How to Put up Coving

Looking to give your room a seamless, professional finish? Fitting ceiling coving is a brilliant way to add a decorative touch and bridge the gap between your walls and ceiling. Whether you're refreshing a tired bedroom or putting the finishing touches on a full renovation, we'll help you get the job done right.

We know that figuring out how to put up coving can seem a little bit daunting at first. But don't worry; Putting up decorative coving is a DIY project you can absolutely tackle yourself.

Our practical guide and the accompanying how-to video break the whole process down into simple, manageable steps. We'll show you exactly how to measure your space, how to cut angles for coving, and the best way to secure it firmly to the wall. Grab your tools, and let's get started.

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Coving is a decorative join between the wall and the ceiling, available in durable plaster, lightweight duropolymer, and affordable polystyrene options.
To cut coving corners accurately, you need to place the wall edge at the top of a mitre box and use a fine-toothed panel saw to make a 45-degree cut.
You install coving by scoring the wall, applying a generous amount of adhesive to the top and bottom edges, pressing it into place, and securing it temporarily with panel pins.

What is coving?

Simply put, cornice coving or ceiling coving is a decorative join fitted exactly where your wall meets the ceiling. It softens the hard angle of the room, hides any small cracks, and adds plenty of character to the space.

From classic period designs to sleek modern coving, it comes in a huge variety of styles to suit your home. You can even find LED coving or coving lighting designs to add a warm, contemporary glow to your living space.

When picking out your materials, you generally have three main options:

Plaster coving: This is the most traditional option. It's highly durable, meaning it needs less maintenance and painting over time. Because plasterboard coving is heavier than other materials, it requires a little bit more care when you're fitting it.
Duropolymer coving: This gives you all the premium benefits of plaster coving, but it's a very lightweight coving. It's much quicker to install and very hardwearing.
Polystyrene coving: This is your most budget-friendly option. It's extremely light and easy to handle, though it is the least durable and usually needs a few extra coats of paint for a solid finish.

How to put up coving

Now you know which type of coving you’re using and why it’s worth installing, let’s take a look at how it’s done.

First, lay down a dust sheet to protect your floors. Use a pipe detector to check for any hidden pipes or cables behind the walls before you do any fixing.

We recommend starting your installation on the longest wall, planning your route around the room from there and deciding where your internal and external joints will be.

Check the manufacturer's instructions to find out exactly how far down the wall and across the ceiling your specific coving needs to sit.

Go around your room and draw pairs of marks onto the wall and ceiling at 500mm intervals.

Grab your long spirit level and join these marks together. You'll end up with two continuous pencil lines around the room, one on the wall and one on the ceiling. These are your guidelines. You can also use panel pins and a chalk line to mark this out if you prefer.

Knowing how to cut coving corners is often the part that makes people the most nervous. But if you take your time, it's very straightforward. Sections of coving are joined at the corners using mitre cuts. If you want to skip this step entirely, you can buy pre-cut internal and external coving corners instead.

Step 5a: measure for your cuts

First, measure out the sections you need, remembering to account for your internal and external cuts. Mark the direction of the intended cut on the face of the coving. It really helps to mark the back of the piece to show which is the wall edge and which is the ceiling edge.

For an internal corner, the wall face is always the longest end. For an external corner, the wall face is the shortest end.

Step 5b: make for your cuts

Secure your mitre box firmly to a workbench. Place the coving into the box with the wall edge facing the top. Use your fine-toothed panel saw to make a 45-degree cut at each end, in the direction you marked.

Once cut, you can lightly sand the ends with fine-graded sandpaper to ensure a smooth, neat finish. This is the best method for how to mitre coving accurately.

Now it's time to get it on the wall. Hold your first cut piece up to your pencil guidelines to check that it's a good fit.

Make sure the wall area is clean. Give it a quick brush to remove any dust or loose plaster. If you're applying it to fresh plaster, paint on some PVA adhesive first and let it dry.

Next, score the wall area between your pencil lines with a sharp retractable knife. This gives the coving adhesive something to grip onto, helping it bond firmly.

Apply a generous, continuous line of coving glue along the top and bottom edges of the back of the coving. Don't be afraid to use plenty. You want a little bit to ooze out when you press it to the wall, as this helps to fill tiny gaps.

Align the piece with your guidelines and press it firmly into position, working your way along the wall.

To keep it secure while the adhesive sets, lightly hammer panel pins into the wall just under the bottom edge at 600mm intervals. You can remove these pins once everything is properly dried.

If you're covering a long wall, you'll need to join two lengths together. Make matching mitre cuts on the ends and apply adhesive to both cut faces before pressing them together.

Once your decorative coving is up, use a scraper to remove any excess adhesive that squeezed out. Wipe the edges down with a damp cleaning cloth for a really neat join. Use a little extra adhesive to fill any gaps between the adjoining pieces or the ceiling.

How to paint coving

If you're wondering how to paint coving, you need to be patient. Wait at least 24 hours for the adhesive to dry completely. Once it's set, use a suitable primer, followed by a couple of coats of your favourite matt emulsion paint.

Fitting your coving before you paint your walls or hang wallpaper gives you the cleanest possible finish.

Adding decorative coving is a great way to create an attractive finishing touch to your room, softening the edges between your walls and ceilings.

We hope this guide helps you tackle the project with confidence, so you can sit back and feel proud of your work.

If you’d like to create a similar effect at the bottom of your walls, check out our guide on how to fit skirting boards.

FAQs

Yes, you can absolutely fit bathroom coving. Just make sure you choose a moisture-resistant material, like duropolymer or specific polyurethane blends, and use a waterproof coving adhesive to ensure it withstands the humidity.

To remove old coving, start by running a sharp utility knife along the top and bottom edges to break the paint and caulk seal. Gently tap a stiff scraper or chisel behind the coving with a hammer, working your way along the length to pry it away from the wall. This will help you take it down without damaging the plaster behind it.

Not at all. While classic, ornate plaster designs are perfect for period properties, there are plenty of modern options available. Sleek, minimal profiles are incredibly popular in contemporary homes. Adding decorative coving is a great way to elevate any space and give your room a completed look.