Construction Details: Arches

This is how we're building the arches. I'm not saying it's the only way to do it, or even the best way, but it works for us.

First, the space was framed in with 2x4's. Then we added the interior walls (back & sides) and the side wall on the exterior. Next, to the front of the structure, we fastened a sheet of wood with an arch cut out. This sheet of wood isn't visible from the outside, but you can see it in this photo taken from inside the cabinet:


You can also see that we added rope lights, which are set into a 3/4" aluminum channel.

The picture below is taken from the outside of the arch. To bridge the gap between the sheet of wood and the drywall, we used 1/2" MDF (fastened with finishing nails) on the uprights, and 1/4" masonite (attached with brads) bent to fit the arch. The masonite overlaps the MDF with a 2" lap joint. I mudded the joint as well as the edge between the masonite and the drywall, bringing the mud all the way to the edges of the masonite on the arch. After I prime and paint, we'll add trim around the opening.


This picture below has nothing to do with building anything. We had nearly a foot of snow Sunday. Monday was sunny and beautiful. I wanted to share this picture of our yard in the snow and sunshine.