Install the Perfect Wood Trim

Now, before you commit to cutting the wood trim itself, make a trial run and adjust the saw, change the blade, or simply practice your technique.

- ROY BERENDSOHN

WOOD TRIM IS SUPPOSED TO PROVIDE A FINISHING touch to a room. But it doesn't always work out so neatly. And if you've ever tried to install trim and been frustrated by a poor fit where two pieces meet, say in an open miter or open cope, you're not alone. With 40-plus years of experience cutting trim, I can name at least a couple dozen reasons why those pieces won't join up so nicely. And I've developed these solutions-for joints that are mitered and coped to solve most of your problems.

You need to get your head and your eye into the job first. A warmup cut is always a good idea. Cut the trim a little long and see if the piece fits, and then recut to get it dialed in for a perfect joint.

OPEN MITERS 

A miter is an angled cut on the ends of the two pieces of trim you're joining. The cut angle is half of the total number of degrees in the angle they'll form (as you look at them head-on) once they meet. So if you have two pieces of trim meeting at a 90-degree corner, each miter is cut at 45 degrees.

There are three types of open miters. A miter can be open at the bottom of the joint, across its face, or at the top of the joint. Before assuming the problem is with the saw, the saw's adjustment, or the blade, always check the surface (or surfaces) where the trim is being installed. Bumps and hollows there could cause the trim to not fit properly.

Here are what the three problem miters look like:

THE SOLUTIONS