How to install crown molding on the ceiling

By: Editor
Website: http://www.all-homeinteriordesigns.com

Transform a boxy room with the elegant and softening beauty of crown molding. With more and more molding profiles available, you have plenty of options for adding an attractive finishing touch to your home. Although installing crown molding takes patience and a few tricks of the trade, homeowners who are comfortable with basic carpentry tools and who have coped molding miters before should have few problems.

Careful fitting and refitting are crucial to obtaining a close fit between sections of crown molding. When working over your head, a solid working platform makes all the difference. To avoid expensive mistakes with crown molding, you should sharpen your mitering and coping skills before you plunge into the job. The more proficient you are at making overlapping joints, the less likely you are to make costly errors.

To achieve a mitered look with corners that are seldom perfectly square, run the first piece of crown molding tightly into the corner. Cope-cut the second piece in the shape of the profile of the molding, so it can butt neatly against the face of the first piece. Position the molding so that it is upside down in the miter box. The face of the molding that goes against the ceiling will be on the bottom of the miter box. Remember, for inside corners, the bottom of the crown molding will be the longest edge.

If the molding runs perpendicular to the ceiling joist determine the location of the joist. Drill pilot holes to keep the molding from splitting. As you attach the molding, tack it in place with a few nails. Take a good look at the positioning before completing the nailing.