The size of your room can influence the type of coving you choose. If your room is small, overly ornate or deep profile style covings can make the room look even smaller. If your room is large or has very high ceilings thin, delicate coving will become ‘lost' and its effect negated. Choose a style that compliments the size of your room.
Ornate or plain?
The design of your coving depends on the style of the room. A modern or minimalist décor will suit a more modern style of coving, whereas a more ornate design will work well with traditional styles of decoration.
Other features
If your design incorporates other features such as ceiling roses or dado rails, coving can balance the effect and give the room a symmetry that is pleasing to the eye. If other features are to be the primary focus of the room, a simpler style of coving may be more appropriate.
Depending on the type of material you are working with, use the appropriate adhesive to give maximum hold. Superglue, despite its reputation of being capable of gluing anything, is not suitable and may react with some materials, damaging the surface of your coving.
Material
Coving is now available in a wide range of materials and the choice of material depends on the effect you wish to achieve. If you are working in a large room, a lighter material will be much easier to handle and install. Modern coving is manufactured in lightweight strips that are ideal for almost any interior decoration project.
Practice makes perfect…
As with any home decoration project, you will end up with plenty of ‘off-cuts' or short lengths of coving. These are ideal to practice cutting mitre joints on before you attempt the final project. A mistake on an off-cut is much less costly than a mistake on your final strip of coving!
Tools for the job
Having the right tools to hand is important in any project. Make sure that any cutting tools are sharp as a dull blade can damage the surface of the coving and give a poor finish. The correct adhesive for the material used, plenty of clean cloths to wipe any spills or excess adhesive from surfaces, a tape measure and of course a stepladder are all essential pieces of equipment to have before starting your project.
Support
Once the coving is in place, it will need to be supported until the adhesive has had a chance to dry. This is particularly important if you are installing longer lengths of coving, so you may wish to put thin nails or pins underneath the bottom edge of the coving to support its weight while the adhesive bonds. Once the adhesive has dried these can be removed and the marks removed with filler and a coat of paint. Ensure that the nails do not puncture any pipes or cables that may be behind the wall surface.
Measure twice, cut once
This old carpenter's adage holds true for any home decoration project. A simple mistake in measuring the correct length of coving needed can be expensive and wasteful, so always make sure that your measurements are correct before you make that first cut.
Drying time and decoration
Allow at least 24 hours for adhesives to bond fully to the surface of the wall and coving before removing any supporting pins or applying any paint to the surface of the coving. Most emulsion or oil-based paints are suitable for coving, although always check the manufacturer's recommendations particularly if the surface of the coving is porous.
By following these top ten coving tips you should be able to install almost any form of coving and give that finishing touch to your décor without any problems.
Top Ten Make Up
1. Use the Subject Line - Always include a brief Subject line that provides some insight into the focus of your email. Given the volume of email that most people receive, the Subject line is becoming a ?must-have? if you want your message to be read or noticed. Avoid generic "Hi" or non-specific Subject lines that tell the recipient nothing. Some spam filters will block messages without a Subject line, so for the scant few seconds it requires to enter a few words, it's in your best interest to always include a Subject.
2. Don't Forget the Bcc Field - When sending email to multiple recipients, place email addresses in the Bcc field (Blind Carbon, Courtesy, or Cyber Copy, depending who you ask) to hide them, unless you specifically want each recipient to know who received your message. In this day and age when many people protect their email addresses as aggressively as they do their unlisted telephone numbers, it is grotesquely inappropriate to publish all recipient email addresses without permission.
3. Cool Off! - Never send an email written in anger. If you're upset, go ahead and write your email, pound the keyboard, stomp your feet, vent your spleen to your heart's content, but do not send it. After you've spewed your digital venom, save the message and review it a minimum of 12 hours later. Chances are you'll be very glad you didn't send it'a phenomenon known as "dodging a digital bullet."
4. Personalize Your Message - Email is informal, but it still needs a greeting. It can be "Dear Mr. Smith," or "Dear Bill," "Hi Susan," or ?Yo, Joe,? but failure to use the recipient's name can make your message seem a bit cold and aloof, even if that's not your intention.
5. Sign it - Conclude a message with your name, and in most instances, first name alone is fine, particularly if your full name appears in the From: field. If only your email address appears in the From: field, and your address provides no clue as to your identity, it's even more important to sign your message. Most email programs will permit you to create a signature block which can include your full name, address, and other contact information, if you wish. Don't overdo the signature line, though. Nobody cares about your life's philosophy. Save it for your autobiography.
6. Tone Matters - More than 90 percent of face-to-face communication is non-verbal. Because email has no accompanying body language or facial expressions, and the reader cannot hear the tone of your voice, choose your words carefully. Sarcasm, for example, doesn't always translate well via email, but using an emoticon or other parenthetical, e.g. (laughing), can help. Try to place yourself in the recipient's position and think how your words might be perceived or even more importantly, misperceived.
7. Check Your Spelling - In the early days of email, spelling errors were generally accepted or at least overlooked. We were a simpler people back then, but those days are pretty much gone. While spell-checking is certainly not as important when communicating with casual friends or dysfunctional family members, other individuals will form immediate impressions about you from your messages. Integrated spell-checkers make it easier than ever to use correct spelling. Proper capitalization (never type messages in ALL CAPS) and correct punctuation can't hurt, either. Keep in mind that your messages represent you, and particularly within a business context, that can cost you.
8. Get to the Point - Try to keep your messages succinct, to the point, and be generous with your paragraphing. No recipient wants to be confronted by a massive, wall-to-wall screen of text. That's a good way to ensure that you either won't receive a response, or that your message is quickly skimmed, or moved directly into the Trash folder.
9. Nothing is ?Off the Record? - Never write in email that you wouldn't want the world (or your mother) to see. Once a message has departed your mailbox, you have no control over where it will end up. Diamonds are forever; email lasts even longer.
10. Patience is a Virtue - Don't expect an immediate response. Not every person is sitting in front of his or her computer checking email. People check messages at their convenience and respond at a time when it's best for them. If your communication is so vitally important that you need a response right away, use the telephone.
Both Stephen Biggs & Mr. Modem are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Stephen Biggs has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Management. For visit House Martin Online.. Stephen Biggs's top article generates over 590 views. to your Favourites.
Mr. Modem has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet, Facts about Barack Obama and Careers and Job Hunting. Mr. Modem () is an author, syndicated columnist, radio host, and publisher of the wildly popular, always entertaining, Pulitzer-lacking weekly "Ask Mr. Modem" comp. Mr. Modem's top article generates over 3600 views. to your Favourites.
