# Long borders epiphany



## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Wed I start the final leg of that B&B job. They ordered the wrong color for the "front parlor" and it is finally ready.

Part of the scheme is an 18" wide "Frieze" (or border in layman's terms), going on 15 and 13 foot long walls . Ceilings are 9' 4" from ground. I'll be working from a plank. Each wall has openings with fancy trim and difficult to trim returns.

I like to accordion fold my long borders, and it is quite easy to play them out as long as there are no difficult openings and the borders are only about 6" wide. Neither is true here.

The back parlor frieze was a bitch because the border was difficult to hold up to the wall as I trimmed. Push pins would not hold in the horse hair plaster. 

Another set of hands would be VERY useful with these, but I ain't gonna hire a top hanger to just hold some paper in the air while I position and trim.

Great idea just hit me. I will use the butterfly type of paperclips










to hold the accordion folded paper together and then hang it from a small brad I will hammer into the plaster. OR use the picture molding with hook I can make - yah, that sounds better.

If I remember (which I prolly won't) and have the time (even more unlikely) I will shoot some pix as I install


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## Gough (Nov 24, 2010)

I thought this was going to be about some revelation you had concerning the Canadians....

Still, good tip. Office Depot calls them "binder clips".


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

I just re-read and saw an added thought in the wrong place. If anyone had read it and were scratchin their heads, it's better now :thumbsup:


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## Windmilldecor (Mar 17, 2013)

Office Depot sells a giant pushpin that you can use I hammer them in wall


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## Ohio Painter (Dec 22, 2014)

Hanging a frieze is more involved than border as it sounds like you well know. You are on to a great idea but my concern would be the clip may be too firm and damage the frieze. 

I would think about some type of small springy hand held clamp with some extra wide soft pads added to the jaws just to reduce any chance of damage.

On a job I done with a very expensive 30" frieze I sprung for the extra set of hands.


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## Gough (Nov 24, 2010)

Ohio Painter said:


> Hanging a frieze is more involved than border as it sounds like you well know. You are on to a great idea but my concern would be the clip may be too firm and damage the frieze.
> 
> I would think about some type of small springy hand held clamp with some extra wide soft pads added to the jaws just to reduce any chance of damage.
> 
> On a job I done with a very expensive 30" frieze I sprung for the extra set of hands.


For a kinder, gentler small clamp, we've used acoustic celing grid clamps.

http://www.strictlyceilings.com/P/130/StrictlyCeilingsLeverActionGridClamp2pk


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## Underdog (Mar 9, 2013)

daArch said:


> ...
> Another set of hands would be VERY useful with these, but I ain't gonna hire a top hanger to just hold some paper in the air while I position and trim...


I used a night cleaning staff person to hang a 5'x23' mural and a guy that was installing an Air Force logo to install a 26' border.

Total cost: $20.00
Good will between trades: Priceless


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## Underdog (Mar 9, 2013)

By the by, the cleaning guy made the equivalent of $600.00 per hour.




:cowboy:


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Well my idea was not as stellar as I had hoped. The butterfly paper clip was not strong enough to hold the accordion folded paper for very long, and my makeshift picture molding clip was not easy to set and remove. 

So went back to plan B.

I pasted the frieze with straight 880, moistened the liner with a wet miftie and spread 880 on it. Then I loosely positioned the frieze across the wall with plenty of slack. The 880 gave me enough stick to hold the frieze up and enough open time to position, set, relief cut, and trim unhurriedly (one opening on each wall) from one end to the other. 

This is how I do "normal" borders, but the liner was making the other parlor set too quickly (880 - 838 mix, and none on liner)

The last long wall only took me 45 minutes including trim selvedge, all the above, and wash thrice. 

Having the plank helped immensely.


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## two fingers (Sep 28, 2014)

So you wet the liner before installing the frieze?


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

two fingers said:


> So you wet the liner before installing the frieze?


YES. Dampened and pasted. ABSOLUTELY not what I do to liner normally, but I wanted to counteract the natural characteristics of the liner. I needed LONG open time. 

Some folks will SIZE a liner to slow down the grab and allow a little slip for positioning. I took that practice and turned it up to 11


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## journeymanPainter (Feb 26, 2014)

daArch said:


> I just re-read and saw an added thought in the wrong place. If anyone had read it and were scratchin their heads, it's better now :thumbsup:


I thought you were coming up for some air


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