How to fit architrave with Wickes

This detailed video guide from a Wickes expert shows you exactly how to install architrave around an interior door, helping you transform your room with a professional and stylish finish! Architrave is essential for covering the unsightly joint between the door frame and the wall, adding decoration, and protecting the edges from knocks and scratches.

Why Architrave is important:
- Aesthetic: It adds style and decoration; it is not structurally necessary but is a crucial room feature.
- Functional: It covers the messy join between the door frame/window/loft hatch and the wall.
- Protection: It shields interior edges and corners from daily damage.
- Materials: We discuss the available options: hardwood, softwood, and MDF. (Remember to treat softwood knots with knotting solution and sand before painting!)

Main Step: Fitting Architrave Around a Door:
1. Safety First: Use a pipe and cable detector to check the area is clear before fixing.
2. Mark the Margin: Use a straight edge to mark lines 6mm from the inner edge of the door lining on both sides and the top. This margin prevents damage and allows the door to move properly.
3. Measure and Mark the Headpiece: Measure the length between the intersection marks and mark the inner edge of the architrave. Remember to account for the longer outer edge due to the mitre cut.
4. Cut the Mitres: Use a mitre box and a fine-tooth saw to make the two required mitre cuts (45-degree angles). Sand the ends smooth.
5. Fix the Headpiece: Apply grab adhesive to the back, line it up with the 6mm marks and intersections, and secure it temporarily using four 40mm lost head nails hammered into the door casing.
6. Measure and Cut Side Pieces: Measure from the floor to the bottom of the fixed headpiece. Cut the top of the side pieces with a mitre cut (inner edge shortest) and the bottom with a simple square cut. Sand and adjust the fit.
7. Final Fixings: Apply PVA glue to the mitred joint edges and grab adhesive to the back of the side piece. Fit the side piece and secure it with lost head nails. Repeat for the other side.
Finishing: Once set, use a nail punch to sink the nails below the surface, then fill and sand the holes before painting.

For a full list of materials and tools, please visit our How to Fit Architrave guide: spklr.io/6005BmVCh

For more information and advice on how to improve, renovate, and maintain your home visit our Ideas and Advice Section here: spklr.io/6006BYIGe

Browse our Home Improvement how-to-guides and learn how to tackle both major projects and essential maintenance, including: how to hang an interior door, how to put up a shelf, or how to blead a radiator: spklr.io/6000BYIEy

Watch more videos from our Home Improvement & Small Fixes list and learn how to hang an interior doors, fit coving or put up a shelf!

youtu.be/cM3LGcRC6n8
youtu.be/2q4GmPzQUK8
youtu.be/hHOAaNHRSH0
youtu.be/VLZldbR3fxk

Subscribe to the Wickes YouTube channel here: youtube.com/user/wickesvideo

For more tips and general advice on how to do it yourself from Wickes, you can visit:

Wickes Website: wickes.co.uk/
Wickes Instagram: instagram.com/wickes/
Wickes Facebook: facebook.com/Wickes.co.uk
Wickes Twitter: twitter.com/Wickes
Wickes Pinterest channel: uk.pinterest.com/wickes/