What about this?

How about flexible molding or trim like this?  http://www.chicagohardwoodflooring.com/flexible-shoe-base-smooth

You could cut the tiles on a band saw to a rough shape and rest it on top of this.  You could paint it the same color as the valance and it would blend right in

Steve

Trim-tex makes a flexible

Trim-tex makes a flexible channel.

http://www.trim-tex.com/product_catalog.php?cat_display=showproduct&id=161

Not in the building trades. Just know about this.

Trim-Tex

I Googled  and found that Trim-Tex is supposed to make a product for this situation. I have used Trim-Tex products a lot and while I have never needed this particular product I can say their stuff works good!

Rob Teed

Many thanks, will let you know

Steve, looked at something similar at Menards. Would work only if I replace all of the wall bracket with molding. Not sure I want to do that. May be very difficult to get it straight and flat on the long straight sections. Plus my ceiling grid needs to be riveted together because it is a structural component of my valance. Thanks for the suggestion nonetheless.

Dave and Rob, saw this product earlier on the web. Instruction sheet says minimum inside radius is 36". Also says wrinkling must be worked out with a heat gun. Kind of turned me off. But after your posts I decided to inquire further. Found a supply house that has it on the shelf. Counter guy very helpful and knowledgeable on the phone. He said it is easy to work it flat with a heat gun and it stays that way. Also said he has personally used it on tighter radii than manufacturer states. I am headed off tomorrow morning to get some.

I'll let you know how this goes. Thanks.

Application

Hi Alan,

I dont know what is suggested to apply that trim-tex but We use spray glue when installing corner bead. They sell it near the trim-tex stuff.

Rob

Trim-Tex

Dave and Rob,

Thanks for giving me reason to give Trim-Tex a second look. Bought #8159 strips over the weekend and began installing. It is working great!!!

Surprisingly enough, the strips work better for inside corners than they do for outside corners. I would have thought the reverse but not so.

The secret is the heat gun. When first installed the flexible part of the strip is very wavy. Mind you I am using them on a smaller radius than the manufacturer recommends. Slow, gentle, deliberate application of heat straightens them right out. It is almost like a magic trick. Have to be real careful though. Not enough heat and nothing happens, too much heat and the PVC liquefies. It requires a fine touch. Needless to say, my first attempt was not pretty but got the hang of it on the second try.

The outside corners are a bit trickier. Found out you can't cut the ends square because it won't line up right when bent into position. Cutting the ends at an angle and then trimming in place with a razor blade does the trick. I started in an area with little visibility so by the time I get to areas readily visible I should have the process down to a science. I'll make a more complete post when I am a bit further along.

Inside corner:

Outside corner:

The magic wand:

Outside corner fit-up

In the unlikely event anyone is interested I found a solution to the fit-up problem of Trim-Tex Angle Grid on outside corners.

I clamped the ends tightly to the steel track and then applied heat. After repeated tries I found that when the fastening flange begins to get wavy the flexible part relaxes into position. The vinyl was allowed to return to room temperature before the clamps were removed. You can see the meeting point of flex to steel is much better now. I have done this to several of the corners and it is working well each time. The appearance is vastly better.

I'm Interested

Hey Alan,

Don't kid yourself.  I don't always speak up but I am still following along.  I've scratched my head over the same problem and now I know just how to handle it!

I'm looking forward to seeing the room come together, thanks for sharing.

Alan...

I am in the building trade, and it looks like you've salved this problem.

However in the future, feel free to contact me with any questions.  I don't know everything but I am a general contractor that has a passion for trains.  At the very least I'll understand where your coming from.

Thanks

Jeremy, generous offer. Thank you. If I can't solve future problems with bigger hammers I may call.

Minimum Radius

Check it out. With copious amounts of heat, gentle pressure, and lots of patience I was able to get the Trim-Tex angle to wrap around a 3-1/2" diameter post. It is a little distorted but I hope to work that out with another heat application. 3-1/2" diameter is way smaller than the minimum size Trim-Tex recommends. Amazing stuff.

Wish it was available up here in WNY!

That stuff looks PERFECT for what I need, but there are no Menards in the area and Home Depot and Lowes doesn't carry this stuff! UGH

Ken L

TrimTex

Ken,

Contact a drywall supply company. Most of them carry TrimTex.

Rob

You might also find it at a large lumber yard or contractor's

supply store.

Some contractors may use Home Depot or Lowes for a quick purchase of something they need, but most probably have other suppliers in the area.  Home Depot & Lowes pretty much "cherry pick" with the products they stock.  If the average homeowner won't buy enough of a product to turn the inventory at least 3-4 times a year, they won't stock it.  

Dealer Locator

Use their dealer locator. That is how I found the supply house I bought from. Using a Jamestown zip code and 100 mile radius it shows many dealers in WNY.

http://www.trim-tex.com/dealers.html

How do you plan on cutting the Panels?

Hi Alan,

How do you plan on cutting the panels with such a tight radius? 

I usually use a table saw with a  "plastic" cutting blade to trim the light panels to size, but have no idea how to cut such sharp corners and was wondering if you have any insight into this since you have some very sharp corners on your layout. 

I have both the Styrene and Acrylic light panels. I'm thinking for cutting such sharp corners, whatever tool is used, it would be best to use the Acrylic ones. 

Thanks!

Ken L

Light panels

Ken - I am going to cut poster board into 1/2" strips and then create an outline of each panel opening by cutting and hot gluing the strips to lay on the grid work. For the curved edges I will make a segmented outline that is close enough I can determine the smooth radius cut. I'll know better once I begin but the thought is to masking tape two opposite strips to the grid work and then cut and glue strips to them to form the entire outline. Once the strip outline is complete I will transfer the shape to the panel. I'm hoping that with poster board, masking tape, hot glue, and scissors I can get the job done. There are so many panels it would take a mountain of cardboard if I were to make full panel templates.

I will use acrylic sheet because it doesn't yellow over time like styrene sheet does. Plus the acrylic sheet is a bit more robust with less chance of chipping corners, cracking it, etc. The sheet will be cut using a jig saw fitted with a metal blade. I've used this combination before on acrylic sheet with good results. The edges can have some wobble to them since they are hidden so a jig saw cut will do fine.