Easy Steps to Cutting and Installing Crown Molding

Crown Molding:

Crown molding is an angled, decorative trim that is used to fill up the meeting junction between walls and ceiling. It comes in a wide variety of designs and can really add to a room's overall attraction.

Cutting and installing crown molding is often a rather tricky business and most people usually save themselves all the bother by calling in the professionals to install it for them. But some of us get a kick out of trying out home improvement projects on our own, and, by careful reading of the instructions, paying attention, and following the correct procedure, usually any project worth its salt can be undertaken and successfully completed. Installing crown molding is no different. If you take the time to understand how it is done, you can cut and install crown molding in your home by yourself.

Before you begin, here are some items you will need to purchase if you don't already have them:

A Compound Miter Saw

Get yourself a compound miter saw. This is an excellent tool for cutting crown molding. You can angle the blade to the left or right, or from side to side. Angling left or right on the table creates a 'miter angle', and angling from side to side on the arm creates a 'bevel angle'. Combining both types of angles creates a 'compound angle'.

Nails

To nail the crown molding in place. If you don't have an automatic pneumatic nailer, which will make life easy for you, use a hammer and watch out for your fingers. Get 6d or 8d nails.

Glue

To fix the crown molding in place.

Crown Molding

Research the different varieties and designs of crown molding that are available in the market currently. Before you buy, it is important to know how many pieces of molding you will require and of what length. You can find this out by measuring the room in which you intend to install the crown molding. Measure along the wall, not along the ceiling.

Scrap Molding

If you are an absolute beginner to installing crown molding, you should get some scrap molding and practice your cuts on that. This will save you wasting any of the actual crown molding, which can be quite expensive.

A Tarpaulin Sheet

This will come in handy to protect your floor and furniture from dust or damage.

Safety Glasses

To protect your eyes while working. Don't ever start working without your safety glasses on.

Scaffolding

You will need to have scaffolding in place to stand on and install the crown molding with ease.

Then you will need to know about the various types of joints that are used in installing crown molding. They are:

• A mitered return
• A coping joint
• An outside corner
• A scarf joint

Now let's take a look at some easy steps to cutting crown molding:

You need the crown molding to fit exactly in the area where you're installing it. So take careful and accurate length measurements.

Cutting with accuracy is important. Saw from the back of the crown molding, starting at the upper and lower edges, and cut in straight line. Try to angle the corners at exactly 45 degrees. It's a good idea to practice cutting the scrap molding first. This will give you more confidence in cutting the more expensive crown molding and you will also be able to use the cut scrap molding pieces as a reference.

When you're done cutting, fit the crown molding pieces together and see how well they fit together. You may need to do a bit of tweaking here and there if they don't gel exactly.

Here are some easy steps to installing crown molding:

Once you have cut the crown molding to your requirement, it is time to drill holes in it. This again needs to be done with utmost care. You don't want to split the molding or, worse, drill your fingers.

Position the crown molding where you are going to install it to check for correct fit. Make sure you're not getting the joints where they stand out like an eyesore, like in the wall-center or at any highly visible focal point.

Then attach the crown molding there with a few 6d or 8d nails, just enough to hold it there and not permanently. Don't complete all the nailing until after you've stepped back and checked again to see if you have got the position right or whether you may need to move it a bit.

Once you have the position right, finish the nailing and cover the nails with putty. Paint over to match the overall look.