Coving - How to put up

Also known as coving.

This post will give you a general idea of how to avoid some of the pitfalls commonly made when putting plaster coving onto a skim background.

The first thing you need to do is make the intention - the intention to do a good job. Its at this point that the job your about to do will succeed or fail.

Secondly choose some plaster coving - be aware that if the coving you choose is very intricate its going to be a lot more difficult when you come to finish the joints.

Now the trick is to make sure the skim coat of plaster on your ceiling is perfectly flat near the walls, otherwise you will have an unsightly wobbly wavy top edge on the coving - and thats the bit that stands out the most - if the wall is a little bit wavy its not too much of an issue as its the top edge that cathces the eye the most  (thats probably the most important thing you need to do when putting in coving).

Using the straight edge as in the two pics below to highlight where the plaster has 'got a belly on it'

Get a marker and cross where the skim coat of plaster needs to be corrected. Then correct it with multifinish or filler. This process is known as 'feathering out' and is cheaper to do with multifinish - you can save yourself a lot of hassle if you let the plasterer know that you will be putting coving in and that you need a ceiling that is perfectly level near where the ceiling meets the wall.

Its at times like this that if you know the plasterer he will do a good job, if you dont know him and have no experience he will not leave you with a level ceiling even if you have asked for one. You will end up paying more money to have this corrected so it pays to get someone good to have this done 'right first time'

To get level coving with minimum hassle (and thats the key - get the job done perfectly with minimum hassle) you will need to ensure that the ceiling joists are level way before the plasterboard ceiling is pinned to it. Its tricks of the trade like this that ensures a smooth running job and a beautiful finish. Level joists mean level plasterboard ceiling which in turn means level beautiful coving without hassle. Its all about risk management, make it easy for everyone by getting a straight level.

So anyway there will always need to be a little bit of feathering out and this part of the job should be worked into your routine when putting in coving. Heres a pic of coving and the feathering out that was needed.

Next thing to do after everything has been feathered out is to hold up a piece of coving and pencil in the outline, this will give you an idea of where the coving will sit. Once you know where exactly the coving will sit and can see it marked in in pencil - score it with a stanley knife but be careful not to come outside of the outline of where the coving is going. If you do it will just mean a lot more and unnecessary work for the decorator which could have been easily avoided.

Once the outline has been scored (dont go overboard or anything - just every couple of centimeters) brush it all off and make sure its dust free really brush it off so that not a single bit of dust remains (this helps with the adhesion) Now with a brush put pva glue on the dust free scored areas , depending on which pva brand your using, dilute as required. Here is a pic of ceiling which has been scored, pva'd and ready for coving.

Your coving should be on site and the odds are high that it will have been laying around for a couple of days (always make sure you store the coving on the floor or so that its completely supported, otherwise it will bow) the lengthscome in 3000mm and may be very brittle which is not the end of the world just means more hassle when decorating the coving. Always give the coving a really good soak with a hosepipe the day before your due to put the coving up - soaking helps to give it more flex.

Now get some cheap white adhesive (has to be white, stains less and hides well) and put it on the backs of the coving - only where the coving will make contact with the walls and the ceiling.

Quick note about adhesive - its all about drying times and drying times are governed by the two substrates being stuck together and the rate at which water evaporates. If the water evaporates too quick then the adhesion will not be strong, that's why i like to slow down the drying process by wetting the coving, this also has another effect detailed a few paragraphs above.

Corners have to be mitre cut dont worry about not having a perfect joint, the filling in at the end will join it all together and its probably quicker in the long run to cut rough and fill (but ensuring its level)

Now is the time to get out the sandpaper and filler and regret why you chose to put in fancy egg and dart coving because its those joints which will take the longest :-)

Heres a pic of some finished plaster mouldings on a ceiling, this was done done using the process above. I kept the original ceiling rose but had to put the rest of the ceiling with moulding in new. The original ceiling was in the old lathe and plaster, i pulled it down because overboarding wouldnt have been level. I recreated the exact ceiling from memory, its very important if putting in new mouldings to keep with the status and period of the house.

Quick note about coving, there are companies out there who will replicate old coving. Regency Plastercraft on Southbury Road in Enfield are very good. Ive found that the old coving  is rock solid and very difficult to remove, dont bother trying to take it out , the labour cost will be too much, just get the decorator to restore it and it will look perfect. Old coving was built to last, you cant get it off even with a hammer drill.

Typically expenses arise when using non standard mouldings, ie the mouldings that need to be made up, for example in the picture of the plaster mouldings on the ceiling above the expenses arose on those two circles that had to be specially made up. The straight lengths are stock items and therefore not expensive at all.

Note the process would be different if you were putting coving onto painted walls - the thing to be aware of when putting coving onto painted walls is that you must be careful not to let the coving stick to the paint alone.