Installing Crown Molding

crown molding
paint
caulk

Tools:

miter box
finish nail gun
ladder
coping saw

Process:

1. Paint crown molding before installing.
2. Start in one corner, working around the room. In order to account for out-of-square corners, cope the molding in the corners instead of miter cuts.
3. Once all the molding is up, cover any gaps/seams with caulk.

To Cope Molding:

1. Install the first piece of molding on the most noticeable wall.
2. Cut a miter on the second piece. Place the molding in your miter box and cut an open miter, which is a 45-degree cut where the back of the molding is longer than the front. Once the cut is made, you should see the cut grain from the front of the molding.
3. Use the edge of a lead pencil to highlight the line where the face of the molding meets the cut grain to get the exact profile of the molding.
4. Using the coping saw, cut along the highlighted line. Hold the saw on a slight angle to give it a back-cut, so that you're removing more material from the back of the molding. This gives the joint a much tighter fit.
5. Nail into the ceiling and the wall. Fill the holes and touch up paint.