Picture Frame Moulding: Planning, Prep & Cutting

Note: I actually started writing this post a year ago! But I’m glad I hadn’t posted it yet, because I’ve gone through this process four times now and have learned a lot along the way, which of course I’ll be sharing with you. This post goes hand in hand with the related video on my YouTube channel, so for a full view, be sure to check it out too. Also, please bear with me. It’s not always easy to describe something in detail so that others will easily understand, but I’m hoping this post, along with the video, will help even the most novice beginner have the confidence to try!

One of my goals lately with my woodworking and projects has been to add detail both in terms of architectural elements to our house and more detailed elements to my project builds. I have eyed adding picture frame moulding for quite a while, but the thing that pushed me over the edge was when I was sick after Christmas (edit: Christmas 2020!) and binged Bridgerton on Netflix. I kept seeing pretty mouldings in the background, and I knew I wanted to give it a try. It is a simple way to step into adding detail, and it helps step up to more complex projects like crown moulding.

There are tons of beautiful ways to do this type of moulding. The sky seems to be the limit.

one Shades of Blue Interiors | two Remington Avenue | three Kate Abt Design

To start, I would recommend going with simple rectangles. Getting the handle down on the basics will help you graduate to harder designs. The process I have documented just shows you simple rectangles, which you can use as a jumping off point to get more fancy. But although they are simple rectangles, it will give you a chance to measure, mark and cut miters and practice your caulking skills.

Preliminary Planning and Moulding Selection

Good adequate planning will make your install so much easier. Start by looking at your space. Get measurements of all of your walls, and then think about sizing. About how many rectangles do you want across? Do you want to add chair rail or do you already have chair rail you need to consider in your design? Pay close attention to obstacles like light switches and electrical outlets.

Moulding options seem limitless, but it’s helpful to grab some types and hold it up in your space. It can be listed as picture frame or general moulding and can sometimes be listed as chair rail.

I started with 1 1/4″ wide pieces like the ones below left, but it was way too wide. In my little foyer, I ended up using 5/8″ wide trim. In our playroom and dining room, I used 7/8″ like the one below. It really depends on the look you are going for. My house has very simple trim, so I didn’t want to go with anything too fancy or heavy.

As you’re holding your trim up, you can start getting a feel for what type of spacing you want. My main tip here is to be consistent with your spacing. Your rectangles will vary from wall to wall depending on doorways and windows and the length of the wall, but consistent spacing will make it all look cohesive and professional.

In my playroom, I ended up using 6″ spacing vertically between each rectangle and between the rectangles and walls/ doorways. I also used 6″ spacing between the top and bottom rectangles. This helped keep everything cohesive around the room. (It also inadvertently helped me in installation as I was able to use my 6″ wide quilting ruler to quickly mark out my design!)

For my last two projects, I used a narrower 3 1/2″ margin all the way around. For these two, I just used a straight 1×4 as a spacer.

In my playroom, I did make the top and bottom margins smaller. I just felt the top would look better if it laid between the bottom of the crown molding and the top of the door trim. At the bottom, I used the same 4 1/2″ margin, which enabled me to miss most of my electrical outlets.

Speaking of outlets, make a plan for your obstacles. You could plan to miss them (obviously the easiest but not always possible), or you could dead end into them and pick up on the other side. Lastly, and most difficult, you could trim around them. I personally wouldn’t want to trim around them as I wouldn’t want to bring more attention to them, but that’s personal preference.

Layout

If you are visually oriented, laying out your rectangles on graph paper can be helpful. I actually used rectangles in Word by scaling down my walls. So for example, for a wall that is 54″ wide by 104″ tall wall, I put in a rectangle that was 5.4″ wide and 10.4″ tall. I was then able to add in rectangles representing the moulding and play with the layout. Here is a quick example below.

But it doesn’t have to be that exact. You can also just draw out a quick sketch. The sketch below helped me be sure I was taking into account enough margin all the way around. In this layout, I kept the margin, x, the same in all places.

Board Plan

This step may seem a little overkill, but I definitely wouldn’t tackle this project without a board plan. When I get in my shop, and I’m working at my saw, I want to focus on getting the right lengths, the correct angles, and the correct number of each board length. I don’t want to have to worry about which board I should cut from. So once I had all of my lengths, I planned out my boards. The image on the left below is the actual plan from the dining room and foyer at the Cliffhanger. The top is the list of how many of each I need, and the bottom is where I assign each length to a board. The image on the right is a simplified idea showing how begin laying out boards.

This plan gave me assurance that I had enough trim. After all, you can’t simply add up all of your lengths and purchase that much trim. You will invariably have waste at the end of each board. Once I knew my board count, I added in an extra 10% in case any of them were not straight and to offset any potential errors.

Speaking of straight boards, be sure you check each one by looking down the board from one end to ensure it is straight. In this pic you can see this board almost bends in the middle.

Board Prep

I highly recommend painting your trim before putting it on your wall. It is much easier to paint and sand all of the pieces before they are cut. Further, it will save a lot of cutting in and brush strokes if you also paint the wall before installing the trim.

I used a quick coat of BIN primer on my boards, but this isn’t necessary depending on the color and paint you are using. The boards were a little rough on the edges, and the paint raises the grain a bit. So after the first coat, I do a quick sand with a fine grit sanding sponge to knock back down the grain and clean up the edges.

I then paint at least one coat of top coat.

Getting Acquainted With Your Trim

If you are new to cutting miters, the angles might seem daunting. The length of the trim on the inside is shorter than the outside of course. But no, thankfully you don’t need to pull out the Pythagorean Theorem. When working with basic rectangles, and all inside corners, you only need to worry about the outside measurement. In other words, from one tip of the miter to the other tip of the miter, right where the trim meets the wall.

Become familiar with your trim. Decide which part will be on the outside. For instance, the fatter (taller projection) side of my trim is always to the outside. Therefore, I ALWAYS measure and mark the trim on that side. I pay zero attention to the inside of the trim. Don’t give it a second thought.

Measuring the trim

Because this trim isn’t flat, measuring it can be tricky. I’ve found measuring tapes are incredibly frustrating for this task. Instead, I use a rigid metal measuring stick. This is the one I have and not only did it help with this project, I frequently use it in my workshop. On the other hand, I’ve also been wanting to add a measuring tape to my workbench. That would also work well.

First, cut a start angle at 45 degrees, with the angle cutting into the inside of your trim. Once I cut my start angle, I lay the board down, using my finger to be sure the tip is flush at the 0″ mark, and then I mark my cut.

Where to Mark the Cut

But wait, you can’t just mark it anywhere! You can’t mark it on the top or even on the top of that side edge.

This is the board profile. The only spot on the board that you care about is that very tip, right where the bottom of the trim meets the side, at the blue arrow. That is the spot you need to mark and cut. Any other spot will give you the wrong measurement.

To demonstrate this, I marked a straight line across the entire board representing the length I need.

You can see that the resulting length of the trim piece would vary widely depending on where I mark my cut. The shadow of the blade line hits at many different places across the measured line. Even if I made my mark at the top of the “side” of the trim (the red arrow above and where I have my blade lined up in the picture below), my length would still be off, as shown by the distance, or little triangle, below between the marked line and the cut line.

When Cutting

It’s easy to mess up when making these cuts and trim can be expensive, so take your time and work through it in a methodical fashion.

I always keep the outside edge towards me on the saw with the inside facing the fence. Then I can see my cut mark.

Also remember that the outside edge will always be longer than the inner, so as you’re making your cut, make sure you are “cutting into” the inside. Above, the good part is to the right of the blade, so you can see the inside length will be shorter.

Once you cut a board length, you will need to cut a new start angle to begin the next piece. Therefore, you will cut out this little triangle of waste before you begin your next board length.

Finishing Your Cuts

Immediately after cutting, I label the back of the board with the measurement. This is very helpful, practically necessary, and will enable you to easily lay out your boards in the room and to verify you have the correct board before nailing it to the wall.

If it is the first cut of a certain length, I also mark it with a P. This will be my pattern board, which I use each time I make a cut of that length. This prevents mistakes from compounding onto each other, and it allows for nice tight rectangles when you are done.

Pattern Cuts

Marking cuts from patterns is very easy. I place the boards back to back, using my fingers to ensure they are flush. Then, I simply make my cut mark at the other end.

Next Up: Installation!

In part 2, I’ll finally get these babies up on the wall. In the meantime, be sure to check out my video on everything I’ve included here so far.

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