Install Crown Molding Like A

Plans NOW® www.plansnow.com Crowninstall MOLDING like a pro! Here’s everything you need to know to get perfect- fitting crown molding — whether you’re trimming out a room or a bookcase. { Crown molding is inclined between the s any seasoned carpenter Which Side Is Up? — All crown ceiling and wall at what’s called its will tell you, installing molding has a decorative profile “spring angle.” This angle comes crown molding is any- milled into the face of the molding. into play throughout the thing but a routine task. At first, it may not be obvious which installation process. AUnlike most moldings, which are side faces up toward the ceiling.An attached flat to the wall, crown easy way to determine this is to look Ogee Profile molding rests at an angle between at the end of the molding (Photo, the ceiling and wall. Because it left). Typically, an ogee profile (a Cove “leans” at an angle, working with double curve in the shape of an < Regardless crown molding requires cutting com- elongated ‘S’) is closest to the ceiling, of width or pound angles, which can be a tricky while the smaller profile (often a wood species, operation. To complicate matters cove) is at the bottom. crown molding even more, walls and ceilings are Size — In addition to a variety often has an seldom flat, square, and plumb. of profiles, crown molding also has ogee profile In spite of these obstacles,it is pos- a wide range of sizes. The most 5 near the top sible to get great results when installing common width (3 /8") is readily edge and a crown molding.Like most carpentry available at most home centers. At cove at the jobs, it just takes a little know-how. some lumberyards and millwork 1 1 5 bottom. shops, 4 /2", 5 /4", 6 /8", and even Crown Molding Close-Up wider moldings are available. If you haven’t purchased crown When selecting crown molding, molding before, it’s worth taking a the idea is to make it proportional to few minutes to familiarize yourself the size and height of the room. For 5 1 with some of the basics. example, 3 /8" or 4 /2" molding is From Workbench Magazine page 1 of 7 ©2004 August Home Publishing All rights reserved One copy for personal use. Other copies prohibited. Crown Molding < appropriate for an average-sized make it easy to position the molding Use a framing square room (about 150-200 square feet) during installation. to establish the height with an eight-foot ceiling. But you’d To determine the location of the of the molding, its want to use wider molding in a large lines,you’ll need to know the “height” spring angle, and room with a higher ceiling. of the crown molding once it’s Installed size of backer 1 Spring Angle — Regardless of installed.An easy way to do that is to Height ( /4" less than the triangular its width, crown molding is milled use a framing square and a scrap piece Backer so it sits against the wall and ceiling of molding (Photo,right).Just measure opening). of the room along two narrow edges the distance from the corner of the or “flats”(Inset Illustration,page 1).With square to the bottom edge of the these flats fitting tightly against those molding.Then, cut a block to match surfaces, the molding is tilted at an that distance, and use it as a gauge Spring angle called its spring angle.You’ll need when marking the layout lines (Fig.1). Angle !/4" to take this angle into account when Backers —There’s one situation cutting crown molding and when you’ll run up against that needs spe- making the backers that fit into the cial attention. If the ceiling joists run opening behind the molding (more parallel to a wall,there won’t be any- < on that later). thing to nail the top of the molding 1 A block that to along the wall. Installing short matches the Planning the Job backers (about 12" long) will provide installed height As with any job, some careful plan- a solid mounting surface. of the crown ning up front will go a long way Backers are triangular lengths of molding makes toward preventing problems from 2x stock that fit into the opening a handy gauge cropping up later. behind the molding. Here again, use when laying Locate Wall Studs & Joists — a framing square and scrap molding out the location For starters, I mark the locations of to determine the size of the opening of the bottom the wall studs and ceiling joists with (Photo,above). Keep in mind that you edge of the blue (or purple) painter’s tape.This don’t want the backers to fit tightly molding. type of tape isn’t as sticky as regular against the molding. Leaving a 1/ " 4 < masking tape, so it can be easily gap provides clearance that allows 2 To make a removed without damaging the you to adjust the fit of the molding. backer,tilt the paint once you’ve finished the job. Once you determine the correct blade to match Layout Lines —The next step is size, tilt the table saw blade to match the molding’s to mark lines on the tape indicating the spring angle, and rip a 12"-long spring angle. the location of the bottom edge of bevel in a 2x4 (Fig. 2). Stop the saw, Make a 12"- the crown molding.These lines will then crosscut the backer to length. long bevel rip Backer in a 2x4, turn off saw, then cut the backer TOOL ROUND-UP to length. Using the right tools for the job is half the Miter Saw battle when installing crown molding. For starters, a miter saw with a good Miter Saw quality crosscut blade will ensure fast, Crosscut Blade accurate, glass-smooth cuts. (For this job, I used a Freud 12" Ultimate Cutoff Blade Pneumatic Finish Nailer with 1!/2" to 2" with 96 teeth.) finish nails Shop-made jig for To create a coped joint on the inside cutting crown molding corners, you’ll need to round up a coping Block saw — with a new blade — and a half- Plane round file. A block plane will help to refine the miter joints on the outside cor- Coping Saw ners of the crown molding. Finally, an air with 14-18 TPI nailer simplifies installation considerably. (teeth-per-inch) blade Half-Round Files From Workbench Magazine page 2 of 7 ©2004 August Home Publishing All rights reserved One copy for personal use. Other copies prohibited. tips & tricks for CUTTING CROWN One of the easiest ways to cut crown molding is to position it at its spring angle on the miter saw.That is, with the workpiece tilted so it duplicates the angle of the molding between the ceiling and the wall. The best way to do that is to use a jig that holds the molding at the correct angle and keeps it from slipping during the cut.This can be a manufactured jig (Photo, left), or you can knock out your own shop-made version. Upside Down — Either way, you’ll need to place the molding in the jig so it’s upside down. In other words, the top edge of the molding rests on the base of the jig, and the bottom edge sits against the fence. (Think of the base as the ceiling of the room and the fence as the wall.) And Backward — Since the molding gets sawn upside down, it must also be placed in the jig backwards. The Miter Saw Setup Box below demonstrates this concept for cutting both inside and outside corners. { To make an inside corner joint, you first need to “reveal” the profile of the molding by cutting a 45° miter. Note that the molding is upside down and tilted at its spring angle. To prevent it from slipping, I use a jig manufactured by Bench Dog. Source: 800-786-8902 or visit BenchDog.com Miter Saw Setup LEFT INSIDE RIGHT INSIDE LEFT OUTSIDE RIGHT OUTSIDE CORNER CORNER CORNER CORNER Rotate saw 45° right, Rotate saw 45° left, Rotate saw 45° left, Rotate saw 45° right, place molding on right place molding on left place molding on right place molding on left From Workbench Magazine page 3 of 7 ©2004 August Home Publishing All rights reserved One copy for personal use. Other copies prohibited. Coping Inside Corners of molding (about 6" longer than More often than not, you’ll be cut- needed should be fine).That way, if ting an inside corner joint when you make a mistake while coping, working with crown molding. For there will still be enough material to an inside corner, I use a coped joint. trim the end and try again. With this type of joint, one molding Coping Saw Technique — Once is butted into the corner (see Photo the miter cut is made, it’s time to on page 5). The adjoining piece is cope the molding to fit against the cut, or coped, to fit against it. adjoining piece (see Figures 1 through Before coping the joint, you’ll 4 below). The whole idea here is to need a “map”of the decorative profile backcut the end of the molding, fol- of the crown molding to use as a lowing the contour of the profile as guide while making the cut. That closely as possible, and leaving a map is easy to come by.You simply slightly “thick” edge (Photo, right).

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