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Crown Molding Installation: A Step by Step Guide


Crown Molding Samples

Selecting the Crown Molding


My kitchen has 10' ceilings and I wanted to install a crown molding with a breadth between 5-8 inches. There is no set rule that limits the size you can use but this is a good range for a 10' ceiling and it was appropriate for my kitchen. I brought home several samples and held them up to see which my wife and I liked best (I highly recommend ordering crown molding samples before purchasing your crown moldings). We ended up selecting the AB108 crown molding.


Kitchen Crown Molding

Calculating the Number of Crown Molding Pieces


If you order too many pieces of crown molding for your installation you are wasting money. If you order too few pieces you are wasting time and even more money. So taking a few minutes to calculate the number of pieces of crown molding you need is well worth the time. I just sketched it out on a piece of paper and calculated that I needed 8 pieces for the project. View my diagram and calculation



Cutting Crown Molding

Cutting the Crown Molding


For each cut I followed the How to Install Crown Molding guide. The AB108 crown molding's breadth was 5.5" and it made it easily into my 12" compound miter saw. If you are installing a larger molding then you will likely need a miter box which can be built by following the Miter Box Instructions.

My kitchen had a total of 19 pieces of crown molding to cut. To read about how each cut was made and to see what each piece looked like installed you can read this article: Cutting Crown Molding.



Crown Molding Installation Tips


For the installation I used my finish nail gun with 1 1/4" brads and Loctite's Power Grab adhesive. By using an adhesive with the polyurethane moldings it makes it easier to install and you don't need to use as many nails (so less finish work at the end). Here are some tips from my crown molding installation that are good to remember:

  • Find a helper -- installing crown molding with 2 people is much quicker!
  • Prior to installation, mark the wall around the entire room where the bottom of the molding will reach.
  • Put adhesive on both edges of the molding (ceiling and wall) and on the seam between each piece.
  • Cut 1/8" off the ends of the molding when doing a butt joint to create a clean seam.
  • Use a knife to remove the back side of the bottom tip of the molding on an inside corner.
  • When nailing, shoot the brad into a concave part of the molding if possible.
  • Don't sweat the small mistakes -- caulking works wonders!

    For detailed descriptions (with pictures) on why these tips are important you can read this article: Crown Molding Installation Tips.



    Before and After Crown Molding Installation Pictures


    Click on either of the images below to see the before and after pictures of my crown molding installation Before Crown Molding Installation After Crown Molding Installation

    Return to the How to Install Crown Molding page.
    Visit the Crown Molding department.

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