Adult education class - home improvement

[simpsongal]

I'm thinking of taking an adult education class.  Anyone ever taken one for home improvement?  They have a bathroom design class, tile class, etc.  I'm thinking about the molding one.  Do you think this would be helpful or could I just learn the same info from This Old House?

3 sessions for $200 seems a little steep...

Residential Moldings

Learn how to improve the look of your room by replacing or installing mitered or nonmitered moldings. Learn the structure and function of baseboard, chair rail, picture, flat, crown, and custom/buildup moldings. Also learn the different methods for attaching molding such as nailing, stapling, and using adhesives. 3 sessions @ 3 hrs each.

$ 158 Tuition

$ 40 User Fee

$ 198 Total Cost |

 

 

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[sratsey]

I think for Moldings, it would be worth it to take a class. H has done our trim work and he says it's not an easy thing to learn from watching YouTube...mostly because no two walls are EVER at 90 degree angles.

[wawa]

If they actually show you how to do it right I think that could be worthwhile. There's a lot of detail in actually doing moldings correctly.

Now that I've watched MH do ours (and caulked/puttied all his joints) I notice mistakes in other people's houses all the time. There's a lot to get wrong that never would have occurred to me despite my hours logged watching TOH.

[simpsongal]

This makes me feel better. I did some base molding work and rushed it - it's mediocre. I'd love to tackle something more advanced like crown or wall moldings. The TOH tutorial on wall moldings was VERY involved. I feel like I would benefit from seeing it done first hand.

[sratsey]

H has this tool that you put into the corners and it basically measures the angle and tells you which angle to cut both pieces. He says it has saved him HOURS in fitting corner pieces. I'll find out what it is and post it.
I've watched picture frame molding done and getting the proportion of the boxes right seems to be the most time consuming aspect, but the building and putting the boxes up seems easy. My brother did it and he's FAR from a DIYer.
True wainscoting, I imagine, would be a lot more labor intensive.

[simpsongal]

Srtsey, you're correct about pic frame molding - the math is the trick re: spacing. I know that piece you're talking about, I heard it's a life saver. The molding guy we were going to use (budget cut ) said he doesn't cope. He finds the exact angles using that tool.

[simpsongal]

Thanks, crackhabit. I'll look into it!

[FoxInFiji]

I don't think it's a bad idea at all. Knowing that you like an older style of trim there is a lot more to learn so it would be worth it. Compare that to the cost savings of DIY for your current and future projects and it will add up. It sounds like someone who knows what they are talking about is teaching it. You won't get anything like that at HD...not that it's not beneficial to someone else but they are just on two totally different levels.

Coping is better. It's always better. Wood moves and as a it does coping stays tighter and looks better. But there are only specific areas where you cope and other areas (in the same room for example) that you miter.

The adhesives comment scares me but I'm hoping he means on small return pieces. You don't nail those normally because they are so tiny (3/4" wide) they will split. Example:



Both the cap and fillet were returned back to the wall there. Terms to know for craftsman trim: