub is supposed to be applied to the wall rather than the coving. Use the filling knife to slap a good amount on the wall and ceiling and then push the coving into place.
I’d never done any coving before and purchased the wickes 127mm plaster coving, coving tool and used wickes packet coving adhesive to mix yourself. Found the tool was very useful. I marked the line to 83mm all around and found that was a little too much, put panel pins up as suggested on the line, I also scored the ceiling and walls in the following pattern XXXXX to help the adhesive to stick even more. You certainly find out that the walls are not straight at all when doing skirting or coving.. good old caulk to the rescue
Getting those angles right is major pain in the ass. They never line up perfectly in old house where not even single corner is a 90 degrees. :P That styrofoam molding seems even much harder to get right than "a real" wooden molding.
Yeah, I used pine molding instead. The funny things is not one person in B&Q could give a reason not to use it. Everyone just kept saying 'that's not what you would use' But they couldn't actually give me a reason why? lol
You can always use any type of silicone as the adhesive works out a lot cheap and holds just the same. This can allow the coving to move with the house if it needed to as the silicone is flexible. I also like to use small masonry nails to tac it up while the silicone goes off
not really. most of the walls are not 90 degree, especially in traditional wet mortar constructions. marking angles and cutting on them is much safer (and very fast for a skilled worker), at least at the buildings we have in our workflow.
I would simply box in flush to the chimney breast effectively making it slightly wider whilst hiding the pipes. You would then never know what you had done and would not then spend years looking at either visible boxing in or pipes through the coving.
Thanks for the recommendation! I've now bought a filler piece for between the wardrobe and chimney and only the top section will have a double pipe clip over it, then coving around it as usual.
If any of this isn't clear, you can find my written guide here: thecarpentersdaughter.co.uk/decorating/how-to-fit-coving-with-video-tutorial/
Thank you so much as i have 2 mitre box's and couldn't understand why they wasn't cutting the corner at any angle then I bought the hand tool and still it wouldn't cut the right angle although I watched numerous trade experts show me how. Until I styled across your vid which said yo cut the internal corners I need yo cut from underneath. I double checked the packaging thinking I over looked it and it is not in the Instructions. Your a life saver and as someone who does a lot of DIY I was super frustrated.
Glad I could help! The only way I worked it out from memory was having some precut ones from a previous pack. I don't think I could find any instructions at the time either 😅
oh Vikkie, I feel your pain using the polystyrene coving... I'm surprised it's not put you off for life using it.... in the trade we don't use that.. it's too hard to get looking good. Top Tip Tuesday is use the plaster coving (the paper wrapped Gypro style). As the Wickes Coving cutter is for that style of coving, not the shaped coving you fitted.
The Wickes cove cutter is very good, we use it when doing the plaster/gyproc and it's easy to use once you get into it.
My tip.. use a tub of waterproof tile adhesive to stick it up.
If you were using 'proper' plaster ornate cornice/coving. It's easier to offer up the cove to the corners, mark the wall and ceiling top and bottom.. and where the lines cross... that's where you need to cut the coving.. as 99.9% or corners are never true 45s.
Another tip for anyone still reading my reply.. don't butt up coving. mitre/angle cut them and that way they slide together and it's easier to fill and make good.
Keep up the good work.
Artic sticks it really well
I like the way you explain things and your results looks amazing. When joining 2 bits along a straight wall its best to use a miter cut rather than butt them up. I've done both here and the butt joint stands out alot more :)
Another cracking job vikkie. I used to fit the plaster coving years ago and we made a mitre block out of ply wood and just turn the coving upside down to cut and the mitres are bang on. Add a bit filler into the mitres before putting them together and take the waste off with a scraper and follow the pattern on the coving. 🤗 looks brilliant well done 👏👏👏👏🍻🍻
Thanks and a great tip! 😁
Coving is a linear Rhubic cube! All angles are different and even a cutting pattern is only a guide. I have struggled for ages on my own and now can see that others suffer also. Feminine logic applied to moving puts a new perspective on the job. Marvelous vidio. Thank you.
Thank you my love. I wonder how you got started. I spend my time trying to correct other mistakes or at worst bodges. I bet your southern sisters can't do as well. I'm Welsh with northern roots.
Ah !you may have guessed that ' moving' should be coving. The spell checker didn't like the word as given.
Great job on explaining the installation process! If anyone's ever in need of some high-quality coving, feel free to reach out to us!
Very clear explanation and demonstration. Thank you. All other videos I’ve watched were very complicated and they used 127 straight coving. I was wondering how the decorative ends would look when joined together and if the mitre tool would give good results with decorative coving. I had been dreading doing it myself, but after your video, I’ll have a go tonight with mine. I’ll share the outcome :) Thank you so much!
I mixed my adhesive yesterday and made it into a lovely consistency, but it dried before I could put my little 800mm piece up! I scrapped it off, threw out my mix out, made a sloppy wet mix and got it up (with nails), but the mix was already dry before I could put it on my second 1m piece. It was supposed to set in one hour. What I thought would take minutes took hours - and a huge mess. Get the premix stuff!
I love the tube ... work fast!
Great video. It's all looking well. I cut my coving with an old bread knife. Its serrated edge provided a really fine cut.
Thanks 😀 was rather tempted with that method recently 😁
I wouldn't recommend using it for bread afterwards, though.....:-). Hi from Belfast, love your videos.
😂
We used a mitre box and a very fine toothed hand saw. A friend of mine told me (after we'd finished) about a hot wire cutter he got of the Internet for about £20. He said it was quick and made really neat cuts.
On our second go at coving we used the plaster coving. It's a bit heavier, so you have to use nails under the coving to support it, but it's easier to work with and gives a great finish.
As for your pipes, unless you need to access the pipes frequently I'd box them in and make the box look like part of the chimney breast. It's well worth doing as the final look is great and you aren't sat there in six months looking at pipes or a half arsed boxing in job. It will also make doing the coving over it so much easier.
What a great tip! Love the sound of very neat cuts!
Tips:- do your coving before you paint your walls. Homebase adhesive for coving is cheap and excellent. Etch walls with a stanley knife for grip. If using heavier coving do the same to them as well. For cutting use a mitre saw and block plus keep your left overs as guides and mark them up left external etc...
Adam Frost thanks for the tip! I think next time I will 😀
You are an expert in diy....keep posting your new diy...
I wouldn't say that, but it's a great sense of achievement when you win at the end!
I sometimes use the chop saw and if i dont have it with me a handsaw is quite good plus the joints can be filled easily and a pin gun to tack them on while the adhesive sets you did a great job another good episode 👍
Thank you 😀 Tempted to try with my chopsaw next time!
Thank so so much your video was amazing I got the job done was nervous about doing it but I have now finished and its brilliant looking thank you ❤️
That is great news! Glad I could help 😊
Thanks for giving me the confidence to tackle my coving. Great video.
Thanks and so glad to hear it! Once you do one or two corners, the rest is fun :D
I only recently saw your channel, I love your confidence when tackling all these jobs around the house. Well done mam
Hi, I have done loads of that coving, and I always use normal wallpaper glue mixed with half the recommended water to make it a little thicker. I bought an expensive cutter that will make perfect cuts no matter what the angle is but that jig from Wicks looks much easier and it seems to work so I might pop out and get one.
Once I got to grips with it, it was rather fun 😁
@JJ Willywinkle yes
I felt your pain when the frog tape lifted your paint, I had the exact same thing happen to me last weekend! I filled the lifted patches with some easy sand filler, rubbed the patches down flush and touched up them up, worked a treat :)
So annoying isn't it 😬😬
Next time, test the tape on the wall where the coving will hide any painted wall lifting. I have my go to tape but don’t live in UK.
I'm doing plaster coving as we speak and I'm using the wickes tool. Its definitely working for me.
Boy that really finished off. That cutter guide looks pretty slick to me better than coping wooden cove.
Eric Corse Yes, I don't fancy cutting with a coping saw, but will have to do it at some point 😀
Fitting coving is surprisingly confusing. I used one of the Wickes tools too and labeled up a sample of each of the types of cuts on some scrap coving to compare with!
Also if you use coving adhesive made by Supercove you won't really need the nails as it becomes tacky almost immediately. I tried the Diall stuff but I found anything from that B&Q own brand is very poor quality and the coving was slipping down the wall straight away.
crown molding (what we call it here in The States) is one of those things where if you don't do it often, it's not the easiest thing to do, lol. the first time i did it was in our kitchen. the first 2 or 3 corners took me about an hour to figure out. after that, i sailed along and go the rest done in about half that time (10 corners, total). luckily, i have a miter saw with positive stops at the 2 angles that are needed for both inside and outside corners. that made it easier, but you need to know how to place the material on the saw to make sure it's cutting the correct way. that's where i kept getting messed up. but i got it figured out, finally, and told myself, "if i never have to do this, again, i'll be happy."
That's probably why we kept getting it wrong with a mitre box last time. The joins needed a LOT of caulk!
When I did my coving, I gave it 8 coats of paint over a full week. The result is that the polystyrene coving is indistinguishable from actual plaster. It's well worth it. Great Video.
Thank you :) And wow... 8 coats... you have a LOT of patience :)
Austin Neary Next time save yourself 5 coats by tinting a primer to the main colour then 1 priming coat/2 if a very strong colour and 2 top coats.
@@hansiesma16 I dont think he did 8 coats because of the colour it was because of the texture of polysteyrene coving
@@MisterAmbassador Yeah, you're right, I was blinded by the 8 coat business but in that case a roller would have created a subtle stipple, also requiring a considerably less amount than 8 coats 🧐 Agree? Or no?
@@hansiesma16 it all depends on the paint and specifically the roller head if its short haired or long . But to get a better finish I always brush my covings. There's a coving out now that's polyurethane which is light weight and smooth better than the polystyrene and gyproc ones. And I think decorators caulk which is about just over a £1.00 will stick it up and the polystyrene ones.
Just found your UA-cam channel, great work on the coving. Luckily you've done a video for just about every single job I've got to do on a house I've just bought!
Perfect timing :) :)
Where were you last week 😮😂
I was pissing about for ages.
My TOP TIP to get perfect mitres is cut the 45' internal corner as normal .
Mark your coving along ceiling to wall , as a rough guide .
Using grab adhesive outa a cauk gun, run a bead along both sides .
Secure to wall .
Now in the corner...when you get a unsightly gap...just push either UP or DOWN & the mitre joint will close up, leaving a perfect mitre joint.
Don't worry when your coving isn't aligned along your original pencil lines
Use artex for coving u won't need any nails to hold it up plus it's great for filling the corners or gaps and easy to clean
You are so right
Lovely job. I use a deep mitre box so I cut the coving as if it’s in the position it will be ultimately and use a hacksaw blade. . There are special ones that fully support the coving but they’re more expensive. Just let’s me visualise the cut. Takes up more space than the wicked tool though.
sachae321 annoyingly we struggled with our mitre box last time, but hopefully can try it again soon. I don't like to be defeated 😂
Person below said it , mitre box for about a 8 quid from (enter firm here lol ) use it for all jobs including floor trims and trims round windows doors/skirting boards e.t.c. Good video as usual and nice new hair cut 😉 👍👍
Thanks! The last time we used one, we were totally out. But a metal one sounds better. It was far easy to accidentally cut the plastic last time 😣
For the pipework for me there is only one effective solution, a box in job and then cove around the boxing in. Holes in the coving for the pipework just looks like a bodge job. It doesn't have to be huge boxing in just enough to cover cover the pipes and it may also double as some insulation for those pipe, be that hot or cold pipes. Nothing is worse that having cold water pipes running with condensation in the winter months when your heating is on on or it's always a bonus to have really nice hot water in the winter without having to wake up you boiler on high. A win win situation!
Ive got 2 pipes running up the wall, in the corner where the door hinges are and boxing wasn't an option. I spent ages sanding off old paint and plaster and now they look beautiful.
Looks great ! I usually use a chop saw when doing Crown molding but I still hate doing it and get confused on which way to do the cuts. The last piece you have to do with the pipes, I would just cut some slots and fill with caulk, it will look fine. Thanks for the video !
Thanks 😀 I may still try that first and take the pipe box back that I bought yesterday. Will see how tidy I can get it 😀
wow your video is amazing. so much useful info. I need to eventually brave doing coving as we have a lot of cracks near the celing.
I wasted so much coving yesterday using the mitre box, I just couldn't visualise what I was doing, might even have to buy some more. The Wickes template is the way to go. I didn't realise you put it on the reverse for externals though
Respecting the voice to camera shots up on the ladder - that ain't easy to do either. :) I learnt to do the inside angles for dado rails at least, by butting one side at 90 against the wall and then cutting the marrying face to 45 degrees. Then using a coping saw to follow the profile. I think the advantage is you can't look into the corner if they ever pull apart - helping keep the join seamless. Not sure if it's possible to do the same for coving but it looks like it came out well.
It felt easier up there for some reason, like I was in the middle of the job 😂 I have a feeling this coving it probably too weak and fragile for coping, but could be wrong 🤔
This is so helpful, thanks for posting! EPS plaster-coated coving is a fantastic choice for DIYers. It's durable yet lightweight, low-maintenance, and affordable. For quality coving and trim, Homemerce Ltd can't be beaten. They offer subtle, versatile profiles to suit any style. Their products provide a stylish, upscale finish at a DIY budget.
Coving looks great. Hope to see what you do with the pipes.
I have a plan I'm hoping works out 😉
The Carpenter's Daughter
I’m sure it will.
Hey, great video. I'm interested how far out your ceiling was because I have a massive taper (due to.a somewhat lazy plasterer rebounding the ceiling) before you decided to just run with the ceiling line anyway. My guess is that it doesn't matter too much if you're painting the walls, but would look weird if you had patterned wallpaper. Thoughts?
That's a very good question which I'm not honestly sure about it. I'd be less inclined to go with a bold pattern that make it look obvious. Interestingly, I've been fixing cracks in our ceiling this week in our new place and had to add supports in tbe loft. I found the plasterboard wasn't mounted to the joists properly and they were sagging in places by an inch. Just a thought to check up there too!
So in one corner it’s out by just over an inch and a bit less on the other side. It’s at the top of the stairs so over a very long wall, probably just painted with no patterns or wallpaper I feel like it wouldn’t be noticeable. Hmmm, not sure I want to start it though and realise it was a bad idea 😂
I couldn’t get on with that angle tool and so I changed to using a mitre box. It is so much easier to work with.
Hi again, I forgot to tell you about cutting the coving. If you pop into your local pound shop (hopefully they haven't shut as mine has in Stockton-on-Tees) and get one of those through away knifes with the snap-off blade you can extend the blade and cut though in one go.
John Fithian-Franks thanks! You're right.. I have one of those snap on blades and used it on the last bit of coving and gives a MUCH professional finish!
Great job Hun i used nails when I done it but it's a nightmare to do but 2 tons of corking after makes it all good.
👍
its been a few years and ive only ever used gyproc cove ,cut that with a mitre box and woodsaw , like you keeping a sample to show exactly which way round to place it in the box for internal/external cuts , left and right to . artex was a fraction of the price of cove adheasive and lasted for hours once mixed , nails as resting guides yes . I recon a mitre box would be a better way to cut , just go slow and easy
Definitely agree about going slow. I suppose someone could also make 4 quick cuts to helps in every angle before they get started as a guide 😀
Very nice vikkie finishes the room off lovely
Thanks Warren 😀 So glad I wasn't too scared to do it this time 😊
Greetings from Scotland, great video away to help my old man as he's in clip, brilliant thank you so much 👍🙂
Terrific job young lady...
Kayinfso Here thanks! 😁
Your coving job was great and easy to follow
We call it crown molding and it is usually made of wood. What is your's made of? It looks so easy to cut.
This one is like a polystyrene 😀
Excellent and well presented. Enjoyed that. Thank you.
Looks good, amazing what caulk can do lol...as for the masking tape, I used to use the same method untill the same happened to me, once it pulled emulsion off the walls I realised it wasn’t worth the hassle so I just took the extra care to cut in by hand with a paintbrush lol
Thanks! I've been painting this week again and have to agree. I think it's much easier with an artist's paint brush for little areas. I've tried various masking tape methods since, even low tack and paint ALWAYS comes off 😔
I just stick it to my leg first then to the wall, makes it less sticky but still does the job
I use a paint shield so a bit slower but guaranteed no paint removal problem.
forge steel coving mitre box from Screwfix about a fiver it is a bit flimsy but as long as your careful works well filled with expanding foam and glued to an offcut of mdf
Thanks for the tip! 😁
Ah yes, coving. The one guaranteed way to find out none of your walls are straight and that you do not have a 90 degree corner in any room!!!
😂 Yes, I don't think any walls are straight in ours 😄
I've coving in all my rooms and there was a swear word or twenty when doing mine, even using the pre cut ends. BTW I used decorator caulk to put mine up with. God only knows what we did before decorators caulk was invented, lol.
Yes, I found that when testing two precuts together too! 😄
Can coving go on a artex ceiling?
@@francispye9587 I shouldn't think so
Another job well done. :-) A shame to see the Frog Tape tearing colour from your walls. I wonder if warming it with a heat gun (or hair dryer?) might've helped?
A tricky one with those pipes. I look forward to seeing your solution.
Thanks Olly Parry-Jones. I probably should have tried the hairdryer again. Annoyingly it didn't work last time 😣
Great video, saved to favourites...will defo come in handy
Vikki......Make a 3 sided box about 600m/m long with a 90 degree cut in middle and 2 others either side of it at 45 degree angles different ways, use an old panel saw for cuts. Works well for me. B
Wow brilliant job. Can we not paint coving first before installing?
Also does it matter which emulsion paint you use?
Great job! - I'm about to tackle a room 👍🙏
Thanks so much :) have fun and good luck :)
One (almost) perfect bedroom ! Thanks for the tips 😍😁👍
That mitre tool looks hard work!!
You soon get used to it after a few goes :)
Great Video again, i hate fitting coving it has to be one of my most hated jobs but maybe thats why ive taken it all down. To help stop the masking tape from peeling the paint off the walls try using less pressure when applying it and try not to leave it on there to long as this can also affect how clean it pulls off along with if it gets wet and then left to dry out. Good quality masking masking tape is normally a little thicker than the cheaper stuff and uses a PSA (Pressure Sensitive Adhesive) type adhesive which mean the firmer you push it in place the better/stronger bond it creates to the surface your sticking it to. Also when it comes to removing the masking tape if you take it off just as the paint has started to go tacky you can get a sharper/crisp edge. any latter than tacky you run the risk of pulling the paint off, getting stringy bits of paint that wont flow back in or pulling it off to early you may get it running on to the other surface depending on how heavy its applied
Thanks for the tips 😀
Great comprehensive tutorial. It looks great.
Thanks, Martin 😀 Absolutely love this room now 😊
God I've been struggling with a short run of coving all day and I'm supposed to be good at this sort of thing. The angles were doing my head in. Worse still it's at a customers house so I have yo pretend I know what I'm doing. The guide for internals will be useful. Thanks for making the vid and your work looks great 👌
Extremely helpful. Thanks
Im going to take this on in the next few weeks this is a great help thanks! Question though: is that wickes mitre gizmo much easier than a standard mitre box?
A mitre-box and fine saw might give a more accurate cut?
good ol mitre box did me well and useful for alot of wood work bits since :D
Great job, i like the size of the coving, can you please confirm the size of the room and the size of the coving you’ve used? Thank you!! 👏🏻
Thanks! About 4m x 6m
The Carpenter's Daughter and the coving width? 🙂 Thanks!!!!!
I haven't watch the whole of you're video but if anybody should read this please don't make the mistake I made. You need to buy a coving mitre. Due to the Curve. I don't know why but I just thought an ordinary one would work.
You live and learn. Right back to the video I go 👍🏿
We found the exact the same problem in another room we did beforehand, too, hence me buying this tool :)
I just used a little dab of glue to put it on ,no mess easy 👍
👋🏼 Adventurous Troubleshooting 😉🤙🏻 wíth an equally sprïtely soundtrack 🎶🗽😃🖖🏼🎵🦘
". . . partially melted Mr Whippy." heh heh heh
Another amazing video 👍🏼 thanks for the mentions much appreciated! I always cut the angles with a chop saw but your way worked great!
Spend Time, Save Money, DIY any time and thanks so much for the tip! I might try that next time. Just setting it up sometimes puts me off as I don't have a proper place for DIY yet lol
The Carpenter's Daughter I usually do coving before the decorating so I set the chopsaw up in the same room. It's dusty but quicker
I think I'll try it that way round next time. A few people have recommended it now
Amazing video, I'm doing my living room this week. One question, how did you tackle the join along a straight wall? Did you butt them up straight or do 2 angled cuts to hide the join more?
I use a piece of equipment called a "magic mitre" for my coving (in what ever material including wood) have a search on you tube to see one (not sure if is still in production).
Thanks! Will have a search!
Can you show me how you apply your coving around a bay window with irregular angles?
Ooh, that sounds trickier. Sorry, I don't have the answer as I've never had to do it. But I can imagine you'd need a sliding bevel to work out your angles and perhaps use the guide on a mitre chop saw. However, I've only ever used a hand saw for coving myself.
what size coving did you use, I have got 100 mm but they only seam to make that tool for 90mm and 127mm which is a bit strange, just wondering if you could use the 127mm tool on the 100 mm. I got a magnuson coving mitre box, which does external corners ok, but you don't appear to be able to do internal cuts, the angle of the cut comes out wrong, its like you need to put the coving in the box upside down to get the correct angle, but you cant actually do that :-(
For polystyrene coving thick wallpaper paste is all you need, caulk will destroy vinyl patterned wallpaper
The panel pins are always a good move and it is a method I would use because the panel pins almost act like an extra pair of hands and you can never have too many of those when doing DIY. The coving adhesive is rubbish and I have always used some sort of grab adhesive via a caulking gun which proves from rapid installation. Then use the same adhesive/filler to fill the panel pin holes. I am sure for the lightweight coving you are using you can even afford not to be to liberal as is really does not not weigh a lot. Some of the tips you have been given are great if you are using plaster coving but really for the lighter stuff you do not need to go as heavy duty.
For cutting any coving lightweight or plaster I would always recommend using a mitre box of some sort of fine toothed saw, easier and faster when it comes to doing those mitre joints. I had looked at the Wickes coving tools you are using but for me it just seemed too finger and thumbs and for the sake of £3 for a mitre box from Wilko's it was a no brainer. It does take some experimentation getting the mitre joints right but I had watched a video on here by Woodies and they were great in showing you whats what.
Thanks!! We used a mitre box on the last room but found the angles weren't right, but had seen it needs to be cut while laid on an angle and not flat. Tempted to buy another and give it a go as I think we'd accidentally cut through the plastic on our old one!
That is odd for the angles not to be right, mind you if your house is anything like mine....everything is wonky in an older house, but with that said we didn't have any issues with the mitre box angles being off??? I suppose the only way you could confirm which it is, the mitre box or the wall is to measure the angle of the wall. Distortion of the angle on a plastic mitre box can happen if it has had some serious use but you can ones made of aluminium which are more durable if you find it does get a lot of use. Other than that you could use a mitre saw to get your desired angle quicker......well that is if you have one to hand.
brilliant video
Installing crown molding is not easy work. However, everytime you look at it you will love it and others will be envious. Pain and pleasure!
😀 was definitely worth doing it 😊
Your way is very good 👍
I didn't do any marking just put adhesive and on the wall... Jobs done
Chop saw with a fine blade would be quicker.
another good job,well done.
shayne Lowther thanks 😀
air coving (guitar) for the win.
😂
Romania....Ok !Good job !
Thanks!
wish i had seen this video before tackling coving myself. I tried to do it on my mitre saw and could not get the correct cut at all, so frustrating
Yep... been there 😆 Drove us mad, so would never do it again without one of these tools. It's easier to get the angles right :)
Well done Miss Vikki. I think the next time I consider putting up cove molding I'll just buy you a plane ticket. ;-)
😂 I might be coved out by the time I finish the hall 😂
Good point!
I find tile adhesive is the best
Everyone who does coving, does it a different way - to within a little. There are no absolute rights or wrongs in that job; you just do what you need to do to get the stuff stuck to the top of the wall so it ends up looking as right as is humanly possible, making good with caulk and paint where needed. Then you kick back and wait for the usual choruses of "Nah! Don't do it like that, do it like this!" and "Y'shooda dun this" or "Y'shooda dun that".
You did a terrific job (as usual) and the results are great :o)
The only possible suggestion I can think of that MIGHT help is to take a sturdy kitchen knife to a grinder and sharpen it until it's scary. It will sit easier in your hand than a Stanley type knife and slice through polystyrene coving like a hot knife through butter. But again, if you like working with a Stanley, carry on regardless.
Whomever told you about using pins to support the coving 'til it sets knows what they're on about; theirs is likely a voice of actual experience.
I can hardly wait to see how you adapt and overcome the pipework problem!
haha... that DOES sound scary!! I've bought some boxing now with double pipe clips I'll be fitting this week, painting in the same wall colour and coving around it. I'm only doing part of it as they're turn on an angle, then covering the rest will a filler piece next to the wardrobe.
What did you apply to the coving after it was fixed? Just matte white emulsion straight on the the polystyrene?
If you had used something with a bigger blade that guide would have guided the angle better, a pull saw or Japanese saw are great for all sorts of stuff with very fine teeth. Looked good at the end.
Very useful thanks
What we call the cornice, or cornicing, good job.
Thanks 😁
Well done, i tried to do it and found it a nightmare 😊
Sorry to hear that! What did you struggle with?
I've never done it, but my expectation is that the adhesive in the tub is supposed to be applied to the wall rather than the coving. Use the filling knife to slap a good amount on the wall and ceiling and then push the coving into place.
I’d never done any coving before and purchased the wickes 127mm plaster coving, coving tool and used wickes packet coving adhesive to mix yourself. Found the tool was very useful.
I marked the line to 83mm all around and found that was a little too much, put panel pins up as suggested on the line, I also scored the ceiling and walls in the following pattern XXXXX to help the adhesive to stick even more.
You certainly find out that the walls are not straight at all when doing skirting or coving.. good old caulk to the rescue
Getting those angles right is major pain in the ass. They never line up perfectly in old house where not even single corner is a 90 degrees. :P That styrofoam molding seems even much harder to get right than "a real" wooden molding.
Surprisingly I found it much easier with this tool than the finish with a mitre box last time 😀
You’ve inspired me 👍🏻💪🏻
Hooray! :)
wish they did this stuff in a thinner width for lower ceilings.
I'd be tempted to use architrave instead?
Yeah, I used pine molding instead. The funny things is not one person in B&Q could give a reason not to use it. Everyone just kept saying 'that's not what you would use' But they couldn't actually give me a reason why? lol
Rather than butting the joints, use a mitre, they'll look loads better and you'll be able to adjust them slightly.
Thanks! I had seen that, but thought it'd be a bit of a nightmare. I'll give it a go when I do the hall :)
Hi.Any idea how to fix/stick polystyrene coving to bended (curved) wall??
Best way around it is to make a mitre box for it. You will only need straight cut internal 45 and external 45
Thanks!! I was so tempted after I'd made that quick clamp thing!
You can always use any type of silicone as the adhesive works out a lot cheap and holds just the same. This can allow the coving to move with the house if it needed to as the silicone is flexible. I also like to use small masonry nails to tac it up while the silicone goes off
I almost used caulk to stick it up as well! Have far too much magnolia at the moment.
The Carpenter's Daughter I have tried using caulk to stick stuff before but when it dries it shrinks and cracks so not very substantial
not really. most of the walls are not 90 degree, especially in traditional wet mortar constructions. marking angles and cutting on them is much safer (and very fast for a skilled worker), at least at the buildings we have in our workflow.
I would simply box in flush to the chimney breast effectively making it slightly wider whilst hiding the pipes. You would then never know what you had done and would not then spend years looking at either visible boxing in or pipes through the coving.
Thanks for the recommendation! I've now bought a filler piece for between the wardrobe and chimney and only the top section will have a double pipe clip over it, then coving around it as usual.
Great job ❤️