Another appealing aspect of plastic moldings is the fact that the skill level required for successful installation is quite modest. With nothing more complicated than square cuts when you utilize corner and connector blocks, it’s a project that’s accessible to many people. You’ll need just a few basic tools; you can even get by without a miter saw. The material has about the same density as pine, so even a hand-powered cut through the widest molding will barely cause you to break a sweat. As you shop around, you’ll discover several styles and sizes of molding and corner blocks. Be certain that the blocks you select coordinate with both the proportion and character of the molding. It’s important to note that you don’t absolutely need corner blocks when using plastic moldings. If you choose not to use them, note that the installation of plastic molding differs from that of wood molding. If you need to join two pieces of molding along a wall, use a butt joint, not a scarf joint, and apply adhesive at the seam. If necessary, touch up the joint with vinyl spackle and sand it smooth. Utilize butt joints at the ends of the molding. But eliminating the midrun block means that you need to create a temporary anchor point so you can spring the slightly overlong molding into place. This anchor point is nothing more complicated than a wood block temporarily screwed to the wall. For an extremely long molding run, leapfrog the position of the wood block along the wall to install each piece. Cut miters instead of copes for inside corners, and apply adhesive to the joint. If you sand through the factory-applied primer, touch it up with a compatible primer before painting.
