square setting an archway

Hi everyone.

I have just finished square setting 3 archways. The timber is in great condition and miracles do happen, the hardwood timber is in fantastic condition and straight as it comes. I have done this job once before many many years ago on another house and I still have memories of the messy job it is installing external Angle Beads and bogging the crap out of it all etc to finish it off.

Now my question is thus. Is there any new way of doing this messy job, are there any new products out there to make the job easier or is there any hints and tips that the way more experienced members on here may have to make the job a bit easier. 1 area I did have a few problems with years ago was getting the 90 degree corners at the tops of the opening nice and sharp in the finish. Any hints or tips there please.


Thanks in advance


Chris

I've done this exactly 0 times, so I'm no expert, but in my searching for plastering how-to guides I found the Gyprock site has some useful info. They have an external angle specifically for arches.

Have a look at
http://www.gyprock.com.au/Gyprock/Co...ild-achway.pdf and
http://www.gyprock.com.au/Gyprock/Co...tion_Guide.pdf

Hope that helps.

I have done two archways in my house and the first link that atregent put in is exactly how I did and at the time I didn't have that to go by 27 years ago and they came out perfect and didn't really take that long.

Where the corners meet, dont cut straight across the external cut it back on an angle an give each end a little squeeze together.

Start with the verticals cut them all exactly the same length 3mm shorter than the actual height of the shortest length, providing the floor is level the head will also be level when you match all the corners If the floor is not level then allow for that, so when all 4 verticals are in place, sitting hard on the floor, the tops will be perfectly level. Using a straight edge to press the external into place, pin the center, then pin the bottom. (a staple gun is better than nailing). Check again with the straight edge when all the vertical are in place and you are happy they are straight and square, measure the exact size of the head piece and cut the same way.

Pin in place in the center aligning the ends with the top of the verticals. Dont worry if you need lots of filling getting the head level and square is more important. Now you can pin the ends aligning them exactly with each other.

Once they are pinned in place and aligned you have 2 options.

The most prefered option is to mix up a small amount of plaster and apply to each side of the external about 300mm apart and about 100mm in length. Pay particular attention to the corners. While this is still wet you can make any minor adjustments to level, straightness, or alignment.

When it is set remove the pins and scrape back the patches and trowel as normal. This way you can get a perfect job.

The other option is to nail the pinning home an then nail or staple the rest at 300mm apart, the problem with this method is, unless you are very carefull nailing home causes the external to pull out of alignment. It is fairly difficult to see that happening or adjusting when it goes wrong.

If it goes wrong use a nail punch to knock the nailing side ways to push the external in or out.

Another method is to take a short piece of external squeeze the ends in slightly. I do this because the ends have a tendency to open up causing problems with the corner fitting to tight and exposing the metal when troweling up.

Take the short ends and align them perfectly at the top and mark the edges with a pencil. Do the same at the bottom. Flick a chalk line between your marks, then nail the sides on keeping the edge of the external alingned with the chaulk line. This method is useful when you have a wider opening at the top or putting an external on a bulkhead horizonally.

Don't forget to cut the ends back on an angle this is important as it help with the alignment.

Cheers

Rod Dyson