Molding (decorative)

For other uses, see molding.

Molding is a strip of material that has been dressed or planed on all four surfaces. One of the sides is often given a profile for decoration purposes. A molding is typically used as at a wall juncture where it serves to hide a gap.

A "sprung" molding is a strip that has beveled edges, allowing it to be mounted at an angle between two non-parallel planes (such as between a wall and a ceiling). Other types of molding are referred to as "plain".

Types

There are a variety of common moldings:

• Astragal — Attached to one of a pair of doors to serve as a stop for the other door. The two types are "T-Astragal" and "Flat Astragal". The later is primarily used for decorative purposes.
• Base Molding — Used at the junction of an interior wall and floor to protect the wall from impacts.
• Batten — A symmetrical molding that is placed across a joint where two parallel panels or boards meet.
• Bed Molding — A narrow molding used at the junction of a wall and ceiling. Bed moldings can be either sprung or plain.
• Casing — The trim for both sides of a window opening.
• Chair Rails — A molding placed part way up a wall to protect the surface from chairs. Primarily used now for decoration.
• Corner Guard — A molding used to protect the edge of the wall at an outside corner, or to cover a joint on an inside corner.
• Cove Molding — A concave-profile molding that is used at the junction of an interior wall and ceiling.
• Crown Molding — A wide, sprung molding that is used at the junction of an interior wall and ceiling.
• Drip Cap — This is placed over a door or window opening to prevent water from flowing under the siding or across the glass.
• Screen Molding — This is a small molding that is used to hide the area were a screen is attached to the frame.

Theory

At their simplest, moldings are a means of applying light and dark shaded stripes to a structure or object without having to change the material or apply pigment. The aesthetic function is similar to that of go fast stripes applied to the side of a vehicle.

Imagine a flat vertical wall evenly lit by daylight. Adding a small overhanging horizontal step will introduce a dark horizontal band — This is called a fillet molding. Conversely, adding a vertical fillet to a horizontal surface will appear as a light band.

These bands do not need to be evenly shaded, a concave Cavetto molding will produce a band which is darker at the top and lighter at the bottom, whereas a convex Ovulo molding will be lighter at the top and darker at the bottom (other concave moldings are the Scotia and Congé , and other convex moldings are the Echinus , Torus and Astragal).

Placing an Ovulo molding directly above a Cavetto forms a smooth 'S' shaped curve with vertical ends, which appears as a band that is light at the top and bottom but dark in the interior — This is called an Ogee or Cyma reversa molding.

Similarly, a Cavetto above an Ovulo forms an 'S' with horizontal ends and appears as a dark band with a light interior — Called a Cyma or Cyma recta molding.

Together, these basic elements and their variants form a Decorative vocabulary which can be assembled and rearranged in endless combinations. This vocabulary is at the core of both Classical architecture and Gothic architecture.

See also

• Cornice (architecture)
• Entablature
• Architrave
• Architecture of Ancient Greece
• Roman architecture
• Renaissance architecture

External links

• Moldings: The Atomic Units of Classical Architecture