Wainscoting Faqs

Molding is a strip of material that has been dressed or planed on all four surfaces. One of the sides is often given a profile for decoration purposes. A molding is typically used as at a wall juncture where it serves to hide a gap.

A “sprung” molding is a strip that has beveled edges, allowing it to be mounted at an angle between two non-parallel planes (such as between a wall and a ceiling). Other types of molding are referred to as “plain”.

Types

There are a variety of common moldings:
Astragal - Attached to one of a pair of doors to serve as a stop for the other door. The two types are “T-Astragal” and “Flat Astragal”. The later is primarily used for decorative purposes.
Base Molding - Used at the junction of an interior wall and floor to protect the wall from impacts.
Batten - A symmetrical molding that is placed across a joint where two parallel panels or boards meet.
Bed Molding - A narrow molding used at the junction of a wall and ceiling. Bed moldings can be either sprung or plain.
Casing - The trim for both sides of a window opening.
Chair Rails - A molding placed part way up a wall to protect the surface from chairs. Primarily used now for decoration.
Corner Guard - A molding used to protect the edge of the wall at an outside corner, or to cover a joint on an inside corner.
Cove Molding - A concave-profile molding that is used at the junction of an interior wall and ceiling.
Crown Molding - A wide, sprung molding that is used at the junction of an interior wall and ceiling.
Drip Cap - This is placed over a door or window opening to prevent water from flowing under the siding or across the glass.
Screen Molding - This is a small molding that is used to hide the area were a screen is attached to the frame.

Theory

At their simplest, moldings are a means of applying light and dark shaded stripes to a structure or object without having to change the material or apply pigment. The aesthetic function is similar to that of go fast stripes applied to the side of a vehicle.

Imagine a flat vertical wall evenly lit by daylight. Adding a small overhanging horizontal step will introduce a dark horizontal band - This is called a fillet molding. Conversely, adding a vertical fillet to a horizontal surface will appear as a light band.

These bands do not need to be evenly shaded, a concave Cavetto molding will produce a band which is darker at the top and lighter at the bottom, whereas a convex Ovulo molding will be lighter at the top and darker at the bottom (other concave moldings are the Scotia and Conge, and other convex moldings are the Echinus, Torus and Astragal).

Placing an Ovulo molding directly above a Cavetto forms a smooth ‘S’ shaped curve with vertical ends, which appears as a band that is light at the top and bottom but dark in the interior - This is called an Ogee or Cyma reversa molding.

Similarly, a Cavetto above an Ovulo forms an ‘S’ with horizontal ends and appears as a dark band with a light interior - Called a Cyma or Cyma recta molding.

Together, these basic elements and their variants form a Decorative vocabulary which can be assembled and rearranged in endless combinations. This vocabulary is at the core of both Classical architecture and Gothic architecture.

A moulding fixed to an interior wall about 1200mm to 1500mm above the floor. Its purpose is partly decorative, partly protective.

Also sometimes referred to as a chair rail because it prevents the backs of straight-backed chairs from rubbing against the paintwork or wallpaper.

A baseboard or skirting board is a wooden board, normally 75mm to 300mm deep, covering the lowest part of an interior wall. Its purpose is to cover the join between the wall surface (usually plaster) and the floor, and to protect the wall from kicks and abrasion.

At its simplest, skirting board consists of a simple plank nailed, screwed or glued to the wall; however particularly in older houses it can be made up of a number of mouldings to provide an elaborate decorative feature. Even today, it is quite common to have a quarter round mould between the baseboard and floor.

Baseboard from Elite Moldings Inc.

Baseboards are usually found at the bottom of a wall where it meets the floor; they can be used in countless other applications as well. Baseboards were created to protect the bottom of the wall from abrasions and damage that can occur in day to day life. Baseboards also offer a beautiful finishing touch to an otherwise bland room or wall. They come in a variety of sizes ranging from 2 ½ inches up to over 12 inches. Baseboards can be found in a variety of materials with the most popular being MDF or medium density fiberboard. MDF lends itself to a variety of shapes and sizes while maintaining an excellent price and durability. Most baseboard applications require a quarter round to be installed at the bottom of the baseboard; Elite Moldings believes a Shoe molding is more elegant. The quarter round or shoe molding is often required when wood floors have been installed; installers leave a gap between the floor and the wall for expansion and contraction of the floor.

Baseboards can also be used in conjunction with crown molding in what is generally referred to as a 2 step or 3 step molding. This process is used when you want to make the molding look bigger but not make the ceiling look shorter or when a more elegant look is desired from the cornice molding. In this process, the baseboard is installed first on the ceiling or upper wall and the cornice molding is installed on top of it or below it depending on which side you want bigger.

Bead Board, is a trend that’s on the way back and is very easy to install using our Elite Beadboard Kit.

We offer unique, extra wide beads in our beadboard system, 2.5″ wide, up to twice as wide as others. The stiles are made from HDF (high density fiberboard), considerably harder and heaver than MDF , Elite beadboard stiles are only 5.5″ wide, much easier to carry, cut, customize and install than 4 x 4 or 4 x 8 foot panels that you may have seen elsewhere.

We recommend a overall height of about 38″ but if you prefer, you can go as height as 44″. To go higher, you’ll need to install a spacer of the desired additional height and the same thickness of the bead board (11/32″) on the wall at floor level. The spacer is required so that the baseboard will sit flat when installed. The stiles are pre-cut at 38″ for ease of handling and to reduce UPS shipping charges. If you prefer to have you bead board less than 38″ high, simply cut off what you don’t need.

Our bead board is not water proof by any means but it is water resistant meaning that if you finish the edges and paint it properly it will look great for years to come.

We have professionals standing by to help you with any problems or questions you may have about the product or installation. Get factory direct pricing and UPS delivery right to your door! Special reduced shipping rates.

The components include: cap trim, board trim (Bead-222) and a baseboard.

View Bead-Board gallery

How To Install

We offer many standard wood columns that can be used purely for decorative purposes or for their structural load bearing capabilities.

Our architectural columns come in either round or square designs and vary in size from 4″ to 20″ round and from 4 to 20 ft high. If you don’t see the size that you are looking for listed, contact us for a quote.

The columns are all made from solid finger jointed pine and can be used both indoor or outdoor. One feature that you will like in our columns is the smoothness of the finish. They are manufactured using extremely sharp knives and are sanded thoroughly before they leave the shop.

They are available either smooth or fluted as seen in our gallery. Other species of woods like solid poplar, maple, cherry and oak are also available at extra cost. Elite Colonial Wood Columns come with a one year warranty.

Wood Columns in Toronto

Elite Group offer many standard wood columns that can be used purely for decorative purposes or for their structural load bearing capabilities. Our architectural columns come in either round or square designs and vary in size from 4″ to 20″ round and from 4 to 20 ft high. If you don’t see the size that you are looking for listed, contact us for a quote.

Elite- Columns are all made from solid finger jointed pine and can be used both indoor or outdoor. One feature that you will like in our columns is the smoothness of the finish. They are manufactured using extremely sharp knives and are sanded thoroughly before they leave the shop.

Read more on Wood Columns

Dentil Cornices

Elite Dentil cornices are all made by hand. The possess of rolling on compo paste, as used in making the other EliteTrims simply didn’t work.

We just could not acheve the depth and definition or the sharp detail that our customers where looking for in a detail trim. After months of experimenting, we found a method that works.

As seen in the illustration, first we had a custom “tooth” mould cut for us that exactly matches our SM7 profile. Secondly the teeth are all cut by hand, then laboriously glued on one-by-one, then off to the paint shop.

Read more on Dentil Cornices

Round Smooth Wood Columns Canada

Elite Group offers many standard wood columns that can be used purely for decorative purposes or for their structural load bearing capabilities.

Our architectural columns come in either round or square designs and vary in size from 4″ to 20″ round and from 4 to 20 ft high. If you don’t see the size that you are looking for listed, contact us for a quote.

The columns are all made from solid finger jointed pine and can be used both indoor or outdoor. One feature that you will like in our columns is the smoothness of the finish. They are manufactured using extremely sharp knives and are sanded thoroughly before they leave the shop.

Read More on Round Smooth Wood Columns

Round Smooth Wood Columns Ontario

Elite Group offers many standard wood columns that can be used purely for decorative purposes or for their structural load bearing capabilities.

Our architectural columns come in either round or square designs and vary in size from 4″ to 20″ round and from 4 to 20 ft high. If you don’t see the size that you are looking for listed, contact us for a quote.

The columns are all made from solid finger jointed pine and can be used both indoor or outdoor. One feature that you will like in our columns is the smoothness of the finish. They are manufactured using extremely sharp knives and are sanded thoroughly before they leave the shop.

Read More on Round Smooth Wood Columns

Round Smooth Wood Columns Toronto

Elite Group offers many standard wood columns that can be used purely for decorative purposes or for their structural load bearing capabilities.

Our architectural columns come in either round or square designs and vary in size from 4″ to 20″ round and from 4 to 20 ft high. If you don’t see the size that you are looking for listed, contact us for a quote.

The columns are all made from solid finger jointed pine and can be used both indoor or outdoor. One feature that you will like in our columns is the smoothness of the finish. They are manufactured using extremely sharp knives and are sanded thoroughly before they leave the shop.

Read More on Round Smooth Wood Columns