Crown molding bridges the gap between ceiling and wall, adding an eye-catching decorative element that pairs well with multiple decorating schemes. When installed properly, crown molding also increases your home’s value and can add significant equity. But let’s discuss how to install crown molding properly.
Cutting crown molding properly to produce clean, finished corners is of utmost importance, unlike baseboards which must fit seamlessly.
Miter Joint
Miter joints are angle cuts used to connect two adjacent pieces of crown molding. When making this cut, accurate measurements must be made so the finished product fits neatly in your room’s corner. You may wish to mark walls with chalk lines so you can quickly identify each block and piece when nailing into place.
Measure the distance between two adjacent corner blocks to determine how long to make your first piece of crown molding, then subtract that length from the total room length, completing miter cuts on both ends for optimal finishing results. Follow this process with each corner in your room until all corners have been finished with crown molding.
Use a backer board for a neater installation by creating a recessed joint where the crown molding meets walls and ceilings; this will hide any gaps or unevenness due to variances in construction materials used for these surfaces.
If installing on a painted surface, pre-paint the blocks and molding. Fill any nail holes and vertical gaps between walls and blocks with patching compound or wood filler before nailing them to studs with construction adhesive or, ideally, brad nails.
Corner Joint
Crown molding can be difficult to install correctly. Accuracy in cuts is key for creating a finished look, and for precise corner cuts the best method is using a compound miter saw with preset marks, throat plates, and stop blocks designed specifically to cut crown molding corners accurately. If no such saw is available you can still achieve clean corner joints using proper techniques.
To cut a corner joint, mark where you want a piece of crown molding to meet the wall and place it on a framing square. Next, set a miter saw to a 45-degree angle and use this cut from one side of the square to cut from either end – this creates a triangle shape that fits tightly and closes any gaps that might exist between pieces.
Scarf cuts can help hide corner seams by cutting each piece of crown molding with a bevel that angles in both directions. When installing, glue the ceiling rails in place with construction adhesive before nailing them to joists or wall studs where possible; apply paintable caulk around each edge post installation to seal joints.
Scarf Joint
When your wall is too long for one piece of crown molding, a scarf joint can conceal and lessen its visibility. To install one of these joints, first, make a compound-angle miter cut on one length of the crown and then on another piece; cut matching compound angles in both lengths before nailing them together using backer boards if possible – for optimal support and fastening over studs if possible.
Coped and scarf joints work great when applied to square corners; however, when applied to non-square walls and ceilings they won’t always look pleasing visually. When this occurs, use a coping saw to form a coped corner which still won’t reach 90deg but will still look much more aesthetically pleasing than non-square ones.
Before installing the crown, allow it to adjust to the temperature and humidity levels in your home environment for several days before nailing in any crown pieces. Doing this will reduce any warping and cracking after installation. It’s also advisable to install backing boards and some inches of drywall first as a moisture shield against wood damage; caulking between crown pieces and walls should also be applied for an optimal result; for a cleaner finish use construction adhesive to the backs of crown pieces prior to caulking as this will decrease holes that need filling later with paintable caulk for added paintable caulking later on!
Backer Board
Backer boards are essential in installing crown molding because they enable you to utilize scarf cuts where miter or coped joints wouldn’t, particularly at an inside room corner when learning how to install crown molding. A scarf cut connects two pieces of crown molding on the wall side by sliding a piece of scrap behind one and forcing their sawn edges against each other and pushing them tightly together, while a coped cut requires one of them to have an overlying profile that matches or exceeds that of its counterpart piece; since wall corners rarely contain exactly 90-degree angles, coped joints work even better than mitered cuts for these situations.
At every wall and ceiling corner, as well as along any long runs of crown molding to be installed without studs, a block of framing lumber (not drywall) should be secured behind your crown molding installation to help avoid nailing issues when no rafter can be found to nail to using your stud finder, and prevents nailing directly to the bare drywall surface. Furthermore, nailing-in this block provides a solid nailing surface for construction adhesive as well as cushion against house movement which might otherwise impede or interfere with crown installation.