How To Use Cove Lighting with Crown Molding

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Cove lighting is functional and it makes a room’s ambience more elegant. Cove lighting comes in various forms from rope lighting to string lights that use LED bulbs. The atmospheric feel gives a relaxing feeling and guests will be simply amazed. Installing it is a simple weekend project. Here is how to use cove lighting with crown molding:
  • Carefully remove the crown molding. Use a hammer and a pry bar for this. Work gradually and focus not to damage the walls and ceilings.
  • Run a ledger or backboard strip. Use a 1x4 inch strip. It will be used in replacing the crown molding. If you desire, utilize a router to make design cues in its bottom. The design must match the crown molding. Ask a craftsman to make the design. An excellent motif creates visual interest, which will highlight that section of your home better. Paint the crown molding again if it needs a new coat. Paint the ledger and the crown molding individually before assembling them to save effort and time.
  • Cut square blocks. Cut them in half diagonally, one inch each. Attach them onto the center of the ledger, two feet apart. The flat side of the blocks must face the ceiling. These blocks will give an attachment point for the crown molding and keep them in a proper angle. Mark and measure the positions of the corner blocks. Apply wood glue on the corner blocks’ back part. Then, position them beside the ledger strip. Use glue or a nail gun to secure the blocks better with the two small-sized nails. One nail must be positioned in 45-degree angle via the perpendicular side, while the other at the angled side.
  • Drill pilot holes into the ledger. Execute this before bringing the ledger inside the house. The holes in the ledger will be the final attachment onto the wall. Mark and measure the areas for the pilot holes before using a power drill.
  • Secure the corner blocks and crown molding’s base. Utilize a construction glue to attach them. Set the bottom flush and the molding to the ledger. Nail the materials together. This will provide an area for the cord and lights. It will also add dimension to the crown molding.
  • Attach the ledger. Make a level and straight line using a chalk. It will help you in the attachment process. The bottom edge of the ledger must be along the line. Insert a carbide-tip masonry bit via the pilot holes so you can mark their spots on the walls.
  • Position the lights. They must be placed along the top part of the crown molding. Use screws or small nails to secure the lights. Put them along the edges of the crown molding, and not through the wires. Tuck the plugs or cord backwards. Enjoy the ambience of your new atmospheric cove lighting.

Hire an expert, if needed. Give detailed instruction on the ledger’s design and lighting motif to ensure that you’ll achieve what you want. The soft glow of cove lighting will accentuate the architectural details of your home.

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How To Use Sound Deadening Material for Walls

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Imagine this: your buddies from work come over to your apartment after a long day’s work. You pop open you fridge, serve the chilled beer and put on the tonight’s football, basketball, mixed martial arts, or boxing show. The excitement rises as the nail biting match is coming to an end and your friends are on the edge of the sit cheering, drinking. And at the winning moment, the neighbor next door knocks, complains and ultimately distracts you from the game’s golden moment.

This actually happens when you and your friends are quite noisy and bothersome to your next door neighbor. You can avoid this scandal and still keep your fun with friends going and it is simple as making a little change in your apartment. You can use specially designed walls that will stop your noise from invading your neighbor’s space. Here are some tips on how to use sound deadening materials for walls.
  • The speed of sound. You cannot beat the speed of sound. But you can put something in front of sound to stop it. Doing that however is not a miracle. You have to prepare to achieve that effect. There are things that you will need to be able to use sound deadening materials for walls. The first thing to acquire is a sound deadening board. This is available at your local hardware and even online. You will also use a utility knife. Some two inch drywall screws are also in order. A screwdriver or a power drill will prove to be useful to you. Then round up the materials with some upholstery and do get some upholstery tacks.
  • Sizing up the challenge. The first task at hand is to know how much of the wall you need to cover. Clear your wall of desks, frames and whatever is hanging there. Then use a good old measuring tape to take the dimensions of the wall to be covered and made sound proof. The entry size of most sound dampening materials is 15.00 and it goes up. Make it a point to go warehouse sales so you can find materials on lowered price. Upholstery material is not cheap. Prepare a budget in this particular project. And try your best to keep and stay within budget.
  • Sound deadening material application. With the right materials with the right dimensions, it is time to put them to good use. Get your utility knife. Make sure that it is up to the challenge. Sharpen the knife before using it. Always be careful with the sharpened knife. The knife shall then be used in cutting the sound deadening board. The cuts should be according the measurements that you took. Now time to get some help. Get your screws for help in applying the sound deadening material to the wall.
  • More sound deadening material. Now get your upholstery materials. Then apply it over the sound deadening board. Now it is important that you cover the edges cleanly with a nice trim. Some will even extend the upholstery material to cover some gaps where sound might escape. Study your wall’s edged closely. And map out the places and spot where you have to make use of extra upholstery.

A sound proof wall will give you a party ready pad and a happy neighbor. So go and sound proof your place now.

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How To Use Various Types of Picture Hangers

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Hanging pictures is not as simple as placing a hook on the wall and then mounting the frame on it. You actually need to use particular picture hangers to make sure there is enough support for the weight of the frame. Picture hangers are classified according to their capacity – or how much weight they can carry. To ensure that the pictures are properly supported, make use of picture hooks that can carry weight that is four times heavier than the picture.
Here are helpful tips in using various types of picture hangers:
  • Know the weight of the picture you are going to hang. Take note too of the picture frame material. Heavy pictures need hooks that can hold the frame securely. Also, if the frame has a glass, you should make sure the picture hook is sturdy enough to hold the weight. If the hook is not stable, the picture might fall and the glass will break and might result to accidents.
  • Go to your local hardware stores and look at the picture hangers available. The most well-liked picture hooks are those made of metal. There are also wooden hooks that are as strong but the downside is that they can break or chip off. Thus for heavier pictures, a thicker wooden hook should be used.
  • Scrutinize the picture hangers in the hardware store. Ask for assistance and recommendation from the sales assistants. Look at the sample displays in their showroom and compare the hooks and the different frames mounted on them.
  • Make sure the hook has enough screws for support. An ideal picture hanger has three hooks to hold the three corners of its brace. For bigger pictures, the anchor should be thick enough to hold the frame. 
  • Never make the mistake of hanging pictures that are heavier than the load the hanger can accommodate. The picture will surely fall and the wall might even be damaged if the hanger goes off with the picture. This might create an ugly hole on the wall and it can entail more expenses for the repair. You may have saved money by buying less expensive picture hangers, but the cost of the repair, plus other resulting damages and the possibility of getting someone hurt can cost you more.
  • Have the picture hangers custom made by your carpenter. If you are having your house constructed, it is a good idea to include the pictures you want to hang in the house plan. Your planner and the carpenter can execute the layout and install custom made hangers for your frames.
  • Simply use small screws for light pictures. There are pictures that are very light (with plastic frames and with no glass cover) so that a half inch screw will suffice.
  • Make sure the surface of your wall can hold the picture hangers. There are walls that are hollow in the inside hence they cannot provide the needed support for the picture hangers. You can remedy this by mounting the hangers on small cubes of wood before screwing the hangers on the wall.
As picture hangers come in various shapes and sizes, you may as well ask for a catalogue from sales assistants to help you decide more easily which items to choose.

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How To Wallpaper Around Openings

14:03 , , , , , 0 Comments


Wallpapering a room can be a breeze, if you can do this in a systematic and organized way. You can actually wallpaper a room within half a day. If there are any challenges to wallpapering, however, one of them could be to wallpaper around openings in the room (particularly windows and doors). If you'd like to find out how to do this, here are the steps you'd need to remember:
  • Crease the wallpaper against the frame. Position the wallpaper on the wall, and butt it against the edge of the window frame. It's best to use a wallpaper brush so you could smooth the edge of the wallpaper against the frame. Make sure that you smooth out any air bubbles that forms, and that the wall covering is tight across the angle between the wall and the frame.
  • Cut off the wallpaper diagonally. Cut diagonally starting from the edge of the wallpaper strip overlapping the opening, going up to the upper outer corner of the opening's frame. You should do the same to the lower corner of the window frame (that is, you should cut from the edge of the wallpaper strip going down to the lower outer corner of the frame).
  • Cut off the excess wallpaper. Cut out the excess wallpaper from the edge of the window frame, but remember to leave about 1 inch. Cover the part of the window frame that isn't visible from the front view; this is the one that starts the elevation of the frame from the wall. Smooth out any air bubbles using the wall paper brush.
  • Trim off the wallpaper again. Once you have papered the edge of the wallpaper frame, you should cut off the excess once again. Remember, it's important that you cut off the excess in a very neat and precise manner so that no jagged or rough wallpaper edges could be seen. To help you, you could use a broad filing knife to hold the wallpaper against the frame firmly, then trim the excess using a craft knife.Here's another technique: you could place the sharp edge of the filing knife at the line that you want to trim off; then hold the craft knife against the sharp edge of the filing knife. This would help guide your craft knife along a straight line. 
  • Cover the area above the opening. Make sure that you select strips of the wallpaper that would continue the pattern of the surrounding wallpaper. Cover the area above the opening, and then trim off the excess (follow tips 3 and 4 again). Repeat this process to cover the area below the opening.
  • Continue papering the area next to the opening. Again, it's very important that you maintain the continuity of the wallpaper pattern. Adjust the wallpaper so that the design corresponds to the previous strip of paper. Butt the strip against the previous strip, and smooth out any air bubbles. Cut off the wallpaper diagonally, following the procedure described at step 2. Trim the excess, as described at steps 3 and 4. 
There you have it! These are the steps to wallpaper around openings in your room. Remember, it's very important that you be as precise and systematic as possible, for the best possible results.

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