If you know anything about home design and the housing market, then you know that crown moulding is desirable. If you are interested in improving your home and want to know how to install crown moulding yourself, use the following steps to guide you along the way.
Step 1: Choose Your Type of Moulding
Before you can do anything, you'll have to decide if you want to use wood, fiberboard (usually referred to as MDF, medium density fiberboard), or polyurethane. There are pros and cons to each type, depending on what you are looking for. Wood is classic, but more expensive. Fiberboard is cheaper, but poorer in quality. Polyurethane is even more expensive, but the most durable.
If you plan to paint your crown moulding, do so before installing it. It will be much harder afterwards.
Step 2: Cut the Corner Pieces
Once you've chosen your material, you'll want to start with the corners. They are the hardest because of the angles. All the other pieces will lay flat against the wall, but the corners will have to be cut in a special way in order to fit. You will need a coping saw to do this. If you are a novice and are uneasy about getting the corner cuts just right, use a premade corner block. They are already cut, so all you have to do is attach them. You can use caulking, but nails would be more secure.
Step 3: Measure the Length of the Walls and Cut the Moulding
Next, you'll want to measure each section of the wall to see how much moulding you will need. With your corner blocks in place, measure from one block to the next. Be as exact as possible in your measurement because you want the piece to fit perfectly in the middle. Cut the moulding pieces according to the measurements you recorded.
If the room has a complicated shape (meaning it's not a simple square or rectangle), you can buy precut outer edge pieces that are already cut at forty-five degree angles. When you use two right up against each other on an outside corner, they fit seamlessly and look professional.
Step 4: Attach the Moulding to the Wall
Since the corner pieces have already been secured, all you have to do is attach the long middle pieces. Attach the moulding between the corner blocks, adding nails every twelve inches or so. (A nail gun makes this process go much faster.) After all the pieces are securely attached, you can use wood putty or paint to disguise the nails. This may not be an issue if you have used a dark wood for the moulding. If you have painted the moulding, you can use the same paint on the nail heads prior to using them. That will cause then to automatically blend in.
These four steps can help you transform your room from mediocre to elegant in a matter of hours. Your friends won't believe you did it yourself!
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