Angle cutter. How to cut a ceiling plinth in the corners without a miter box the first time

The ceiling plinth is used to hide the irregularities that form at the border between the wall and the ceiling in order to give the interior an aesthetic completeness.

How to stick a ceiling plinth, how to cut it using a miter box or in the absence of a fixture - such questions are asked by many beginners who prefer to make repairs in the apartment on their own. This article is devoted to these issues.

Skirting materials

Before you cut the ceiling plinth, you should get acquainted with the materials for their manufacture, which differ in the density of the components used. This also determines the way the elements are cut.

Features of materials for ceiling plinths are presented in the table:

Skirting board material	Advantages	disadvantages
	Fade resistant and high strength. Flexibility. Moisture resistance Different sizes and ornaments, which allows you to choose for any interior. Can be dyed.	Big weight. Relatively high price.
	Light weight. Low cost. Soft edges. Diverse design. Easy to cut and install.	Fragile. Not used on curved surfaces. The grainy structure of the material and uneven edges require additional processing - trimming, coloring.
	Strength. Smoothness. Easy to mount. Low cost. Large selection of sizes and patterns.	Tip: When purchasing a baguette for a polystyrene ceiling, you should give preference to more dense materials made by extrusion.
	An abundance of colors. Low cost. Moisture resistance. Ease of use.	Cannot be repainted. Cracks easily. The corners of the baguette are not rigid when connected, it is necessary to use an additional adhesive composition.
	Ecological purity. Elite material. Serves for finishing rooms, stylized antique (see).	Hygroscopicity, which can lead, due to the absorption of moisture, to a change in the dimensions and geometry of products. High cost. May rot. Lit. Difficult to fit to size.

Tip: When cutting any of these materials, you should use a fine-toothed hacksaw. Otherwise, an uneven end of the part may result. The large tooth of the tool will bite the material.

Before installing a baguette on the ceiling with your own hands, you need to determine how to cut it. The main difficulty is to maintain the required angle of joining elements. Only in this case it is possible to obtain a butt weld without a visible gap.

Tip: If gaps form after installation of baguettes, they must be sealed with special glue, silicone or white sealant.

Skirting cutting tools

A high-quality and correctly selected tool will allow you to perfectly join the plinth at all corners. To trim the baguette for the ceiling, various tools are used that have their own characteristics of use.

It can be:

• Miter box with a hacksaw.

This is a special box with several holes. When performing the operation, a workpiece is inserted inside the device, and then a baguette is cut with a hacksaw. The work is quite simple, but the edge of the part turns out to be quite rough, sometimes the product, especially from foam, even deteriorates from the impact of an ordinary hacksaw.

Tip: After cutting plastic or wooden baguettes in the miter box, the cut points should be processed with sandpaper or a file.

• Electric miter saws.

With this tool, the cut is of the highest quality. When cutting, an electric tool is lowered with a blade onto a baguette and the desired result is obtained.

• Electric jigsaw.

With such a tool it is very convenient to cut a plinth made of wood, as seen in the photo, plastic and other products at an angle. A feature of cutting is the precise marking on the workpiece, and then the smooth lowering of the working file onto the plinth.

An electric jigsaw creates cuts in different directions, at the right angle. The advantage of the tool is the efficiency and accuracy of the work.

• Construction sharp knife.

With this tool it is easy to cut foam products. After preliminary marking of the part with a knife, the plinth is carefully cut at the desired angle.

Despite the ease of cutting, in order not to spoil a brand new plinth, it is better to use scraps of material and determine the technology for performing the process until the desired result is obtained.

• To measure correctly, the bar is measured between two corners. In this case, for internal corners, the length is measured from the elements. And the distance from the outer corners is measured from the point that is away from the inner.
• When installing foam skirting boards at the junction between the wall and the stretch ceiling, the adhesive is applied to the part of the product in contact with the surface.
• The final fixation of the skirting board is carried out after adjusting the angle of the adjacent plank to it.
• If the wall, ceiling and floor have a right angle, it is easier to adjust the planks below by laying out the parts on the floor or on a prepared table.
• Small gaps remaining in the corners are puttied.
• Particular attention should be paid to the installation of ceiling plinths made of rare wood. In this case, puttying the gaps will most likely not give the expected result. A bright spot will appear on the background of the texture.
• High-quality ceiling plinths, in addition to the main strips, have special inserts for right angles. Such inserts will greatly simplify installation and improve the quality of the work performed.

Features of trimming and docking baguette elements

Watch the video before you get started.

Work instructions:

• It is necessary to cut the plinth from the front side and along the outer edges.
• When cutting the inner corner, therefore, it is necessary to process both sides of the baguette.
• When performing work, it is better to use a miter saw, but at home you can get by with the simplest miter box.
• For a baguette made of foam, its edges must be cut at an angle of 45 °.
• The cut on the right is made on the plinth glued on the left. And vice versa.
• The bottom of the baguette should protrude above the top to get the optimal internal angle.

Cutting a skirting board with a miter box

A miter box is a device that can be made from:

• tree.
• aluminum.

In appearance, this is a tray, on the sides of which there are grooves at different angles.

• To cut a corner on the baseboard, the element is fixed in such a position as it will be located on the plane of the ceiling.
• The part should be correctly placed and pressed firmly to the base.
• Carefully aligned to the plane on the ceiling.

Tip: The plinth should be tried on dry before installation, and then put a mark with a pencil. This will ensure that the direction of the cut is not confused.

• The desired groove is selected and made with a free hand, preferably with a hacksaw for metal, trimming the element along the groove.

• For hard material skirting, it may be necessary to file the element.
• Don't use too much force when making the cut. Otherwise, soft materials can be deformed and crumble.

Cutting skirting board corners without a miter box

Cutting the corners of the ceiling plinth can be done without a miter box or you can make it yourself.

It's easy enough using a few options:

• With the help of improvised materials:

1. a form is made of three boards or thick plywood;
2. cuts are made at an angle of 45 ° in the sidewalls of the fixture. For marking, you need to use a protractor or square.

• If there are no materials for manufacturing, or you need to cut a little, then:

1. paper is folded to the desired angle. It is placed on a bar and a line is drawn along which the cut is made;
2. the element is placed under the bar and a cut is made according to the template.

• The cutting angle of the ceiling plinth is determined and it is decided how best to cut the part. Wherein:

1. the plinth is applied to the installation site, and marks are made for the cutting line;
2. the part is placed on a solid plane, in the position in which it will be installed. A vertical incision is made with a knife or hacksaw.

• Hacksaw and from a simple bar:

1. the plinth is applied to the place of fastening to the ceiling;
2. a line is drawn on the ceiling and wall, which will be the base for fixing the baguette;
3. the plinth is applied to the docking wall, and the same two lines are drawn;
4. It turned out on the ceiling the intersection of two lines. One baguette is applied and a mark is placed at the intersection of the lines, which corresponds to the top point of the cut;
5. the second part is applied to another wall. The same mark is put;
6. the plinth is placed on a flat surface. An even bar is applied to the upper part, and the cut points are connected;
7. a plinth is cut with a hacksaw or knife.

After that, you can proceed to fixing the baguette to the ceiling.

Non-standard angles

Everything is quite complicated here, the miter box is not useful, a hacksaw is optional. In houses and apartments with a non-standard layout, firstly, the angles may not be 90 ° at all. And secondly, they can generally be rounded or have several intersection faces.

The first, most “collective farm” option is to cut “by eye” at 45 °. For this, a joined part is taken, which is adjusted to the previous angle in fact.

You can try on the design on weight, this is a rather long and painstaking business. Need maximum precision!

When fitting, constantly try on the resulting pairing in place. Only after a few fittings can you achieve a good result, and then glue the baseboard on the base. In short, experience is essential.

It is much more correct to transfer the markings of the edges of adjacent skirting boards to the ceiling, as shown in the photo. This technique will allow you to get rid of fortune-telling when determining the points of the angular cut.

Advice! It is very important when cutting the skirting board to the inside corner, tilt the blade of the cutting tool to the desired part of it, approximately 45 degrees. If this is not done, then a huge hole will appear at the junction due to the concave shape of the part. If you are preparing the outer corner, then tilt the blade in the opposite direction.

It is necessary to use a very sharp tool so as not to “sweep” the edges. It is advisable not to use a cutting tool with notches on the working edge at all. That is, the saw does not fit here.

In the case when the corners are very uneven or rounded, docking can be done from several small elements. Feel free to cut the plinth into several parts, up to 4-5 pieces. Then, on each part, cut off both abutting edges at the desired angle. The next element is applied to each previous element, after which the joint is aligned.

Unfortunately, this method is not perfect, and no matter how hard you try, the result may be a gap at the junction.

You can fix this in the following ways:

• Take your time to glue the cornices along straight sections. First take care of the corners - in this case, you can trim them if necessary, or sand them until a good joint is obtained.
• If you didn’t succeed in solving the problem of trimming perfectly, just putty the cracks with the compound suitable for the material of the cornice, and then paint it.

Cutting a ceiling plinth is not at all a complicated process. The main thing is to do everything carefully, observing the rules for performing work. After that, all the butt seams of the ceiling moldings will be practically invisible, and the repair of the apartment will bring pleasure to its owner.

Reading time ≈ 10 minutes

Every summer resident or owner of his own home should know how to cut the corners of a ceiling plinth, and do it at home without involving builders. Repairs are expensive these days. Therefore, many try to do as much as possible on their own. Indeed, in fact, if you make an effort, stock up on patience and the necessary materials, you can do it as well as building masters. And to make a beautiful ceiling, you need to know how to create a beautiful drywall vault, both for and for the hall.

Cutting skirting board for ceiling

Many people think that cutting a ceiling fillet does not involve any difficulties, and indeed what is the problem? In fact, there are many features that carry negative consequences. Therefore, in order for the ceiling to be perfect, you should know how to cut the skirting boards correctly and accurately, making a quality one of your own production.

beautiful ceiling with moldings

A variety of skirting boards for the ceiling

In order for the work to be perfect, it is worth knowing the features of each type of skirting boards. Therefore, before proceeding with trimming and direct installation, find out what kind of material you have in your hands. Each species requires a special approach and technology in work.

The form

The construction market offers a lot of products of the most diverse forms, which are conditionally divided into three groups.

extruded

This type of plinth is also called pulled. Because the section pattern in any part of the segment will be the same. The whole pattern is identical and consists of bulges or grooves that run along. The selection of the pattern does not threaten you, but in the case of filling the cracks, it will take a little more effort.

Extruded skirting board

laminated

Such a baguette is the most unpretentious in installation, and very little effort is required to install it. There are no drawings here, so possible gaps are easily puttied and removed. The main task is to cut it correctly.

Baguette laminated type

injection

This type of ceiling plinth requires the most attention and effort for installation. Here the drawing has a periodicity, but the scrupulousness of trimming should be on top. In this case, the putty will not hide the sides, because the effect of artistic modeling will be created. In terms of aesthetics, this type of material is really chic.

Injection skirting board

Material

In addition to the shape, you should also pay attention to the material from which they are made. Because it also affects the features of the work.

Styrofoam

This material is the most demanded in the market. It is cheap. Density directly affects the quality of baguettes. It is worth choosing denser textures - they are easier to work with. But loose ones are difficult to install. But the main problem with polystyrene foam (polystyrene foam is made from it) is the difficulty of grinding. Any flaw or even a slight putty will be visible on the baguette.

Trimming is done with a hacksaw or a sharp knife (construction).

Styrofoam skirting boards

PVC

Working with plastic baguettes is even more difficult than with foam ones. The fact is that in this form it is generally impossible to putty or correct flaws. For installation, you should use a special tool - molding. If not, then the master will have a hard time. Basically, such baguettes are installed on plastic ceilings. Therefore, you won’t talk much about beauty. Cut it off with a sharp tool.

Plastic baguettes for the ceiling

Wood

Wooden baguettes are very difficult to mount, but they belong to the elite segment due to the naturalness of the material. Most often they are used for sheathing a vault made of wood. It is cut with a special saw with small teeth. Alternatively, you can use a good metal sheet.

Wood ceiling plinth

Gypsum

This type is the most expensive. You can find another name - stucco. Basically, the master himself is engaged in its creation on his own, so his skill is important. There are also purchase options. The gypsum baguette looks really chic. The main advantage is that flaws and jambs are easy to remove - puttying, grinding, painting). Of the minuses, one can single out the great fragility and high cost of both the material itself and the work on its installation. Moreover, cutting should be as correct as possible the first time. In addition, when installing a gypsum baguette, it is worth considering its considerable weight.

Gypsum baguette

Polyurethane

Now polyurethane baguettes are the most optimal, if we talk about the ratio of price and quality. Although its cost is considerable, but in comparison with gypsum, this material wins significantly. Advantages: lightness, no cracks, excellent adhesion, nice texture, the possibility of factory staining, the ability to create an imitation of various natural materials, as in the photo below. In addition, installation does not require much effort. To cut it, you should use a special knife that will not form crumbs.

Polyurethane ceiling moldings

Features of trimming the ceiling plinth

So that all the efforts and finances are not lost, you should properly arrange the corners. A ceiling plinth or fillet can be beautifully laid on its own. Of course, ready-made corners for these cases are sold in stores, but still this is an additional expense. And with a little effort, you can do it all yourself.

Next, let's talk about how to cut the corners of the ceiling plinth at home and at the same time maintain the beauty and neatness of the appearance. There are two ways to complete this task - with the help of a miter box and without it.

Correctly trimmed baguettes on the ceiling

The use of a miter box at home

A miter box is a simple tool that is a carpenter's assistant. With it, it is easy to cut workpieces at any angle that is needed. Its design is not difficult - a tray made of wood, metal or plastic. This tray has special slots (placed vertically) for cutting at an angle of 90 or 45 degrees.

Some models have a more complex structure with the ability to cut at an angle of 60 degrees. For professional work, there are special models where the workpiece is fixed at any given angle.

The miter box is a simple but important tool

Inner corner

Advice: In order to have a better orientation during the preparation of the inner corner, you should start cutting from the front side of the fillet. Where cuts have been made, in most cases filing is required to fit both parts of the corner.

outside corner

Such work should begin precisely from the inner corner. This will help to better maintain the proportions and dimensions of the baguette. If you start from the outside, then in case of an error, you will get a shortage of the bar along its entire length.

1. The fillet should be attached to the ceiling and marked according to the required dimensions.
2. Using your left hand, hold the baseboard against the wall closest to you. In this case, the hacksaw (its handle) should be as close to the hand as possible.
3. Cut off the piece.
4. With the right hand, the reciprocal bar is held and pressed against the wall. The tool blade should be at a 45 degree angle.
5. Cut off the excess baguette.
6. The corner is joined.

This method of trimming the fillet is suitable if the corners in the room are perfectly even and straight. Otherwise, the result will be disappointing, and it is better to resort to another cropping option.

Trim fillet without miter box

If you don’t have a miter box or the corners of the room want to remain the best, then the next option is perfect. Trimming the ceiling plinth should be done step by step.

Creating markings on the ceiling

By creating a basting on the ceiling, you are guaranteed to cut off the excess correctly and in the exact size. You just have to work hard, because keeping the fillet on weight and at the same time making a basting is rather inconvenient. But this method is the most accurate and practical.

By attaching a baguette to the ceiling in the right place, you will immediately notice all the features. This will allow you to immediately outline them and take them into account when trimming and mounting.

Creating a basting on the ceiling

Trimming the ceiling plinth

A pair of blanks is initially cut at an angle of 90 degrees. In this case, the end of the plinth rests against the wall, which is placed perpendicularly. After that, attach one baguette. A line on the ceiling is drawn along its contour.

After that, the first bar rests, and according to this principle, the reciprocal bar is applied. Again, a line is marked along the contour.

The point, which is located at the intersection of both lines, is the mark for cutting the plinth. Each fillet should be applied again to the ceiling to mark points for the next cut.

Draw a cut line that runs from the set point to the second edge of the baguette.

Carefully cutting the plinths, they should be docked and mounted in place. Using this method, internal corners are easily and beautifully processed.

Trimming the ceiling plinth

In order for cropping to take place not only neatly, but also as correctly as possible, several important little things that can affect the result should be taken into account.

1. It is necessary to take measurements correctly, which you then use to cut the skirting boards for the ceiling. To define and mark an internal corner, you should start taking into account the length directly from the corner. To mark the outer corner, do not forget to take into account that the baguette will look out into the room at such a length that is equal to the width of the baseboard itself.
2. It is forbidden to fix the strip of the ceiling plinth until you determine approximately their placement and cut off the reciprocal baguette. Only when the angle fits perfectly with both strikers, you can begin their full installation and fixing.
3. Defects and flaws in skirting boards made of wood or polyurethane can be removed and corrected with a special nail file or file. Styrofoam skirting boards are adjusted with the sharpest blade.
4. If all the adjustments did not bring the desired result, then you can use the usual putty.
5. In order not to spoil your ceiling plinth, it is worth doing a few preliminary trials of cutting on small blanks. This will allow you to study the process in practice and fill your hand, you should start with.

If you properly arm yourself and be patient, then cutting the skirting boards for the ceiling is not difficult. The main thing is to choose the most appropriate way to perform such an action. It is important not to forget about attentiveness and accuracy, because the material is very delicate and does not accept brute force.

Beautiful baguettes indoors

Knowing the rules and features of how to cut the corners of a ceiling plinth at home, you can easily create a beautiful view of your room, and repairs will take much less money. It remains to complete the repair and you can live. After all, the work of master builders in our time is not cheap. And in order to master the entire technology of trimming ceiling plinths in more detail and learn about the secrets from professionals, watch the thematic video.

Skirting boards are the finishing touch to any bathroom. And this touch must be perfect or very close to it, otherwise the finish will have an unfinished look, which is fraught with an unaesthetic interior as a whole. The ceiling plinth itself is quite simple to fix, but preparing it for work is not always easy. In particular, without knowledge of the matter it is difficult to make a neat corner - in an attempt to get beautiful strips, you can ruin a lot of consumables. So that you avoid such an unpleasant situation in the process of repairing your bathroom, then we will tell you how to properly cut the baseboard in the corners: what tools to use and what methods you can resort to.

Trimming skirting board corners with a miter box

First, let's figure out how to properly cut the corners of the plinth using a miter box - a carpentry tool that is a tray in the shape of an oblong inverted letter "P". This tool has special slots for cutting parts at angles of 45 and 90 degrees: a workpiece is placed inside the miter box, a hacksaw is inserted into the guides and the workpiece is cut at the required angle.

At first glance, everything is simple, but in the case of skirting boards, there is a risk of getting confused in the sides of the planks and making a marriage. In order to prevent this, we recommend that you work according to the following schemes.

Required Tools

For outside corner:

• With the side that will be directly attached to the ceiling, lay the plinth on the bottom of the miter box. With the other side, press the product against the wall of the tool, or rather, against its right slot.
• Cut off the required part of the plank using a hacksaw or utility knife.

Advice. Cut the baseboard without excessive pressure, so as not to provoke the appearance of chips and not to deform the workpiece.

For inside corner:

• Press the plinth to the bottom of the miter box with the side with which it will be fixed on the ceiling. With the other side, press the bar to the left slot.
• Cut off the corner. Attach the resulting bar to the first product and check how the sawn parts fit together. If gaps remain, carefully correct the blanks with a knife. At the same time, if the error is small and you are not sure that you can carefully work with a knife, choose an easier way - after sticking the plinth on the ceiling, mask the gap with putty that matches the color.

Trimming pattern

Trimming a plinth without a miter box

Agree, not everyone in the household has a carpentry tool, and buying it only for a baseboard is not a very successful idea. But you still need to cut the corners, because the accuracy of the ceiling finish is at stake. How to be in this case? In fact, you can completely do without a miter box. There are even two ways to cut the corners of the baseboard without a special tool: by resorting to marking on the wall and using a painted false miter box. Let's start with the first one.

You will need:

• hard pencil;
• ruler;
• utility knife or hacksaw.

The work is carried out as follows. For inside corner:

1. Attach a bar to the ceiling, which will be installed to the right of the corner. Draw a straight line across the ceiling along the outer edge of the baseboard.
2. Attach the plank to the opposite side of the corner and also draw a line on the ceiling.
3. Mark the place where the two lines meet with a cross. Attach the bar to the corner and transfer the resulting mark to it, and then draw a neat line from it to the bottom corner of the workpiece - along this line you will need to cut the plinth.
4. Cut off the required angle with a hacksaw or utility knife.

Trimming a plinth without a miter box

For outside corner:

1. Attach the plank to the right of the corner. Draw a line across the ceiling along the baseboard away from the corner.
2. Attach the plinth to the left of the corner. Draw a line along the plank to where it intersects with the first line.
3. Transfer two marks to the bar: the first is the intersection of the lines on the ceiling, the second is the place where the corner of the room passes. Connect the two marks - you will get a plinth cutting line. Now it remains only to cut off the corner and, if necessary, adjust the gaps.

Trimming a corner with a false miter box

The third way to trim the corner of the plinth is not quite ordinary - using a kind of false miter box. There are two ways to make such a "tool".

The first is to draw a miter box. To do this, you can use ordinary thick paper or cardboard: draw two parallel lines on the sheet and, using a protractor or a simple square, set aside the corners with the required degree. The corner is cut off in almost the same way as in the case of using a joiner's miter box: attach the plinth to the "tool", make the necessary marks and make an incision along them.

The second way is to make a prototype of the miter box from three wooden planks: connect them in the form of an oblong letter “P” and make cuts at 45 and 90 degrees. You can use the same protractor to mark the corners.

A miter box made of wooden planks

When cutting the corners of the plinth without a miter box, it is very important not to miscalculate with the length of the plank and directly with the degree of the notch. In order not to be mistaken, at first it is better to cut the blanks 10 cm longer, then try them on dry to the ceiling and after that adjust until you get the desired result. In addition, let's not forget that not all bathrooms have ideal 90-degree angles - you still cannot do without adjusting the products.

Advice. You need to fix the skirting board to the ceiling only after you adjust the corner of the next skirting board blank to it. Sections are best tried on not under the ceiling itself, but on the table - it will take more time, but the cut lines will be more accurate.

Thus, we have several ways to trim the ceiling plinth at once: with the help of a joiner's miter box, without a miter box, using a kind of false miter box. Whichever option you choose for the corners, it is important to do everything carefully and accurately - only in this case you will get a truly effective tool for the final design of the ceiling, thereby making the interior of your bathroom aesthetically complete.

How to join skirting boards: video

How to cut a ceiling plinth: photo

If you need to make a neat corner joint of two wooden pieces, then you need to make a corner cut at their ends.

1. miter box

   The cheapest solution for miter cuts is a simple miter box. It is usually made of plastic or wood and is slotted for 45° or 90° saw cuts. In addition, there are miter boxes with a large number of holes for various angles. Use a hacksaw with fine teeth and a wide blade and press the piece of wood you want to cut against the back of the miter box. The relatively narrow miter box shown in the picture is suitable for working with small parts, such as cutting wooden planks for a picture frame or other small wooden parts.

2. Miter cutting with a fixed guide

   
   

   When using this tool, the saw is fixed in a horizontal bar or guide. The angle between the workpiece and the saw can be precisely set to 22.5°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90°. The saw blade is easy to replace when it wears out.

3. Electric miter saws

   
   

   The most convenient and fastest way to make bevel cuts is to use an electric miter saw. With such a saw, you are not limited by the width of the workpiece. The speed of these saws can be continuously adjusted and they also have a vacuum cleaner connection to collect dust.

4. Working with a miter saw

   
   

   If you want to cut a beam or plinth, first measure the exact location of the cut and mark it with a pencil by drawing a line.
   Set the saw to the desired angle and clamp the workpiece; you can, for example, use a clamp for gluing. If you're not sure what angle you want, first make a test cut on a scrap piece of wood.
   Before making a cut, make sure that the saw blade is sharp enough - otherwise there will be a strong splitting of the material and you will have to apply additional force. Blades with fine teeth give the best results.

5. PROMPT!

   If the saw often gets stuck, rub the saw blade with the tip of a candle. Candle paraffin will allow you to cut without jamming.

6. Cutting width

   
   

   The maximum width or depth of cut when using an electric miter saw depends on the blade diameter. The maximum cutting width is equal to the disc diameter, which is usually 250 mm. An electric miter saw can have two guides. They allow you to move the saw towards you and get a larger cutting width.

7. Sawing

   
   

   Measure the angle of the cut, for example with a bevel. If two pieces of wood are at right angles to each other, then the angle is 90°. In this case, each of the two angles you need to cut is 45°. Using a miter box, you can make a 45° cut to the left or right. For the best appearance, make sure the same sides of the workpiece are visible from the inside and outside of the completed joint. If you've learned how to make bevel cuts, you can also make a straight beveled joint to join two pieces of wood for added length. In this case, two planks or two skirting boards will be neatly connected to each other.

8. Variable cutting angles

   
   

   When using different cut angles, you can make the connection at the desired angle. In the case of non-standard angles, you can make a neat connection by measuring the desired cut angle using an adjustable bevel or contour template. Set the bevel exactly at half of this angle and make appropriate marks on each workpiece. After that, set the bevel to the same angle, and you can make a neat connection.

The ceiling plinth performs not only a decorative function, visually separating the walls from the ceiling, but can also hide the joints of various finishing materials of the ceiling and walls. Not every interior design involves the use of a ceiling plinth, but more often than not, the overall look of the room seems incomplete without it. In fixing this element - fillets - there is nothing complicated, almost all types of skirting boards are attached with glue. But the question of how to properly cut the ceiling plinth in the corners of the premises can confuse many. After all, even in the simplest room there are internal corners where the planks of the ceiling plinth must be precisely and beautifully joined. And in a more complex configuration of the room, you will also have to dock the skirting boards, making the outer corner. In this article, we will look at various options for how to cut a ceiling plinth with and without improvised tools.

First you need to deal with the question of how to cut the ceiling plinth, the answer to it depends on the material from which the fillet is made. At the moment, ceiling plinths made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), expanded polystyrene (polystyrene), polyurethane and wood are sold.

PVC ceiling moldings are the cheapest. Dents and creases are easily formed on them, which cannot be eliminated, so the product has to be thrown away. Also, their disadvantage is electrostaticity - the ability to attract dust. You can cut them with a sharp construction knife or a hacksaw.

Styrofoam ceiling moldings are also cheap. This material is very fragile, it easily crumbles during processing, therefore it is necessary to cut polystyrene foam with a sharp knife or a hacksaw for metal, without making too much pressure.

Ceiling moldings made of extruded polystyrene foam slightly more expensive than polystyrene foam, denser than them and more difficult to cut. However, they crumble less, so they are easier and more comfortable to work with. They are cut with a construction knife and a hacksaw for metal.

Polyurethane ceiling moldings are currently the most expensive. They are durable, elastic and moisture resistant, easily cut with a construction knife and do not crumble. The disadvantage of polyurethane baseboards is their dependence on temperature changes. For example, over a gas stove, a polyurethane baseboard will acquire residual deformations and begin to crackle slightly. If you try to process or cut such a plinth, it may bend or deform in another way.

Wooden ceiling moldings are dense, heavy products that can only be cut with a hacksaw, preferably with fine, frequent teeth. You can also use metal sheet.

Before moving on to listing ways to properly cut a ceiling plinth, I would like to note that it is possible not to cut a plinth with particular accuracy. Available for sale special corner pieces into which the edges of the plinth are inserted. In this case, it is enough to cut the skirting board at an angle of 90 °, and the corner element will hide all the flaws. But this method is not always used, since the dimensions of the corner elements are somewhat larger than the baseboards themselves, so the corners in the room will stand out against the general background. Sometimes it can look sloppy. However, if the design of the room allows the use of corner elements for ceiling plinths, it makes sense to use them. The following instructions will be useful to those who still decide to accurately cut the skirting board to a given angle.

The miter box is a simple carpentry tool that allows you to cut the workpiece at the required angle. Most often it is a tray made of plastic, wood or metal with vertical slots for cutting at an angle of 90 ° and 45 °. There are also more complex designs of the miter box - for cutting at angles of 90, 60 and 45 degrees. For more professional work, a miter box with a swivel mechanism is used, where the hacksaw can be fixed at any angle to the workpiece.

How to cut a ceiling plinth with a miter box - inner corner:

• We apply the plinth to the ceiling, measure the required length.
• Then we install the plinth bar into the miter box so that the position coincides with the position of the plinth on the ceiling.
• The plinth strip should be pressed against the far wall of the miter box.
• Hold the plinth with your left hand.
• We choose such a position of the hacksaw when the angle is 45 degrees and at the same time the handle of the hacksaw is as close as possible to the left hand.
• We cut the workpiece without making excessive pressure on the saw.
• The next step is trimming the plinth striker. We also install it to the far wall of the miter box.
• Press and hold with your right hand.
• We choose a position for the hacksaw when the angle is 45 degrees and the hacksaw handle approaches the right hand.
• Cut off the plinth.

Next, we join the trimmed skirting boards and check the cutting accuracy. For a more accurate orientation, they also say that in order to make an internal corner, it is necessary to start cutting from the front of the plinth. Wooden plinths after trimming, most likely, will still have to be adjusted with a file.

How to cut a ceiling plinth with a miter box - outer corner:

• In order not to make a mistake with the dimensions, it is better to start by marking the inner corner, and then cut out the outer corner. Otherwise, a situation is possible when the straps may not be long enough.
• It is necessary to attach the bar to the ceiling and outline the dimensions.
• We install the ceiling plinth bar and press it against the nearest wall.
• Hold with your left hand and select the position for the hacksaw at an angle of 45 degrees, when the handle approaches the left hand.
• We cut off the workpiece.
• We set the reciprocal bar to the nearest wall, hold it with the right hand.
• We set the hacksaw at an angle of 45 degrees, when the handle approaches the right hand.
• Cut off the workpiece and join the corner.

Trimming the workpiece with a miter box is only suitable if the angle between the walls is even - 90 degrees. If the accuracy leaves much to be desired, you will have to use other methods.

How to cut the corner of a ceiling plinth using ceiling markings

Marking the skirting board on the ceiling also allows you to cut the corner evenly and accurately. The only drawback of this method is that it is difficult and inconvenient to keep the plinth plank suspended during the cutting process. For the rest, it is possible to outline the angle for cutting in this way even more accurately than in other ways. When applying the skirting board to the installation site, all wall flaws and deviations in the size of the corner are immediately taken into account.

Trimming the corner of the ceiling plinth:

• First of all, two blanks must be cut at an angle of 90 degrees.

• Then we first apply one plank, resting its end against a perpendicular wall. We draw a line on the ceiling, outlining the contour of the plinth.

• We remove this bar and apply the reciprocal bar, also resting its end against the wall. Let's draw a line.

• The point of intersection of the marked lines will be the mark at which the plinth must be cut.
• Again, we apply each bar in turn and mark the cut point on them.
• We draw a line from this point to the other edge of the plinth.

We cut off the skirting boards along the marked lines, join them and apply them to the installation site. Please note that using this method it is more convenient to cut internal corners.

Something resembling a miter box can be made by applying the necessary cutting angles to paper, cardboard or wood. It is necessary to draw two parallel lines, determine the center, and then set aside the necessary angles using a protractor. The advantage of this method is that you can postpone any angle, including more than 90 degrees. Of course, before cutting the corners of the ceiling plinth, you must first check the angle between the walls with a corner and measure with a protractor.

The technique for cutting off a ceiling plinth using a painted miter box is exactly the same as using the miter box itself. We press the plinth bar to one of the parallel lines, then set the hacksaw at the desired angle, which is already outlined, and cut it off.

Improvised tray-miter box do-it-yourself

Making a miter box with your own hands is also not difficult.

Method 1. You will need three wooden planks or boards that need to be hammered into a U-shaped box. Then, the necessary angles are marked on the walls of the box, and a cut is made with a hacksaw. The result should be a wooden miter box in which grooves are cut.

Method 2. A combination of an impromptu miter box and a template with outlined lines. For the convenience of cutting, it is necessary to build something in which it will be convenient to hold the ceiling plinth bar, since it is difficult to keep it on weight. It is enough to put together a corner from two wooden planks or boards. On paper, you need to draw lines with angles for cutting at 45 degrees or at any other. Then we apply the plinth blank to the corner, press it with our hand, as described in the technology for using the miter box, move the paper with the template under the edge where we are going to cut, and cut it off. In the process of cutting, we focus on the line drawn on paper.

Method 3. As an impromptu miter box, you can use anything, everything - that we form an angle. For example, a table pushed up against a wall.

Important! Pay attention to the rule for taking measurements for trimming the ceiling plinth. To mark the inside corner, you need to measure the length directly from the corner itself. To outline the outer corner, it is necessary to be guided that the plinth will protrude deep into the room at a distance equal to its width.

It is not necessary to fix the strips of the ceiling plinths before you cut the reciprocal strip and tried on their location. Only after the two reciprocal strips have perfectly converged in the corner, you can begin to mount them to the ceiling. Minor flaws can be improved with a file or nail file in the case of wooden and polyurethane skirting boards. To fit the foam products, you will have to wield a sharp knife.

If suddenly, even after adjusting the skirting boards, a small gap remains between them, do not despair, it can be repaired with putty. Trimming the ceiling plinth yourself is not difficult. But in order not to spoil a lot of products, it is better to pre-train on small blanks.