Reproducing Coving

I have coving in my living room of a particular style that I cannot find anywhere. I want to add a new section of wall and re-create the coving around that section. I have considered removing all the coving and replacing it with something off the shelf but I think this would be too much work as it's a large room.

This leaves me with 2 options as I understand it:

a) create a wooden profile of the coving and attempt to re-create in-situ using plaster that's sculpted using the wooden profile.

b) create a mould and use this to cast the new coving using some form of light-weight plaster.

My question is, both of these seem like they would be very tricky, and I'm sceptical that the result wouldn't look too good.

Does anybody have any experience of doing such a thing in the past? I would be grateful of some advice, particularly with regards to the materials that I should use?

Many thanks Brett

Reply to
Brett Jackson
Loading thread data ...

I think that you need to contact our resident expert, Anna Kettle for this.

formatting link
am certain that she will know how to do this.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Reply to
Andy Hall

I've seen it done with, as you suggest, a profile. But AFAICR it's done in sections on a bench against a corner shaped former with scrim(?) bedded in the plaster to give it strength. I can't remember how the sections are held in place.

Richard

Reply to
Richard Savage

Some ornate but regular linear cross section coving was done in situ by fixing a batten below the finished level, and running a 'horse' along the batten . The horse had a longish horzontal bearer on the batten with an upright that had the rough (but larger) shape of the coving profiled into it, but a sheet of thin zinc was fixed to it with the exact shape required. Plaster would be applied to the ceiling/wall join and the horse run down to shape it - an iterative process - going over it many times to build up the finished surface, but always in the same direction.

Did this once many years ago when I annexed one side of a bedroom to make built in wardrobes and wanted to replicate what I'd covered up. Worked ok but was a messy process - plaster consistancy was difficult to get right. Too wet and it slumps everywhere - too dry and it cracks like crazy when it sets. May be better to use plaster of paris ?

Andrew Mawson

Reply to
Andrew Mawson

A friend of mine did something like this very recently. He made a 2m long trough with a right angle back. This was supported horizontally with the right angle rotated through 45 degrees to create a vee shape. A good coat of wax furniture polish on the inside of the trough to act as a release agent. Then insert a couple of narrow strips of expanded metal mesh (Expemet or similar) for strength. Finally partially fill with casting plaster and scrape with a ply profile copied from the original cove. Building up layers and drawing the profile along the trough each time until the required shape is achieved.

Some final making good with a thin layer of artex was then needed to get the new stuff matching the original closely enough.

Not quite as messy as trying to do it in situ - but still slow and difficult to get an exact "can't see the join" match.

Reply to
John Rumm

I had something similar to this when I (re)partitioned two rooms which had been knocked through by the previous owner.

3 sides of the lounge had a wonderful, ornate coving which I wanted recreating across the new stud-partition wall, about 13 feet or so.

I called in an architectural plasterer who made a template of the existing coving, and created the replacement in situ.

Unfortunately, I wasn't there when he did it. Went to work - no coving, came home 8 hours later - job done! HTH

-- snipped-for-privacy@nospammarconi.com Replace the dots and remove nospam for valid email address

Reply to
Paul King

The other way is to make your new stuff from wood using a router and home cut router blades. You buy a block - eg

formatting link
cut your own blades to match the existing profile. With that you can make lots of new wood moulding.

I have no idea which is quicker / easier.

Regards, NT

Reply to
N. Thornton

but as you say, it may well do what you need.

Not sure if anyone has ever tried it - but you may be able to machine a plaster "blank" into the profile you want.

A spindle moulder will make lots of profiled material in a very short space of time.

For small sections you can often get close to a profile by making multiple passes with a router and various blades, to make up the more complex moulding from components. Even a combination of off the shelf mouldings and covings can sometimes be glued together to make an approximation.

Reply to
John Rumm

Its producing the cutter that takes the time.

Well I'll be archiving this lot: all sorts of clever ideas. One last one for the kind of profile that isnt extrusion shaped: make a latex mould and make lots of short plaster pieces with it. For more intricate mouldings.

I guess one could strengthen plaster by including chopped fibres too... or perhaps even by using cement instead?

Regards, NT

Reply to
N. Thornton

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.