Installing crown molding requires patience
Q: My spouse and his mate put in a number of hours trying to set up crown molding in our nursery. They at last gave up due to the fact they couldn’t get the corners suitable. How can they complete the position, so our nursery will seem in shape for a king?
A: Notify your husband that installing crown molding is child’s enjoy in contrast to fatherhood. Nevertheless, obtaining the molding to glimpse proper is exact operate that needs persistence and perseverance. All in all, it is superior practice for shortly-to-be mom and dad.
An essential tool for this job is a power miter box noticed, which cuts corners swiftly and cleanly. A very low-close 10-inch model sells for close to $160 or you can lease just one for about $25 for each working day. (An even far better alternative is a compound miter box observed, which cuts two angles concurrently.)
If you select a electrical power miter box saw, you will likely have to clamp a higher fence on it thanks to the top of the molding. Also, the occupation is additional forgiving if you program to paint the molding considering that you can conceal flaws easily with wood putty and caulk. If you approach to stain and varnish the wooden, the suit will have to be specific. Any flaws, notably the corners, will be visible.
The initially matter to do is get a stud finder and go all around the area with a pencil marking the site of the wall studs and ceiling joists. Make the marks about 5 inches from the top of the ceiling on possibly facet of the corner.
Following, use a carpenter’s sq. and keep a piece of molding in the sq. and measure exactly where the molding will be on the wall and the ceiling. Make a template from these measurements by nailing two parts of wood alongside one another to variety an L.
Hold the template in the corner of the ceiling, and mark horizontal traces on the ceiling and the wall where ever you beforehand marked the spots of the studs. You now have the correct place of where by the molding will be positioned and nailed.
With crown molding, you do not start in one corner of the space and perform your way close to. You will want to in shape the outdoors corners initial. Since these are the most apparent, you want these to be as near to great as probable. And, simply because you will only see the entrance edge, I suggest you overcut the miter by 1 degree. There will be a slight hole in the back (in which no one will see), but it will aid pull the entrance edge restricted.
Predrill a pilot hole for a 4d nail at the edge to retain a tight joint once the molding has been secured. The nail will go from 1 piece of molding into the other, at the corner, to hold the corner secured.
Because drywall corners are almost never correctly square, you will need to hold the corner pieces collectively and test the healthy many instances. You will will need to shave little quantities from the ends to get the in good shape just correct.
After the corner appears to be excellent, use a 3/30-2nd-inch little bit to predrill holes via the molding at the spot of the studs, and protected the molding to the wall with 6d finish nails. When the two parts of molding that form the outside the house corner are secured, generate the 4d nail by means of the corner to hold the corner joint restricted.
After the outdoors corners are done, transfer to the within corners. You can be substantially less exact with noticed cuts on the within corners since you won’t be applying mitered cuts. As an alternative, you will use a system named “coping.” This requires reducing an actual define of the molding in the end of the mating piece. Fortuitously, it’s much easier than it seems.
Get started by slicing the molding as if you had been heading to miter the inside corner be certain to leave the piece a few inches extended. The mitered reduce will leave the correct profile in the finish of the molding. All you have to do is follow the line on the deal with of the molding applying a coping noticed (much less than $20).
Angle the noticed again about 30 levels to remove any extra wooden, and then use a wooden file to get a sharp edge. Test the in good shape against an additional piece of molding, and make changes, if required. The finished match will be seamless.
It may possibly consider you 30 minutes of earning adjustments to get the corner to glimpse ideal. Just relax and take your time, because that is the variation between amateur and qualified-hunting final results.
When the suit is excellent, nail it up. Incidentally, you will uncover that on some partitions you will not have a ceiling joist to nail the molding into because they will operate parallel to the wall you are doing the job on. So get creative.
You can attempt using a 10d end nail hit into the centre of the molding and into the top plates of the wall (you will have to countersink the head and meticulously fill the gap to cover it). You also can use development adhesive on the top of the molding (use 4d nails to keep it in area until the adhesive totally hardens). And finally, you can nail an angled piece of wood (known as a cant strip) to the ceiling corner powering the molding, and then nail the molding to the cant strip.
Finally, caulk the gaps in between the edges of the molding and the partitions.
Use a paintable silicone caulk (about $10 a tube), and paint it the identical coloration as your walls.
Mike Klimek is a licensed contractor and owner of Las Vegas Handyman. Issues may well be sent by e-mail to [email protected]. Or, mail to 4710 W. Dewey Drive, No. 100, Las Vegas, NV 89118. His net tackle is www.handymanoflasvegas.com.