Polystyrene Coving ,,,

[Arfa Daily]

What is the 'usual' way to cut low density polystyrene coving ? My daughter bought some to finish off her bathroom (which mercifully, is now finished :-) ) but she needed six internal angle pieces. Being the cheapskate that she is, she only bought one packet of four, trusting that I would just be able cut the corner angle on the other two. A bit of an experiment on some low density stuff like this, showed that no matter how sharp the cutting tool, it was very hard to get a nice cut finish. So I made a hot wire cutter to do the job, and the finish was perfect, but if you don't have the knowledge and bits in the junkbox to knock such a thing up, what else would you use ?

Arfa

[Hamish Shufflebotham]

Proper plaster coving you can easily cut with a saw?

[Kevin]

well that was helpful never tried but I would have thought a sharp knife

[Andy Dingley]

Just snap it by hand until it fits in the bin, then get some decent plaster stuff.

[Arfa Daily]

Yeah, there's always one ...

I tried a sharp craft knife, and it's ok until you get a little way in, then it sort of stops cutting. hard to describe.

Arfa

[Arfa Daily]

Ah. Always TWO then ... Planks ...

Arfa

[stuart noble]

I've always cut it with an old handsaw, the coarser the better

[405 TD Estate]

How did you make the hot wire saw - I've got some to cut as well...

[dennis]

8<

I use a a 10" cooks knife, the damn thing is sharp enough to cut glass fibre insulation without "sawing".

If the wife finds out she may not like it. 8-)

[Alang]

A sharp knife. You're going to have to use a filler of some kind on the joint anyway before painting.

[Kevin]

and your it :-)

[Steve Walker]

fine handsaw, and wipe some filler into the join where needed (it will be). I've used paper-covered polystyrene coving and it looks fine when it's decorated.

[George]

You need a knife(Modellers) with a round edge rather than a flat blade(Stanley) for polystyrene.

Do people still buy that sh*ite?

Plaster type coving is quite cheap compared to the polystyrene rubbish.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I wouldn't use it at all. Apart from the problems it can cause in a fire (poisonous fumes) it always looks what it is even after painting. It's not as though the plaster stuff costs much more.

[OG]

My uncle spent a long weekend experimenting with my dad in developing a hot-wire saw using his car battery as a 12v source.

He then drove home.

He was on the phone to mum & dad to say that he had just got home safely when he was quoted as saying "Ah, I've got to go now, the car has just burst into flames".

[Kevin]

why would that make the car burst into flames? are you suggesting it damaged the battery?

[Lobster]

I know what you mean; doesn't the fact that you get a clean leading (ie visible) edge mean that's OK though?

David

[Alang]

Polystyrene can be put up with wallpaper paste very quickly. Once the joints are filled and the whole lot painted you cannot tell the difference. And much easier to remove when the female of the house decides a change of decor is needed

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I think you can - the texture still shows through. Although the paper covered stuff may sort that. Also the fact that it bends to fit is often a giveaway.

I tend to think of coving as a fixture rather than a wallpaper.

[George]

You can,you never seen peoples thumb&finger indents on it?

And much easier to remove when the female of the house

Id like to think coving was staying as a feature