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
• Frieze
• Architecture of Ancient Greece
• Roman architecture
• Renaissance architecture

External links

• Moldings: The Atomic Units of Classical Architecture