Materials Needed

Architrave, Oval Nails/Pins, Sandpaper, Wood Glue, Safety Glasses (if needed).

Step 1 : Measuring & Marking

Set your square at about 6mm and from the inside of your frame, mark some lines all the way round the door frame. Stand your first piece of architrave against your frame, making sure it’s on the lines you made earlier. Mark the architrave at the point where the head of the frame will meet your architrave.

Step 2 : Cutting the Mitre

If possible, fix your mitre block down to the surface you’re working on. This will make life easier for you when it comes to cutting your architrave. Place your architrave in the mitre block and line up your cut with the gap for your saw. Place your saw in the gap and cut your architrave. Try not to push down on the saw too much, let the saw do the work.

Step 3 : Fixing the Architrave

Get your wood glue or grip fill and put some on the back of the architrave. Place the architrave on the frame, making sure it’s on the lines you marked earlier. Make sure it lines up with the mark you made across the head of the frame. Take your nails and fix the architrave to the frame. Don’t hammer the nails all the way in or you’ll damage the architrave with the face of the hammer. Take your punch and place it on the nail head. Hammer this in until the head of the nail is just under the surface. This will hide the nails when you come to decorate your architrave.

Step 4 : The Head

Place a piece of architrave up against the piece you’ve already fixed. Mark where the two meet. This will be where you will start your cut. You can cut this the same way as in step 2, but we’re going to show you how to do it with a jigsaw. Mark the angle of the mitre on the flat side of the architrave. Make sure you wear your safety glasses for this. Take your jigsaw and cut along the line. Use some sandpaper to smooth off any burrs in the wood. Place the architrave up against the fixed piece and mark the opposite side. Repeat the cutting procedure. Fix to the head of the frame as you did with the upright.

Step 5 : Finishing Off

Repeat steps 1, 2 and 3 for the remaining side of your door frame. Use a little bit of filler for the nail holes and when dry, fold some sandpaper and sand until smooth. Now you’re ready to decorate.