Locknail Your Window Trim

Here’s a simple tip that took me forever to realize, but it’s so easy: locknail your window trim to help it hold together better.

Let’s back up a second… When you are installing mitered trim on your windows, you often run into the problem of these d**n 45 degree angle joints not holding together. This is the point where the two pieces of trim meet at 90 degree, or perpendicular, angles. You’ve cut the end of each piece at a 45 degree angle…

The trim may hold well to the window itself—all well and good—but it doesn’t hold very well to itself. Even if you can get these corners to look like they are joined, over time they will begin to separate. Trust me, they will. So, what do you do? Fill in with wood putty? Caulk? No way. Two nails solve the problem.

Simply lock-nail the two pieces of trim together. The way you locknail is by driving a finish nail into the side of one piece so that it enters the adjoining piece. And then by doing the same to the other piece. These two crossing nails gives your trim rock-solid holding capabilities. Be sure to sink them with a nailset.