Cutting coving. Going mad.

Soldato
Joined
27 Dec 2005
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Bristol
I'm trying to cut coving and I think I'm going crazy. I've got a mitre saw, and from everything I've read and seen you cut at a 45 degree - simples - but I'm obviously doing something wrong because it's way off.

This is for an internal corner atm but the room also has a couple of externals.

I'm on the edge of putting my head in the mitre saw.
 
Are your corners not 90°? What exactly is going wrong?
Not done coving, but have down cornices, plinths and skirting. Just chop at 45°, careful of the side the blade falls.
 
Does that work with coving though? I know it does with skirting and dado but coving is a bit different isnt it?

no different at all. Easier to cut as well.

It won't help with the external corners.

That's not what he's struggling with.


Very few walls are 90 degrees with 2 45 degree mitres. Very few mitre saws will do perfect mitres. Scribing means you take into account walls that aren't square and get a better finish.
 
When cutting in a miter don't lay the coving down flat, keep it upright with the top section towards you. like this

mitre-block-ajr.jpg


then just remember what way around you need your cuts.

like this.

DIY0473.png
 
My girlfriend and I have coved about 4 rooms in our house - I do the simpleton cutting and she works out whether I'm doing internal/external right/left :D

We use the block template linked above, but as mentioned ensure the coving is not 'flat' in the box because that won't be the right angle then - we did this wrong the first time too.
 
Is it a Victorian house? If so give up hoping for 90 degree angles!

There isn't a single right angle corner in our terrace with no two walls being parallel and nothing seems to be level either ceilings, floors door frames windows etc etc. When I've done skirting and picture rails I've gone with scribing in the odds as described above out side corners have been a bit of guess work a bit of filler and a lot of cursing! The only coving that has been put up I paid a plasterer to do as it wasn't very expensive and he got it right first time!
 
how do you scribe a corner joint?

im gonna be fitting some coving soon aswell,also how to fit coving if the door frame touches the ceiling? it has a glass panel above the door

just fly through and cut a length out? or stop at the door frame?
 
Ive seen some 90mm and some 127mm coving. Which part do I measure to find out what ive got? Is it the curve or is the back edge of it or is it another bit?
 
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how do you scribe a corner joint?

im gonna be fitting some coving soon aswell,also how to fit coving if the door frame touches the ceiling? it has a glass panel above the door

just fly through and cut a length out? or stop at the door frame?

You should do right angle returns to the wall either side of the door frame for the best looking finish, we have this in our kitchen as the window touches the ceiling.
 
Figured it out. Wasn't that difficult I was just attempting it far too late my brain was frazzled.

I wasn't cutting them upright (ie in the same position they will be on the wall), mainly because my mitre saw's blade was too small to allow this. I've now bought a mitre block and all is good.
 
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