Trim Complete
Expert Advice on a Wide Array of
Trim and Molding Projects

By Greg Kossow

If you want to give your house a one-of-a-kind personality, all the finishing touches have to be just right. Of course, that includes the interior trim and molding that's so crucial to the inner beauty of your home.

Trim Complete delivers all the information you'll need to handle these important projects like a pro.

With detailed instructions and over 800 step-by-step photos, expert carpenter Greg Kossow shows you how to complete every possible trim project, from simple baseboards to complicated casings. He even includes hard-to-find advice about complex crown moldings and creating custom moldings.

By tackling real-world situations just as you'd encounter them, the author shares proven tips, techniques and valuable trade secrets -- always helping you anticipate and solve any problems that may occur.

Here's an example of what you'll find.

• How to choose trim that's compatible with the style of your house, and select the right moldings, lumber, sheet goods, synthetic glues and fasteners
• All the latest tools and best techniques for using power miter saws, circular saws, table saws, jigsaws, routers, biscuit joiners, planers, sanders, hand tools and accessories
• Everything you need to know about building and installing window trim, including jambs, stools, aprons and casings for traditional and customized windows
• Choosing doors that work with the design of your home, cutting doorjambs to length, installing pre hung single doors, French doors and pocket doors
• Techniques for creating and installing any type of running baseboards, crown moldings, wall caps and perimeter band boards
• Plus you'll discover a wide range of design choices, and techniques for installing wainscoting, ceiling elements and other special projects
• From creative planning, to choosing tools and materials, to every last detail you'll need to complete a project, Trim Complete is the only guide you'll ever need.

Introduction:

Good planning means fewer surprises and problems, so take the time to consider these fundamental questions so you can get going on to the fun stuff!

What tools and skills will I need?
The most important skill you'lll need is a working knowledge of your tools. Don't be afraid to gain that knowledge by using up some material practicing the techniques you're going to need.

Be aware that installing trim level, even, and with close-fitting joints does require working to closer tolerances than you may be used to in general carpentry--from the first steps of taking and transferring measurements and determining angles to cutting the individual components to the final steps of installing the pieces securely in place.

Aside from carpentry skills, it is also important to become proficient at keeping the materials and procedures organized so you can work efficiently and with a minimum of material-wasting mistakes.

How long will the project take?
While only your own personal experience and level of expertise can determine how quickly you will get through the various tasks involved in the project, the rule of thumb for estimating the overall time frame goes like this: Come up with the best estimate you can muster based on your experience and then double it. If you have never done anything quite like what you are attempting, it may take all that time and more to complete the project. Hopefully, you might surprise yourself and finish early. In any case, though, avoid trying to hurry through the process--otherwise both you and the quality of the finished project are likely going to suffer.

How do I figure out the cost of the project?
It's important to do your homework beforehand to determine the fixed costs of the project before you begin. Draw up a complete materials list. Be sure to account for some waste--the rule of thumb for trim stock is to add to the lineal count by about 15%. Don't forget to add in supplies such as sandpaper and glue if you really want a true picture of material costs. Millwork stock varies greatly in price depending on its species, quality, and style. What you choose to go with here will have a significant impact on the final price of the project.

How do I organize the project efficiently?
Before embarking on any project, take into account how the project will fit into the daily life of your family--it will not go very quickly or sanely if you find yourself doing trim work during holidays or other special events.

Begin the planning of the project by deciding the order of the various tasks involved. If the millwork is going to be painted or clear-finished, you must decide whether to prefinish the material before installation.

It's not an easy decision: while finishing materials are much easier (and therefore much faster) to apply when the material is not on the walls, doing so takes away your ability to fine-tune the joints by sanding or planning--and that inevitably slows down the installation process.

Another consideration affecting the scope of the entire job is to be sure that windows, doors, and other room elements such as built-ins are ready to accept their trim. You obviously cannot, for examples, trim out doors until the doorjambs are installed or put on window trim until the jamb extensions are in.

What kind of problems could I encounter?
Don't be surprised to find walls and floors disturbingly out of plumb or level; adjacent windows out of alignment with one another; or doors and windows out of plumb. In many cases, you'll find that making small adjustments will correct--at least visually--large problems: Someone would have to look closely at the reveals in order to see their irregularity where as the tapered gap of an out-of-plumb casing running next to a plumb wall or cabinet is more readily noticed.

Planning installation
Some trim carpenters always work from the top down: first installing the ceiling trim work, then the ceiling-to-wall trim, then wall trim, then the wall-to-floor trim. The advantage of this arrangement is that the completed work is always above the work in process and therefore out of harms way.

But it's OK to start with a procedure that you feel more comfortable with in order to build up confidence and sharpen your skills before tackling the more complicated tasks. Just be sure to think it through beforehand to be sure that the order in which you do things won't create complications and conflicts further down the road.

Another way to order the installation is to complete all of one type at a time, such as installing all the baseboard. The advantage to this approach is that you only need to set up the tooling and staging for dealing with a particular trim molding once.

When installing running moldings, good planning means both fewer joints and a better appearance. Consider the line of sight as you enter a room and plan the copes on inside corners to hide any irregularities.

Table of Contents:

Before You Start
About Your Safety

Selecting Trim & Materials
Trim Styles
-- Choosing a Style
-- Moldings

Materials
-- Lumber and Sheet goods
-- Synthetic Trim
-- Glues
-- Fasteners

Tools & Techniques
Power Saws
-- Power Miter Saw
-- Circular Saw
-- Tablesaw
-- Jigsaw

Portable Power Tools
-- Router
-- Cordless Drill Driver
-- Biscuit Joiner
-- Planers
-- Nail Guns
-- Sanders

Hand Tools & Accessories
-- Handsaws
-- Chisels and Planes
-- Pounding and Prying Tools

Marking & Measuring Tools
-- Rules and Tapes
-- Squares
-- Levels

Other Tool Techniques
-- Removing Old Trim
-- Making Back Cuts

Windows
Jambs
-- Adjusting Walls and Jambs
-- Starting with a "Jamb" Session
-- Making Jamb Extensions
-- Installing Shimmed Jambs
-- Making and Installing Rabbeted Jambs

Window Stools & Aprons
-- Making a Window Stool
-- Scribing Stool Horns
-- Mitered Return on an Apron
-- Stool with Drywalled Jamb

Window Casing
-- Making Mitered Window Casing
-- Pre-Assembling a Mitered Casing

Windows in a series
-- Stool for Windows in a Series

Installing Mitered Mullions
-- Installing Flat Mullions

Windows with Style
-- Installing Craftsman-Style Trim
-- Installing Arts and Crafts-Style Trim
-- Installing Trim with Rosettes
-- Perimeter Molding and Back Banding

Doors
Installation
-- Preparing the Rough Opening
-- Setting a Swing Door
-- Installing a Prehung Single Door
-- Installing Prehung French Doors
-- Installing a Pocket Door
-- Installing Jambs on a Pocket Door
-- Installing Bifold Doors

Making Adjustments
-- Cutting Doors to Length
-- Trimming a Hollow
-- Core Door to Length
-- Cutting Doorjambs to Length in Place
-- Correcting a Hinge-Bound Door

Casing & Trim
-- Prepping the Wall and Door Frame
-- Casing with Mitered Trim
-- Craftsman-Style Casing
-- Traditional Casing with Parting Bead
-- Casing with Rosettes and Plinth Blocks
-- Rabbeted Banding

Running Moldings
Baseboard Molding
-- Installing Baseboard around 90-Degree Corners
-- Installing Baseboard around Radiused Corners
-- Coping Inside Corners
-- Installing Corner Blocks
-- Splicing Baseboards
-- Scribing Baseboard to the Floor
-- Installing Moldings on Uneven Walls
-- Transitioning Moldings
-- Running Baseboard to Stair Skirtboards

Crown Molding
-- Crown Molding on a 90-Degree Corner
-- Crown Molding on a Radiused Corner
-- Coping Inside Corners
-- Cutting Crown in Position on a Miter Saw
-- Cutting Crown Flat on a Compound Miter Saw
-- Splicing Crown on the Wall
-- Splicing Crown Using Backer

Wall Cap
-- Installing Wall Cap
-- Mitered End Cap

Perimeter Band Boards
-- Installing Perimeter Band Boards

Wainscot
-- Tongue-and-groove Wainscot
-- Making Rabbeted Baseboards
-- Installing Rabbeted Baseboards
-- Installing Tongue-and- Groove Boards
-- Installing a Closing Board to an Irregular Wall
-- Marking and Cutting for Outlets

Installing Chair Rail
-- Installing Wainscot Cap
-- Installing Rabbeted Cap
-- Installing Chair Rail at 90-Degree Corners
-- Installing Cap on Radiused Outside Corners

Pre-assembled frame-and-panel wainscot
-- Laying Out Frame-and-Panel Wainscot
-- Assembling the Frame- and-Panel Unit
-- Locating and Cutting Holes for Outlets
-- Installing Frame-and-Panel Assembly to Wall
-- Installing Assembled Panels on Inside Corners
-- Installing Assembled
-- Panels on 90-Degree Corners
-- Assembled Panels around a Bullnosed Corner

Frame-over-panel
-- Pre-Assembled Frame-Over-Panel
-- Installing Frames Piece by Piece

Pre-Assembled Frames and Precut Panel
-- Installing Pre-Assembled Frame and Precut Panels

Ceiling Elements
-- Tongue-and-Groove
-- Fitting Starting Boards on a Flat Ceiling
-- Fitting Starting Boards on a Raked Ceiling
-- Pulling together Stubborn Tongue-and-Groove
-- Cutting Out for a Ceiling Fixture
-- Fitting an Angled Ceiling Break
-- Installing a Closing Board

Paneled ceiling
-- Locating Ceiling Joistsand Layout
-- Cutting Out for Fixture in a Paneled Ceiling
-- Installing Plywood Panels

Coffered ceiling
-- Installing Trim Boards on a Ceiling
-- Installing Ceiling Panel Trim Moldings
-- Installing Pre-Assembled Panel Moldings

Exposed beams
-- Installing Beam Nailers
-- Attaching Beam Nailers with Butterfly Bolts
-- Faux Beam Over Hollow Nailers
-- Faux Beam over Solid Nailers

Faux Posts
-- Trimming a Freestanding Post
-- Faux Post with Corner Moldings

Advanced Techniques & Projects
-- Custom Moldings
-- Combining Moldings
-- Simple Molding on the Router Table
-- Built-Up Molding
-- Complex Molding with Multiple Bits
-- Making Dentil Moldings
-- Back Band and Casing Combination
-- Fluting with a Router
-- Cutting Coves on the Tablesaw

Radiused Moldings
-- Bending Millwork
-- Laminating a Curved Molding
-- Kerf Bending a Curved Molding
-- Steam Bendinga Curved Molding

Advanced Projects
-- Frame-and-Panel Faux Post
-- Installing Built-Up Crown Molding
-- Fireplace Surround and Mantel

Glossary
Index

 

Soft-cover, 9-3/16 x 10-7/8 in., 240 pages, with full color photos throughout and over 50 drawings
Published 2008

ISBN 978-1-56158-869-5

Trim Complete RC-T070911 $21.95