How To Nail Mitered Corners
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How To Set up Mitered Corners On Window Casing
Have y'all ever walked around your firm and noticed random gaps in your window trim or baseboard?
Peradventure that's just me that notices that stuff haha! But if you have then it might mean it's time to fix those gaps. (Especially those gaps in the mitered corners of your window trim!)
Whether y'all installed your own window and door trim or a (not-so) professional did, information technology'southward easier than y'all remember to fix those gaps.
Believe me, nosotros installed all new window trim, door trim, and baseboard in our 1560 square foot 1950s Ranch that nosotros completed remodeled. (You can check out the transformation, how we found the firm, and all the tutorials for the work nosotros completed here!)
And angles can become your worst nemesis! Especially 45-degree angles in mitered joints.
Luckily, I take a cheap (how's a few dollars sound?) and an extremely easy tutorial below to solve all of your mitered corner problems! All it takes is 3 easy steps and the price of forest filler, sandpaper, and pigment.
Once yous realize how easy this DIY project is, you'll be ready to tackle the rest of the DIY projects in your house and go a super handywoman!
It all starts with this easy project.
Allow'due south swoop on in!
How Bad Miters Occur
Kickoff off, let'south discuss how bad miters occur.
Oftentimes, walls and corners in houses (especially older homes) aren't as square every bit we need them to be to create perfect mitered corners.
As a result, verbal 45-degree angles might get out little gaps on corners that aren't truly 90-degree angles.
For window trim specifically, there is a trick on how to cut a perfectly mitered corner that I volition discuss below. For at present, though, let'due south set up your electric current problem of gaps in your mitered joints!
Quick Navigation: How To Fix Gaps In Mitered Joints
- Tap In & Fill Nail Holes And Gaps In Mitered Corners
- Sand The Wood Filler With 180 Grit And Wipe Down The Window Trim
- Paint (Or Stain) The Window Trim
- Concluding Thoughts
- Related Door & Trim Articles
| Level Of Difficulty | Time To Complete |
|---|---|
| Easy | A few hours |
| Material List | Tool List |
|---|---|
| White Woods Filler | Paint tray |
| Sandpaper (180 grit) | 2" or smaller Angled Paintbrush |
| Cabinet & Trim Pigment in your chosen color | 2" Paint Roller |
| Smash set punch | |
| Hammer |
Step One: Tap In & Fill Smash Holes And Gaps In Mitered Corners
The beginning step to fix gaps in mitered joints is to tap in and fill the smash holes and gaps in the mitered corners.
Since yous are taking the time to prepare your mitered corners, you might as well fix the blast holes in the trim equally well.
All of the nails should be tapped slightly beneath the surface of the window trim.
That mode there is a identify for the wood filler to fill in overtop the nails in the holes.
To do this, take a nail set punch and a hammer and lightly tap whatsoever smash heads that aren't flush with the window trim.
NOTE: The blast set punch is important to utilize (rather than just tapping the nail head with a hammer directly) because it volition sink the nail head below the surface of the trim. That picayune divot then gives the wood filler a place to sit down in. Otherwise, you'll be wasting your time because if the nail head isn't sunk into the trim, the forest filler will just break off the blast head.
This blast fix dial will do the trick for you, and information technology's rather inexpensive!
Later on the nailheads are tapped in, it's time to fill the gaps in the nail holes and mitered corners. To practice this, you lot can either apply caulk or wood filler.
Should You Caulk or Woods Fill Mitered Corners?
Different areas of trim call for a unlike product to fill the hole or gap. For example, caulk is fantastic to fill the gaps betwixt trim and the wall because it spreads easily, contracts and expands with the wall, and can make full a big gap.
However, wood filler is much more useful for mitered corners and nail holes because information technology does not compress over time as caulk does. Caulk on outside corners and blast holes can leave divots instead of a smoothen stop as a woods filler does.
The general rule of thumb for when to utilize caulk and when to use wood filler on trim is every bit follows:
Apply caulk for:
- Inside corners
- The gap betwixt the trim and the wall (but for painted trim)
Use wood filler for:
- Outside corners/mitered joints
- Nail holes
How To Wood Fill Miter Joints
At present that we've solved that dilemma, it's fourth dimension to prepare and fill up the gaps in the miter joints with wood filler!
The magic behind this like shooting fish in a barrel DIY fix is in the wood filler. Wood filler or forest putty is made to exercise exactly what it'south called – make full in holes and imperfections in the wood.
If you've e'er felt it, it feels similar wet, sticky sawdust in my stance. That texture is what helps it blend in with the texture of the forest (as opposed to caulk that stays polish and shrinks).
Woods filler can also exist sanded and painted, so y'all tin give your trim that seamless look nosotros're all gunning for.
However, I do accept to caution you if you are planning on staining your trim. Store-bought wood filler (even the "stainable kind") does not stain as well as it should.
Avert This Wood Filler & Stain Mistake
Yes, unfortunately, I've made the fault of using store-bought wood filler then trying to stain over information technology while making my DIY floating fireplace mantel.
After that fiasco, I had to sand off all the stain and excess wood filler that I could before restaining to solve the problem. Talk near a lot of extra effort!
So if you plan on staining your window trim, then I recommend making your own forest filler. This website has a fantastic tutorial on how to make forest filler that will match your projection much better than shop-bought wood filler.
Use Shop-Bought Wood Filler For Painted Trim
On the flip side, if your trim is already prefinished white like mine or you plan on painting it, then I recommend using the white-colored forest filler to relieve yourself a step of priming before doing the touch on-up painting.
At present on to how to use it.
Starting time, dab a little flake of forest filler on your finger and swipe it across each blast hole.
Go out a little actress woods filler direct over the smash hole, then you tin can sand it down and still exist flush with the residual of the trim. The nail holes should be completely hidden once we stain or paint our trim.
Next, put a generous dose on your finger and fill in the mitered corners by wiping across the mitered corner (instead of along the mitered corner).
Wiping beyond the mitered corner allows the forest filler to find the gap and squish down into it until it is flush with the edges of each piece of trim.
Again, leaving actress wood filler gives y'all room to sand the wood filler downward until it is affluent with the residual of the trim.
Hither's how it will wait with sanded wood filler in it. It already looks 10x better than the harsh black line from an uneven cutting!
Once the wood filler has dried, it's time to move onto the side by side pace!
Related Door & Trim Manufactures
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Step Two: Sand The Woods Filler With 180 Grit And Wipe Down The Window Trim
The next pace to set gaps in mitered joints is to sand the wood filler and wipe down the trim.
I would allow for a few hours of drying time before sanding. (Cheque the label on your specific brand for dry out-time – the bigger the mitered corner gaps, the longer they will take to dry.)
Once everything is dry, so yous can offset sanding. A small piece of sandpaper or a sanding cake will practise the fox for this step.
For unfinished trim, you'll want to use 120 grit, and for prefinished or primed trim, you'll desire to apply 180 grit sandpaper. (180 dust is finer sandpaper, so the surrounding surface won't exist damaged as badly every bit rougher sandpaper would exercise.)
Scrape Off Excess Wood Filler In Unwanted Areas
Outset by using the corner of the sandpaper or the corner of a pocket-size putty knife to get the backlog filler out of any tiny corners in the trim.
For instance, I have a Colonial casing that has several corners and rounded parts. Considering of this, I had to take my fourth dimension while sanding. If you have craftsman-manner casing then sanding volition be much more than unproblematic for you!
Sand, Sand, Sand!
Adjacent, start sanding!
The goal is to sand until the wood filler is flush with the surrounding trim. If you lot accidentally over sand, don't worry, you can always add together more than woods filler and sand once more.
To test for flushness, simply run your finger beyond the sanded area.
If it feels smooth to bear upon without much variation, and so you're set up to move on. If at that place's notwithstanding a divot, put more wood filler, or if there'south nonetheless besides much wood filler on the trim, go along sanding.
Later you lot've sanded all nail holes and mitered corners, wipe down all pieces of trim to set up for paint or stain.
One time all of the wood filler is sanded and the dust is wiped away, you can movement onto the next step!
Step Three: Paint (Or Stain) The Window Trim
The terminal pace to fix gaps in mitered joints is to pigment or stain the window trim.
Woohoo, nosotros're on the last step! All that'southward left to do is paint (or stain) your window trim. You've got it fifty-fifty easier if you used prefinished white trim equally I did, and all y'all have to practice is a few quick touch-ups.
I similar this chiffonier & trim paint considering information technology dries smoothen and has a hard, durable end. The ultra-pure white but looks cute on the trim in my opinion! But tint it whatever color you want your trim to be.
Employ a 2" angled paintbrush like this fantastic short-handled ane from Amazon to get in the tight areas and a two" foam roller like this one from Amazon to speedily paint the remainder of the trim.
How Do You Cut a Perfect 45-degree Miter?
Every bit I mentioned before, there is a trick to cut perfect 45-degree miters in window trim, so yous can potentially avoid fixing gaps in the mitered joints subsequently.
The trick is to cut the left and correct pieces of trim to the verbal same size (fifty-fifty if each side has a slightly different actual measurement). In improver, the acme and right pieces of trim need to be cut to the verbal same size besides.
This means that if the left side of the window measures out to exist 34-¼" and the correct side measures out to be 34-½" then yous should split the difference and cut two pieces of trim at exactly 34-⅜". (Likewise, if the top piece is twoscore" broad and the bottom piece is twoscore-¼" wide so separate the difference and cut 2 pieces at twoscore-⅛" inches.)
Trim is a visual thing, so splitting the difference won't be seen by the naked middle. In addition, past cut the trim this way, y'all will be creating perfect ninety-degree corners on the window.
Then when you cutting 45-degree miters on the window trim, the two 45-degree angles will fit the 90-degree corner perfectly. (And thus, avoiding having to fix gaps in the mitered joints!)
This video does an excellent job further explaining how to cutting perfect 45-caste miter joints!
Final Thoughts On How To Fix Gaps In Mitered Joints
In that location you have information technology! Iii easy steps to fix gaps in mitered joints to make your window trim await flawless. And all it toll was the toll of wood filler and sandpaper (and potentially paint)!
You can take this trick and apply it to any woodworking project you get to tackle next. No need to worry near perfectly mitered corners again!
Catch you in my next post!
- How To Cull The Trim Colour Based Off Your Door Color (With Pictures!)
- How To Trim A Bifold Door To Width With Confidence! (Tips For Success)
- How To Paint Interior half dozen-Console Doors To Avoid Brush Marks: A Helpful Tutorial With Pictures!
- Cut A Hollow Cadre Door: How Much Tin can Yous Cut Off A Side?
- How To Fix A Hollow Core Door That Is Cut Too Brusque In 4 Easy Steps (With Pictures!)
- Where To Put The Handles On Bifold Doors (With Picture Tutorial!)
- How To Easily Makeover An Entryway Closet With New Shelves & Rods
How To Ready Gaps In Mitered Joints In 3 Easy Steps (For Flawless Window Trim!)
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