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How to Measure Angles for Trim
Obtaining the Perfect Trim Joint Can be Tough
when Corners are Not Square
By Mark J. Donovan
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When installing baseboard trim it can be difficult to obtain perfectly mitered
corners due to the fact that walls are rarely square. Simply cutting two pieces
of adjoining trim at 45 degree angles frequently doesn’t cut it. Spaces between
the trim pieces are often so visible that it looks like a hack job at best. As a
result the question frequently comes up on how to measure angles for trim to get
that perfect joint. Well the answer my friends, is as simple as running down to
your local home improvement store and purchasing a carpenters bevel square and a
protractor.
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carpenters bevel square is similar to a traditional
combination square however with the bevel square you can adjust the length of
one of the arms and rotate it. With these two features you can use a bevel
square to determine the angle of a corner and make perfect trim joints.
To measure an outside angle for baseboard trim place one of the arms of the
bevel square up against one of the wall surfaces, and then rotate the other arm
until it is flush with the adjacent wall. Then tighten the wing nut on the bevel
square.
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Place the bevel square up against the protractor and read the angle measurement
off of the protractor. Next divide the angle measured by two to determine the
setting on your miter saw. So say for example you measured 86 degrees on the
carpenters bevel square. Dividing this number by two, results in an angle
measurement setting on the miter saw of 43 degrees.
After cutting each piece of trim to 43 degrees place them up against the wall
and confirm that you achieve a perfectly fitted joint.
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For measuring angles for trim on inside corners the process is nearly the same.
Simply place the carpenters bevel square up against the inside corner and spread
the arms until each arm is flush with its respective wall surface. Then tighten
up the wing nut and measure the angle using the protractor. Again, divide the
angle measurement by two and set the miter saw to this angle. Finally, cut each
piece of trim and place them against the walls to confirm that you have formed
the perfect inside corner joint.
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Related Information
Carpenters Bevel Squares for Measuring Angles
for Trim from Amazon.com
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