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

On Thu, 8 Jul 2004 21:53:40 +0100, "Brett Jackson"
wrote:

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


I think that you need to contact our resident expert, Anna Kettle for
this. http://www.annakettle.clara.net/

I am certain that she will know how to do this.



..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Brett Jackson wrote:
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



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 RJSavage at Bigfoot dot com

"Richard Savage" wrote in message
...


Brett Jackson wrote:
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



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 RJSavage at Bigfoot dot com


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

Richard Savage wrote:


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?


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.

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.

--
Cheers,

John.

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"Brett Jackson" wrote in message
...
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



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
--

Replace the dots and remove nospam for valid email address

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?

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.

The other way is to make your new stuff from wood using a router and
home cut router blades. You buy a block - eg
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...77439&ts=92326
and 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

N. Thornton wrote:

The other way is to make your new stuff from wood using a router and
home cut router blades. You buy a block - eg
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...77439&ts=92326

That is actually a cutter for a spindle moulder rather than a router,
but as you say, it may well do what you need.

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

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



I have no idea which is quicker / easier.

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.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

John Rumm wrote in message ...
N. Thornton wrote:

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

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


I have no idea which is quicker / easier.

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

Its producing the cutter that takes the 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.

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