Butt vs. Miter joints for paneling corners

On Oct 17, 1:33 am, blueman <[email protected]> wrote:
> I am planning on paneling a small entry hall with 1/4" oak veneer
> plywood paneling (up to a height of 4 or 5 ft). Since the area is
> small, I am just going to use the flat panelling with a chair rail on
> top and molding on bottom (no other rails or stiles).
>
> Question is what should I do at the corners.
> - Do I use butt joints or 45 degree miter joints?
> - Any secrets for getting the corners tight (and staying tight)?
> (note since I will be staining, I can't just use caulk)
> - Any other suggestions?

Corner molding. Plywood edges don't take a beating,
especially veneer.

Wed, Oct 17, 2007, 5:33am (EDT+4) [email protected] (blueman) doth
quary:
<snip> Question is what should I do at the corners.
- Do I use butt joints or 45 degree miter joints?
- Any secrets for getting the corners tight (and staying tight)? (note
since I will be staining, I can't just use caulk)
- Any other suggestions?

Up to you; your project, your money. Secrets? No. Any time I use
butt joints at corners I use a glue strip inside.



JOAT
It's not hard, if you get your mind right.
- Granny Weatherwax

blueman <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

> I am planning on paneling a small entry hall with 1/4" oak veneer
> plywood paneling (up to a height of 4 or 5 ft). Since the area is
> small, I am just going to use the flat panelling with a chair rail on
> top and molding on bottom (no other rails or stiles).
>
> Question is what should I do at the corners.
> - Do I use butt joints or 45 degree miter joints?
> - Any secrets for getting the corners tight (and staying tight)?
> (note since I will be staining, I can't just use caulk)
> - Any other suggestions?
>
> Thanks

Helpful Hint: at the inside corner, paint/stain/sharpy marker the wall
before you apply the paneling. When the wood shrinks/moves, you won't have
a white joint showing but rather a dark seam that may not be seen at all.

At the outside corner solid wood would be far better than the plywood. the
veneer is so thin these days that it will be only a short t ime before the
corner damaged and then it is an OS corner molding for repairs.

Good Luck

[email protected] (J T) writes:
> Wed, Oct 17, 2007, 5:33am (EDT+4) [email protected] (blueman) doth
> quary:
> <snip> Question is what should I do at the corners.
> - Do I use butt joints or 45 degree miter joints?
> - Any secrets for getting the corners tight (and staying tight)? (note
> since I will be staining, I can't just use caulk)
> - Any other suggestions?
>
> Up to you; your project, your money. Secrets? No. Any time I use
> butt joints at corners I use a glue strip inside.

Hmmm... excuse my ignorance but what do you mean by a "glue strip
inside"?

Thanks

Inside corners or outside corners?

For inside corners, all you need is a butt joint. And here's a hint from my
tile laying stepson: Determine which way people are looking into/walking
through the room. Locate the open joint so it is perpendicular to that
direction, so you have to turn your head to see it.

Given the realities of wood movement, the house shifting etc, I doubt that
you will EVER have a joint that is dead tight, like furniture. I'd put a
small (1/8") bevel on the edge. That way, any variation in the joint width
will be masked. When you stain it, it WILL be darker (end grain) but it
will hide any openness in the joint.

For outside corners, a miter joint isn't going to work. You have two paper
thin pieces of wood veneer coming together at a point. Every fuzzy sweater
that brushes it, is going to catch on the wood, and pull off pieces of the
veneer. And there is NO WAY that you are going to be able to cut and
install a tight miter joint 2-3' high in 1/4" plywood. Somehow, you need to
design a corner with some solid wood in it, with the plywood butting up to
it.

Advice is guaranteed until you read this.

Old Guy




"blueman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I am planning on paneling a small entry hall with 1/4" oak veneer
> plywood paneling (up to a height of 4 or 5 ft). Since the area is
> small, I am just going to use the flat panelling with a chair rail on
> top and molding on bottom (no other rails or stiles).
>
> Question is what should I do at the corners.
> - Do I use butt joints or 45 degree miter joints?
> - Any secrets for getting the corners tight (and staying tight)?
> (note since I will be staining, I can't just use caulk)
> - Any other suggestions?
>
> Thanks

"Old guy" wrote in message

> For outside corners, a miter joint isn't going to work. You have two
paper
> thin pieces of wood veneer coming together at a point. Every fuzzy
sweater
> that brushes it, is going to catch on the wood, and pull off pieces of the
> veneer. And there is NO WAY that you are going to be able to cut and
> install a tight miter joint 2-3' high in 1/4" plywood. Somehow, you need
to
> design a corner with some solid wood in it, with the plywood butting up to
> it.

An old trick, and one that is amazingly effective _most of the time_, is to
"burnish" the edge of an outside panel miter joint with the barrel of a
screwdriver. Once a finish is applied, it makes the join invisible and
smooth ... almost always. :)

But to be on the safe side, you're right about using a solid wood corner in
the design, or corner trim.

> Advice is guaranteed until you read this.

Ditto! :)


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Last update: 9/30/07
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