How to Install Crown Molding _ HGTV

Crown molding is an inexpensive and easy way to upgrade any room in your house .

If you know what you're doing , tools and materials , you will need crown molding , 18 gauge nails , 2.5 inches , a nail gun paint , KKK and cack gun , a ladder .

You'll also need AM or saw tape measure safety glasses .

There are three types of crown molding cuts , the inside corner , the outside corner and the scarf joint or overlap for long wall sections .

We will start with an inside corner for every cut .

You will measure the wall where the bottom of the crown molding will sit measure corner to corner for inside corners .

The bottom edge will be long and the top edge will be short mark the wall measurement on the bottom of the crown molding , draw a small line just past your measurement indicating the direction and angle of the cut .

Now , let's learn the basics of an inside corner cut on the left side of an inside corner , the cut will angle up to the left on the right side of an inside corner .

The cut will angle right .

The number one trick to cutting crown molding is to cut each piece upside down .

This is the wall side or bottom and this is the ceiling side or top .

The second trick is to set molding against the saw and mark a line .

This visual reference will make sure your cuts are consistent from board to board .

No need to mark the center of the table because it will swivel , swivel the saw to a 45 degree angle to match the direction and make the cut follow the direction of your marks for each subsequent cut .

Now let's learn the basics of an outside cut for an outside cut .

The bottom is short and the top is long .

You still want to measure your wall where the bottom of the molding will sit on the right side of an outside corner .

The cut will angle up to the left on the left side of an outside corner .

The cut will angle up to the right again , flip each board upside down and line it up with the mark on your saw , set your blade angle to 45 degrees in line with your direction and make your cut repeat on both boards .

Finally , let's learn how to make a scarf joint .

This is used to hide where two pieces meet on a long wall start by measuring the wall to the lowest point of the front facing on both the right and left sides of a straight joint .

The cut will angle in the same direction for these joints , you do not turn the boards upside down and they lay flat on the saw , the swiveling part of the saw table stays centered .

Instead , tilt the saw blade to a 45 degree angle and make your cut , cut each board using the same method to install your cut pieces of molding .

Simply fit them snugly together and nail them in place .

As you can see , these inside corners didn't meet perfectly .

But that is easily remedied with some paint caulk , fill the gap with a small bead of caulk and wipe smooth with a damp rag .

I can still see a bit of a gap here at the ceiling and have visible nail holes you can use to fill those in for a seamless look on the outside corners .

It is extremely important to get a snug fit because Caulk won't help you much here .

Crown molding is really not as hard as it seems and it can provide an immediate and visible upgrade to any space .