Pre-coated architectural foam shapes
Product & Installation Guide
Everything you need to order, hang, and finish our foam trim. Written for homeowners, contractors, builders, and architects.
The short version
- It arrives ready to paint. Every piece is coated in our shop, so there's no prep coat to put on in the field.
- You glue it to the wall with the same base coat it's coated with. No nails or screws needed.
- Sticks out more than 10 in? It also needs a wood board underneath to rest on.
- Wait before you paint: 24 hours on the wall, and 3 to 5 days since it left our shop.
Decorative trim, made in a controlled shop
Our shapes are expanded polystyrene profiles (cornices, sills, bands, corbels, columns, post caps) that arrive already coated and ready to hang. You supply the wall, the bonding material, and the finish color.
- Every piece is coated in our own facility, not on site. Wind, moisture, humidity, dust, and direct sun are the usual causes of coating failure, and a shop takes all of them off the table.
- Pieces ship with the entire exposed face covered in a cementitious acrylic base coat. They are ready for your color coat or paint. No field prep coat required.
- A fiberglass mesh flange is left loose at the top edge. That skirt gets bedded into your bonding material during installation and is what ties the piece into the wall system.
What you're getting
- Core material
- Modified expanded polystyrene meeting ASTM C1712, with independent third-party inspection at the foam manufacturer's plant. Meets or exceeds accepted industry manufacturing standards.
- Density
- Standard EPS on most profiles. 1.5 lb and 2 lb densities are available by special request where a job calls for more impact resistance.
- Factory coating
- A polymer-modified, cement-based base coat over the entire exposed surface, applied to every piece before it ships, leaving it ready for installation and final finish. A double base coat is available by special request.
- Lengths
- Profile stock and cut stock in 8 ft lengths. Special lengths are quoted separately.
- Finished ends
- Pieces can be supplied with mitered returns, where the profile wraps back to the wall so the end reads as a finished corner instead of a cut face. Quoted per project.
- Deep profiles
- Anything projecting more than 10 in needs a 2x4 support board. We can cut a pocket to hide it on custom profiles if you ask when you order. See Check the projection.
Lead times
| Order | Typical lead time |
|---|---|
| Standard trim, smaller quantities | Often in stock, ready to ship or pick up. Call to check. |
| Standard and decorative trim | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Large custom orders | Up to 5 weeks, depending on volume and profile complexity |
Special lengths, mitered returns, and custom profiles are quoted per project and may take longer. Order early: trim is usually wanted the week the scaffold goes up, and rush capacity isn't guaranteed. Ask for a ship date when you request a quote.
What you need on hand
- Polymer-modified base coat adhesive (FoamTek), the same material family the pieces are coated with, used here as the bonding coat
- A 3/8 in notched trowel, plus a flat trowel or knife for keying the flange
- Chalk line, tape measure, and level
- Clean mixing bucket and paddle
- Mechanical fasteners, if you're using them as supplemental support
- A 2x4 Douglas Fir board and fasteners, only for pieces deeper than 10 in (see Check the projection)
Get the wall and the layout ready
The wall has to be clean, dry, and sound. Brush off dust and dirt, and scrape away anything loose or flaking. The bond is only as strong as the surface it grabs. If you aren't sure your wall surface is suitable, call us before you start.
Does it need a support board?
Measure the projection: from the wall surface to the outermost face of the piece.
- 10 in or less: the adhesive bond carries the piece on its own (Figure 1). Go straight to the steps below.
- More than 10 in: the profile's own weight works against the bond all day, so it needs something to sit on. Fasten a horizontal 2x4 Douglas Fir board to the wall first, then hang the piece on it (Figure 2).
On a custom profile we can cut a pocket into the back so the foam wraps the board and it disappears from view (Figure 3). Ask for it when you order, because the pocket is cut in the shop, not on site.
Hanging a piece
Snap a chalk line
Mark the bottom edge of the run. Every piece registers to this line, so a run stays straight even if the wall isn't. On deep profiles, the top of the 2x4 is your line.
Butter the back
Fold the mesh flange back out of the way for now (you'll bed it in Step 4) and apply base coat to the entire back surface with a 3/8 in notched trowel. Keep coverage even, edge to edge. Skipped areas are where pieces come loose later.
Set it on the line
Bring the bottom edge down to the chalk line and press firmly and evenly across the face. Hold the alignment while the material grabs.
Key in the flange
Work the squeeze-out over the top mesh flange and along the bottom edge, embedding the mesh into the material. This is the joint between the piece and the wall, so don't leave it for a later trade.
Leave it alone for 24 hours
No finish, no color, no washing down. Let the bond set before anything else touches the piece.
When you can paint
You can put on your color coat or paint once both of these are true:
on the wall
Counted from when you hung the piece. This lets the bond set.
since it left our shop
Counted from the ship or pickup date on your invoice. This lets the factory coating cure. When in doubt, wait the full 5.
Before you call it done
- The whole back of every piece was notched with base coat. No dabs or perimeter beads.
- The top mesh flange is bedded and keyed in along the full run.
- Every piece deeper than 10 in is sitting on a fastened 2x4.
- Fasteners, if any, are extra hold on top of a full bond, not a fix for a poor one.
- Both painting clocks are satisfied: 24 hours on the wall, and 3 to 5 days since shipping.