The term molding is generally used to describe sawed timber that has been dressed or planed on all four sides.
Molding commonly involves adding profile to at least one side of a piece of timber.
In trade however, pieces that do not have any profile, but have been planed on all four sides (S4S) are also classified as moldings.
Contents
- Common Types of Molding and Their Usage
- Astragal, Flat
- Astragal, T
- Back Bands
- Base Caps
- Base Moldings
- Base Shoes
- Battens
- Bed Moldings
- Brick Moldings
- Casing
- Chair rails
- Chamfer Strips
- Corner Guards
- Cove Moldings
- Crown Moldings
- Drip Caps
- Glass Beads
- Half Rounds
- Hand Rails
- Inside Corner
- Lattice
- Mullion Casing
- Panel Moldings
- Picture Moldings
- Ply Cap Moldings
- Quarter Rounds
- Rounds
- S4S Stock
- Shelf Cleat
- Shelf Edge
- Shingles Moldings
- Stools
- Stops
- Squares
Common Types of Molding and Their Usage
Astragal, Flat
Attached to one of a pair of doors to keep the other from swinging through the opening. It is also used for decorative purposes.
Astragal, T
An astragal, T-like in shape, which is rabbeted to the approximate thickness of the swinging door.
Back Bands
A rabbeted molding used to surround the outside edge of casing.
Base Caps
A decorative member installed flush against wall and the top of an S4S Baseboard. Also a versatile Panel Molding.
Base Moldings
Applied where floor and walls meet, forming a visual foundation. Protects wall from kicks, bumps, furniture, etc. Base may be referred to as One, Two or Three-Member. Base Shoe and Base Cap are used to conceal uneven floor and wall junctions.
Base Shoes
Applied where Base Molding meets floor. Protects Base from damage. Conceal uneven lines or cracks where base meets floor.
Battens
A symmetrical pattern used to conceal the line where two parallel boards or panels meet.
Bed Moldings
Used where walls and ceiling meet. Either sprung or plain.
Brick Moldings
Used as an exterior door and window casing. A thick molding provides a surface for brick or other siding to butt against.
Casing
Used to trim inside and outside door and window openings.
Chair rails
Interior Molding applied about one third up from the floor, paralleling Base Molding and encircling the room. Originally used to prevent chairs from marring walls. Used today as a key decorative detail in traditional and colonial design.
Chamfer Strips
Used in highway and dam construction forms, making a chamfered edge at concrete corners. Also used where kitchen cabinet tops meet the wall. Also used as a linoleum cove (under linoleum where it extends up to the wall).
Corner Guards
Outside (OS) Corner Guard is used to protect corners or to cover ragged edge where wall covering and painted surfaces meet at outside corner.
Cove Moldings
Concave profile. Used at corners, particularly as ceiling cornice. Small coves may be used as an Inside Corner Guard.
Crown Moldings
Crown Moldings are used where walls and ceiling meet. It is also used to cover large angles. Always sprung.
Drip Caps
Applied over exterior window and door frames. Keeps water from seeping under the siding. Also directs water away from window glass.
Glass Beads
Glass Beads are used to hold glass beads in place. Other names includes Glass Stop, Cove and Bead, Putty Bead, Glazing Bead and Staff Bead.
Half Rounds
May be used as a Screen Molding or Bead Shelf Edge or Panel Molding.
Hand Rails
Used as a hand support in a stairwell.
Inside Corner
Joins two walls at inside corner. Solves the problem of uneven joints where butted panels, wall paper, painted or contrasting surfaces meet. Gives corners a decorative finished look.
Lattice
Originally used in trellis work. This small, plain S4S Molding is the most versatile of all profiles.
Mullion Casing
The strip which is applied over window jamb edges in a multiple opening window. It is sometimes called a Panel Strip. Mullion Casing is also used for decorative wall treatments.
Panel Moldings
Originally used to trim out raised panel wall construction. It is now used to frame attractive wall coverings for a panel effect.
Picture Moldings
It is used to support hooks for picture hanging. Applied around a room circumference near the ceiling line.
Ply Cap Moldings
Trims out the upper edge or top of a wainscot.Covers plywood’s rough sandwich edge in installations where it’s exposed to view. It is also called a Dado Cap.
Quarter Rounds
May be used as a Base Shoe, Inside Corner Molding or cover any 90º recessed juncture.
Rounds
Rounds are often used as a closet pole or room divider.
S4S Stock
Used in cabinets, framing for shelves or other utilitarian uses. It is also used as a baluster for supporting stair handrails.
Shelf Cleat
Commonly used in closets, cabinets and bookcases to support the shelves. It is also known as Shelf Strip.
Shelf Edge
Covers seam where screening is fastened to the screen frame. Also covers particle or flake board shelf edges.
Shingles Moldings
May be used in ways similar to Panel Molding. It is originally used on a rake of a building or around exterior window frames.
Stools
A molded interior trim member serving as a sash or window frame still cap. Stools may be “beveled-rabbated” or “rabbated” to receive the window-frame sill or “non-rabbated”. Stools include a tongue to fit in the groove of a window frame still.
Stops
In a door trim, stop is nailed to the faces of the door frame to prevent the door from swinging through. As a window trim, stop holds the bottom sash of a double-hung window in place. Also used as an apron under window stools.
Squares
Same basic used as S4S Stock.
I need 32 lineal feet of flat astragal 1 1/3″ wide x 3/8″ tall. Paint grade