How to Cope a Moulding? Easy -- Try Seamless Baseboards & More

Architects are often frustrated when they see a finished installation of trim mouldings that have unsightly gaps. But what if you didn't have to cope or miter baseboard, and could buy pre-fabricated outside corners and coped inside corners straight from the factory? This is possible with our newly launched metal trim package -- ReveaLine.

Getting factory quality control right off the bat means you don’t have to hope you have an adequately skilled carpenter on-site who knows how to cope a moulding made of metal. Even more, wouldn't you like to speed things up on site when the project inevitably reaches crunch time?

Solving How to Cope a Moulding? Look at Your Materials

For some time, the introduction of pre-fabricated buildings and building components has been growing in both commercial and residential construction. Unfortunately, currently available vertical corner protection is ugly and looks cheap.

The advantages of ReveaLine are clear:

• Speed of on-site completion
• Repeatable quality
• Consistent raw materials

When it comes to CSI specification sections such as Decorative Metals, Mill Work, Doors/Frames/Windows, Finishes, and Specialties, the importance of speed and skilled on-site installation becomes even more critical. Why? Because these activities tend to be closer to the end of a project (aka "crunch time") and these components are more highly visible to architects, designers, and most importantly owners.

Hopefully, we all live in construction environments where quality and durability wins projects ... not the lowest bid, right? Low-cost bids unfortunately can lead to questionable quality of materials and installation skill. The end quality can vary, to say the least and the detailed eyes we posses as creative, visual people can really be strained on the final walkthrough!

The Solution: Seamless Baseboards & Other Trim

Metal trim kits that have ultimate durability, including pre-fabricated inside and outside corners, controlled under factory quality processes, using a concealed attachment system with no adhesive, sold for a competitive price. ... It's not just a dream anymore!

ReveaLine products are available in several options, each of which contain a high percentage of recycled content and have beautiful finish choices.

What would you rather have: factory-controlled quality, or an unknown level of quality you may get from an installer who doesn't even know how to cope a molding? ReveaLine uses a positive-locking backer plate to seamlessly anchor protective sections of trim in place for an adhesive-free installation.

There are certain key things that happen with cutting/joining trim in the field that necessitate a high skill level. Here is how we handle a few:

• Coping cut baseboard trim (notching to allow two pieces to join at an inside corner) is certainly not easy. We use precision, computer controlled cutting machines that make sure the mating surfaces are perfectly matched. Our method of coping inside baseboard corners requires no pre-measuring of lengths and is flexible.
  
  
• Mitered cuts (used to create outside corners) are also tough. Depending on the metal chosen, corner sections are welded, brazed, or bonded with structural, two-part epoxy. The resulting assembly is rigid, factory fixture aligned, and able to be hand bent in the field for minor "out of square" conditions.
  
  
• Straight butt joints -- straight connections are locked in with wall clips assuring alignment and a tight draw to the surface being trimmed.
  
  

And ... a Need for Speed

Pre-fabricated metal trim kits can be field-finished using many metal protection systems, including paint. In this case, installing metal moldings takes about the same time as other traditional trim systems. An installer attaches the product, then a painter fills nail holes, leaves, comes back to prime, leaves, comes back for finish coat #1, leaves, and finally comes back for the final finish coat.  

However, when utilizing factory applied finishes, red metals, stainless steel or aluminum (metals that age naturally and do no corrode), installation is a one-step, one-trade process using straight cuts only. Install, touch up, and go! And you can do it without using smelly, messy solvent adhesives or vinyl that releases vinyl chloride gas. 

Other Features

This snap-on family of metal trim includes:

• Baseboards
• Chair rails
• Casement
• Door frame trim

ReveaLine is available in several metals, both luxury and budget-friendly:

• Steel
• Galvanized steel
• Stainless steel
• Bronze
• Brass
• Copper (We're loving that copper and brass are back in style!)

ReveaLine also has the same standard qualities customers expect from any metal moulding:

• Class A equivalent
• Dent-resistant
• Won't scuff
• Mold- and rot-resistant
• 100% recyclable

• Hotel lobbies and corridors
• Airports
• Stadiums
• Public train stations
• Elevator lobbies
• Hospitals
• First-floor office building perimeters
• Anywhere else you expect your mouldings to take a beating
  
  

What Do You Want to See Next?

We're excited to hear how you're able to leverage this new, easy way to cope baseboard and other moldings. However, if you want metal trim moulding just as it was supplied 100 years ago, review our catalog and feel free to contact us with questions.

Many projects are underway now, and the creative uses for decorative metal are growing rapidly, so the catalog will continue to evolve. We enjoy hearing from designers what their needs are, so let us know what you want to see next!

If your squad needs more advice on how to connect baseboard moulding and other metal trim, check out the installation guide below: (Just remember, the base way to cope baseboard is to let the factory do it.)

(Editor's note: This article was originally published in May 2019 and was recently updated.)