Cornice includes corner moldings with patterned faces. Cornices are simple ways to finish off the look of a room and do not require any special skills to erect. They are especially useful when a new stud wall has been erected or a ceiling has been replaced. Fitting cornice removes the need to undertake detailed finishing of the corner where the wall and ceiling meet.

With a planned approach, coving is fairly easy to put up. Patterned cornice is generally hard to put up because of the need to match the pattern at corners. It is always better to read any manufacturers instructions supplied with the coving. There may be specific considerations particular to the coving you have purchased. The suggestions we give may be more comprehensive than most manufacturer’s instructions.

• When putting up coving, it’s better to work from a stable platform. You’ll have enough to concentrate on putting up the coving. You need not worry about where you are going to put your feet.
• As coving has to be stuck to firm and sound surfaces, all wallpaper, emulsion paint, distemper and loose plaster should be removed from both the wall and ceiling. So fit the coving before you redecorate the room.
• Read the instructions, if any, given with the coving. They give you the distance on the wall and ceiling for the edge from the corner. If there are no instructions as such, cut off a small length of the coving and use this against a corner to determine the distance.
• After removing all wallpaper and unsound surface from the ceiling and wall along the line of the coving, use the distances from the corner to mark the wall and the ceiling with a pencil to indicate the edges. Mark on both sides of each corner.
• Put up a string line between the corner marks. Use a ruler to check the distance along the line between line and corner to check for variation. With most coving, variations up to about 3 mm can be accommodated by the adhesive. If the distance between line and corner is less than the coving distance, you have to trim the coving edge or adjust the line down on both sides of the corner.
• Don’t worry too much about getting the line level. It’s more important to get the line parallel to the ceiling and wall.
• After going completely around the room, marking both ceiling and wall corners, replace the string on each edge. Mark the wall or ceiling at regular points along the line. Remove the string and join up the marked points using a straight edge.
• Within the marked area, use a sharp knife to roughen the surfaces of the wall and ceiling with criss-cross scratches to provide a key for the adhesive. Use a clean brush to remove any dust.