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Archive for the ‘cabinet molding’ Category
diy crown moulding
Crown moulding is one of the lowest cost additions you can make to a home that has possibly the greatest impact and highest return on investment. The addition of decorative moulding enables you to transform any ordinary living space bringing it a new life, charm and elegance. The installation of crown moulding can certainly be a do it yourself type of improvement. However, if you’ve decided to take on your own crown moulding installation project there are some guides you should follow to make your job run smoother and avoid material waste.
First, find out what you need for materials.
You will need to determine what type of moulding and how much of it you will need to buy. You will need to measure and mark your walls for the best estimate on materials. Measure each individual wall and round up to the next foot. If any of your walls measure within a few inches of a length of moulding always buy the next size up just to be on the safe side.
Second - create a plan of attack.
We will be installing each piece of moulding in an ordered sequence, so we should do a quick sketch of the room, top view, as if we were looking down to see which wall we start with. Let’s make this a bit easier and start with the wall opposite the door and then number each wall going counterclockwise.
Let’s also set up our guides for installation on the walls. Hold a piece of moulding at each inside and outside corner to mark the position of the bottom edge. Use a chalk line stretched between the two opposite ends to mark the wall for your installation line. Also, locate and mark the position of studs and joists just below the installation line.
Third - install the first length.
Measure your starting wall and cut the first piece of moulding square at both ends using a miter saw. Then align the piece of moulding with your installation line and begin nailing 8d finish nails working from the center out. Make sure that your nails are centered in the moulding between top and bottom.
Fourth - cutting an inside corner joint.
For inside cuts we use a coped cut to ensure that the face of the moulding joins properly. Place the moulding on the saw with the ceiling edge against the table and the bottom edge against the saw fence. Make sure that the saw is set to a 45 degree angle. If you are coping a left side corner swing the saw to the left and right for the right side. You are doing it correctly if the long edge of the moulding is on the back.
To make sure that we will have a joint that fits tightly we will now cope the inside corner joint. Mark the face of the moulding with a pen on the very edge of the miter cut. Set your coping saw at a 5 degree angle and use the pen marked edge as your guide. Hold the piece in place on the wall to make sure your fit is tight.
Note: Before moving to the next step check to see what type of cut the other end of your moulding needs. If it is another inside corner take a measurement from the top edge of the number 1 piece that you have already installed to this corner. Mark the length of this measurement on your coped moulding and use your miter saw to make a square cut. You can now nail up that piece of moulding.
Fifth - cutting an outside corner joint.
To determine the length of your moulding piece if it ends on an outside corner cut two scrap pieces of moulding at opposite 45 degree angles. Join these pieces together and hold them in place at your outside corner. We can now take a measurement from the top edge of your installed starting piece to the edge of the corner piece you are holding in place. Use that length to cut your coped piece of moulding.
Sixth - The installation process
If the opposite end of your next piece of moulding ends on an inside that does not require a coped end, repeat the measuring and cutting you just did in order to but the outside corner joining end. Then measure and cut the opposite end to but the squared end against the wall. If the opposite end of your next piece of moulding does end in a corner that requires a coped cut repeat step four and complete your outside corner.
Lastly, you will work your way around the room in this same way. Cope your inside corners and miter your outside corners. Check your measurements and make your cuts. If you run into problems like excessively uneven walls, ceilings or ceiling heights due to your house settling or shifting consult a professional to avoid any unnecessary cost and aggravation.
Pre Paint Prep with BONDO
Thats right folks the same 2 part epoxy mix that autobody shops use on cars. In SOCal where some of the new rich reside is also 
where some of the best professional house painting occurs. Magazine model material, custom multi-million dollar homes with the same home improvement center paints the rest of us buy and use on our biggest investments in our IRA plans, the biggest d
ifference though is the prep work being done to create some of the finest home painting on the prestigious west coast.
I only emphasize this painting prep point, because I see the difference. Bondo or whatever brand you buy will change your homes detail of paint grade finish like night and day. Case and base nail holes, vacuum dents, mars and gouges, offset splices and even some miter joints go from nice job to vavoom. Interior spackling never really can give you that it truly is “all one piece look” but bondo does and does not shrink.
DIY electric tool (dremel)
Super deal of the century has the Multi Max factory-reconditioned Dremel 6300-02LR 120 volt oscillating kit at over half price, this beauty comes with all the extras. Including blades and sanding disc’s plus the carrying case at under $70 US. In my professional opinion I could not have given a more valuable gift to my crew than this super duty bad to the bone electric tool for almost any detail cutting on the job site, every diy’er or pro has got to have one of these. Amazon got this one nailed for sure.
DIY crown moulding cuts
As in all the trades, different strokes theory comes to mind. Cutting crown moulding can be coped out on the second piece going up, and into the first, on the inside corners. The first image shows a cope cut for a profile inside corner cut, (paint grade). Leaving the face a little longer than the back insures a nice clean fit.
Now this is one way of getting the crown moulding miter cuts looking like a professional installed it. On a scale of easy, this being the easiest application. The most important element is understanding that a wall and ceiling is a 90 degree, the crown moulding of choice is milled to set an exact way on the wall and tight to the ceiling, if you get the outside corner cuts just exact than the diy crown moulding install becomes much easier. But note that all types vary and a jig on your saw will aide in this cutting crown moulding process. A smaller piece of scrap can assist in the narrowing down the right cuts process as well, with a left and right side test piece you will get there faster, then mark on your saw the holding place of your angle and bevel cuts. Contact me if you wish and i will help as much as i can………. 
Dremel multi Max best BEN to spend
When the patent came out on the Fein multi master, we all had to have one ASAP, diy home improvement tool of the decade, for sure. For $3oo plus it was worth it’s weight and could do almost too many things to mention on a blog. As a DIY tool that sands, fine cuts, scrapes and plunge cuts anything, it truly did not get any better. But last year the patent ran out and today, Dremel gave us a gift that just keeps on giving.
The Dremel Multi-Max Oscillating Tool offers do-it-yourselfers and pros a versatile and effective multitasking tool. With fast side-to-side motion, the Multi-Max can take on a variety of projects that involve repair, remodeling, or restoration. With minimal dust and a powerful 1.5 amp motor this tool superseeds the other for under $100 @ Home Depot, equaling the best BEN any DIY or pro could ever spend on a tool!!
Face Frame cabinet tool
When fabricating a bathroom vanity with a face frame, the face frame is assemble most effective before it will be mounted on the cabinets face. A single door front with a row of 3 drawers equaling the door height. DIY cabinets will consist of several facets, during which after your scaled drawing is conceived and you have chosen all of the drawer slide components and door hinge. You should now have the exact face frame dimensions cut and ready for assembly. The cabinets face frame gets pre bored with a face frame tool that is designed specifically for this purpose. This face frame cabinet tool is called a Kreg jig.
This tool is a real sweetheart for an easy pilot hole boring on the backside of all your face frame cabinet pieces. The outside rails on the face frame gets the cross pieces glue and screwed into it. This hardwood stock averages about 2″ wide and should get 2 screw holes per end. The Kreg jig can be bought in a complete kit or a single jig will get her done just fine. Typically it comes with 1 bit and a hole guide with an adjustable stop collar as well. Straight forward and easy to use, we, here couldn’t build a cabinet without one.
diy cabinets face frame
As in every trade there’s a tolerance, and for framing a wall for instance this can be up to 1/2″ in some conditions. But with all diy cabinets we can say proudly that accuracy is an 1/16″ or less. It is not a given that the walls will be plumb and square every time so, often the face frame on an end unit diy cabinet can be ran wild or long for scribe execution. With a plane or even a belt sander the face frame is milled down for a nice tight fit and leaving the diy cabinet plumb, level and square. 
This frame is easily assembled with a Kreg jig, a simple self guiding hole drilling apparatus that is 100% perfect every time. Take a few extra minutes before hand and evaluate the sites condition’s to alleviate any further problems. A level and a framing square will show you where any maladies lie and help you to get a good mental picture of what needs to be accomplished.
Diy Cabinets believe it!
A product of one’s own environment never held truer than the simple thought tract. With any diy cabinets the start will be in your mind. Can I do this? The answer is always in the desire, your biggest hurdle is the idea that you can’t! But in today’s world information or shall we say the right info @ the right time will get you through that next step. Believe that you can first and then go to any number of DIY sites and something will definitely click for you.
You will need a few essential tools of course, power tools such as a table saw is paramount. A small compressor and a pin nail gun will aide 100 X’s over but not necessary if you can use a hammer. 90% of cabinets are just plywood cut square to fabricate a box or cube, a face frame is the hardwood grid that attaches to the front of the box. A Kreg jig will be the cheapest and best bet to assemble the face frame. This little beauty helps you hide the screws that fasten the frame together. Add a little glue and you’ve got the pro’s strength and longevity. Slab doors with no detail ( recessed panels) for example just need the right hardware and now the doors are on, there are places out there folks that will custom build doors for you, that are super reasonable per expense. With out going on and on here, the point is you can do it yourself period, and with a little bit of assistance, before long you may even change your vocation before you can say “did you say add some crown moulding ?”
Kitchen cabinet scribe Molding
When installing kitchen cabinets, general rule of thumb for most cabinets when they end at a wall. A small piece of molding is attach to the vertical side of the box at the wall. This enables the cabinet a finished appearance when the surface it butts against is not just right. Any out of plumb existing condition can be hidden for the sole purpose of eliminating extra work. Custom cabinet builders and installers run the wild side (side that ends at another surface besides it’s own group of cabinets) a little long, if they need to cut or scribe this side to make up the faults in the existing conditions.
Typically these are a simple 3/4″ x 1/8″ molding that can be forced into the wall, tight and take up the small imperfect gap that will show otherwise. When your order goes in, generally it will be shipped with the molding, in the same wood species as well as finish to optimize appearance.