How to Install Porch Trim
Installing trim around the edges of a porch involves the exact same process as indoor trimming. The challenge with porch trim is to place it around the columns. If your columns are square, then the most common approach is to use "brick molding"--which isn't actually brick, but wood--in a square configuration that gives the impression that the columns are sitting on a pedestal. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Pencil
- Tape measure
- Brick molding style wood trim (pre-painted)
- Miter saw
- Trim nailer
- Exterior caulk
Instructions
-
-
1
Measure one side of a porch column, at the base. On a piece of molding, make a mark about 4 inches from an edge. Starting at the mark, measure out the distance of the porch column side, then make a second mark on the molding.
-
2
Set the trim on a miter saw, just as it will sit against the column. Slide it so one of the two marks is under the blade.
-
-
3
Swivel the blade 45 degrees outward, pointing away from the measured span. Cut the molding.
-
4
Move the trim so the other mark is in front of the blade. Swivel the blade 45 degrees in the opposite direction, so it will again be pointing outward from the measured span. Cut it.
-
5
Set the trim against the side of the column at the bottom, so it's sitting on the porch with the back of the trim against the column. The two mitered ends should flare out at 45-degree angles from both edges.
-
6
Secure the piece with your trim nailer, shooting two nails along the top of the trim, into the column, and two more along the bottom, into the porch surface.
-
7
Repeat the process to cut each of the remaining three sides of the column. Nail them in place as before. The mitered ends of the pieces should butt to each other to form the corners.
-
8
Repeat the process to trim out the tops of the columns, against the porch ceiling.
-
9
Caulk all around each of the pieces, where they meet the porch and the column.
-
1
