Installing a chair rail onto a bowed wall
Don Peer
wall. The half-inch gap in the center is obviously noticable. The piece is
about 3 feet in length. My ideas so far are:
1) Steam the piece to bend it into position (I doubt this will work).
2) Build up the gap with some kind of filler (I doubt it will look good)
I'm looking for a magic bullet. Any out there?
-dpeer
davefr
I wouldn't rule out steaming the piece to soften the wood fibers and
then sucking it into the bowed wall using screws. The only other
suggestion would be to make a series of thin kerf cuts on the back side
of the molding where it needs to flex and then once installed you can
fill in just the kerf cut edges with a filler.
I've seen some pretty badly warped moldings at Home Depot. Maybe you
could handpick a cull that approximately matches the bow of the wall.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
TinMan1332
Once the molding is added, the wall (when viewed looking lengthwise down the
rail) will look more warped than it does unadorned. From straight on, it will
look normal.
I have found it's best to run the molding as straight as possible and then
backfill any gaps prior to painting. If the gap is really 1/2" you may want to
pull the rail somewhat into the wall with a screw and reduce the gap by 1/8th
or 3/16 of an inch (then use the filler).
Lightweight spackle works well to fill the backside. Allow to dry a couple or
three days before sanding and painting.
The only real magic bullet is to redo the wallboard or plaster to make the
surface more true.
Michael Baugh
Look at some of the elaborate curves in old handrails and say whether
steaming is able to be done.
Setting the contour is the trick.
Do a search on steambox use.
In article <20001024192935...@ng-fg1.aol.com>,
tinma...@aol.com (TinMan1332) wrote:
> >I am installing a 4" tall rather sturdy chair rail onto a bowed
(inward)
> >wall. The half-inch gap in the center is obviously noticable. The
piece is
> >about 3 feet in length. My ideas so far are:
> >
> >1) Steam the piece to bend it into position (I doubt this will work).
>
Don K.
I think that's the best approach. If you can get access to a radial arm saw,
use a thin cabinet maker's blade to make some evenly spaced cuts leaving a
thickness of about 1/8 inch of wood on the back. You can then bend the board
to fit any contour and fill the gaps with putty.
Don K.
MDixon1918
One word: Bondo. It's used primarily for auto body repair, but will also
adhere well to wood, plaster and other substrates.
It's sandable and paintable and will fill a half inch gap easily.
Mark
Judy Temple
could still see the warp. I ended up scoring a piece of molding and
putting it on top of the molding. Turned out great and I can't tell
it's bowed when looking straight on.
temple
Default User
Don Peer wrote in message ...
>I am installing a 4" tall rather sturdy chair rail onto a bowed
(inward)
>wall. The half-inch gap in the center is obviously noticable.
The piece is
>about 3 feet in length. My ideas so far are:
>
>1) Steam the piece to bend it into position (I doubt this will
work).
>2) Build up the gap with some kind of filler (I doubt it will
look good)
>
>I'm looking for a magic bullet. Any out there?
>
>-dpeer
>
>
Pat Strong
> I am installing a 4" tall rather sturdy chair rail onto a bowed (inward)
> wall. The half-inch gap in the center is obviously noticable. The piece is
> about 3 feet in length. My ideas so far are:
>
> 1) Steam the piece to bend it into position (I doubt this will work).
> 2) Build up the gap with some kind of filler (I doubt it will look good)
>
> I'm looking for a magic bullet. Any out there?
>
> -dpeer
"Kerf" the back edge of the molding where the curve appears. To Kerf is to
make small crosswise slits about 1/4 to 1/2 inch apart through the grain of the
back side, not all the way through to the surface, that removes enough material
for the molding to bend. Fill any remaining gaps in the top and bottom edges
sand smooth and paint. Use a wood filler that matches the final finish if you
are staining and varnishing.
Pat