How to Cope Bay Window Trim
Bay windows are a common solution in houses where extra space is needed. They project out from the main walls of a home to form a square or polygonal "bay" with a sitting area, offering the illusion of a larger room. There are a variety of ways to trim bay windows. However, since the edges of bay windows are set at angles to each other, coping the trim around these corners is the only way to run the trim properly and leave the windows looking clean and encased.
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Things You'll Need
- Pencil
- Tape measure
- Carpenter's square
- Safety glasses
- Work gloves
- Miter saw
- Wood trim
- Coping saw
- Hammer or nail gun with air compressor
- Finishing nails
Instructions
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1
Set the miter saw at a 45-degree angle to cut the pieces of base trim. Measure the length of the piece you want to cut. Place the piece onto the saw table. Put on your gloves and safety glasses.
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2
Turn on the miter saw. Gently lower the blade into the wood and cut along your mark at a 45-degree angle. Firmly hold onto the piece of wood with your free hand to avoid the wood being thrown by the saw. Repeat the process with any cuts going into or around corners, both inside and out.
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3
Use a scrap piece of trim as a guide to mark the piece you want to miter. For outside corners, the pieces of trim cut to a 45-degree angle will create a complete mitered joint when mated at the corner. The internal corner pieces must be mitered and coped to provide a proper fit where they meet. Use the scrap piece of trim to trace the silhouette of its outside contours onto the face of the inside corner trim for the opposing corner.
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4
Hold the marked piece of wood firmly in one hand. Ease the coping saw gently into the piece of trim. Cut away the line to remove the wood on the back of the molding in a contoured fashion. When you install two pieces of trim at an inside corner, the contoured piece will form-fit against the face of the trim that it butts up against. Use small movements with the coping saw. Cut shy of the line until you check the piece to make sure you do not cut too much.
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5
Nail the trim in place with finishing nails and a hammer, or an air compressor and nail gun.
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Tips & Warnings
You can adjust the angles of the cuts you need to make depending on the bay windows' angles. Some will be set at 45 degrees, while others will be 30 degrees or another angle.
Use a protractor to find the walls' angles if they are anything other than square.
All materials and tools can be purchased or rented from a home improvement store.
Always wear protective gear when working with power tools.
- Photo Credit Brick Bay Window image by dwight9592 from Fotolia.com
