For a touch of high class design and an unmatched finished look, install crown molding in your living area, bedrooms and kitchen. Even the bathrooms feel more luxurious with this trim. A small project with big impact, crown molding is a relatively inexpensive job to contract out to a local trim carpenter or a great weekend DIY project. Should you like to take on a crown molding project, here are a few pro tips.
It's All In the Details
Often, it's the little details in your home that make all the difference in how you feel about the space. With the addition of crown moldings, whether simple or elaborate, your rooms will be framed in stylish detail. Generally a bulky trim that is installed on an angle between your wall and ceiling, this specialty molding truly crowns the walls. Painted white, richly stained or color blended with the wall, this home improvement is mainly about adding shape.
Plan Ahead
Crown molding comes in a variety of depths with different profiles and even various angles. It's very important to buy all of the molding you'll need for the space you want to cover. That's to ensure that everything matches and can be easily fit together for a seamless look. Measure the wall length to get an accurate idea of how many molding pieces you'll need. Installing crown molding on cathedral ceilings is entirely possible, just be sure to make that measurement along where the ceiling and wall meet. In any case, add six to twelve inches onto your final measurement for each corner in the room.
How To Cut Crown Molding
The corners are where your crown molding will meet and present the trickiest part of installation. The more corners that you have, the more money you can expect to pay a contractor or the more time you should plan to spend on this DIY project. Be sure to account for both Inside and Outside corners when adding up the length of molding needed. Crown molding is cut using a miter saw, most often a compound miter saw. The angles of each corner and the angles of cathedral ceilings are all measured using a specialty tool such as an adjustable protractor. Measurements are the name of the game when installing crown molding. With accuracy and a properly set up saw, this job is straightforward and can move quickly. Mistakes are made when measurements aren't double checked, are recorded incorrectly or the miter saw settings are off.
Nailing It In
Crown molding is most often nailed in using brad nails, which are small finishing nails with thin heads. A brad nailer is a handy tool to have, rent or borrow for your DIY crown molding project. If you're using a contractor, he'll likely have an air compressor for his nailing tools to make the process speedy and efficient. Brad nails come in short lengths and should be only slightly sunken into the trim. Once the crown molding is up, any noticeable nail heads can be covered easily with touch up paint or putty. Corners should be as tight fitting as possible and the trim should be dried beforehand to prevent warping and shrinking. Crown molding will finish off your room distinctly. It can be done to accent a certain space, like a formal dining room, or installed throughout the whole house for a smooth look. With this simple project, you can look forward to a beautifully transformed living space.
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