I am about to install crown molding in my house but I have never done
that before. I think I got the cutting part down but I am not sure
about the installation part. Any one has ideas about what the best way
to install them? Is it better to nail it from the corners in or from
the center out? On the mitered corners will nails be enough or should I
glue the corners as well (regular wood glue is good for that)?
If anyone can help I will appreciate it.

Thanks.

I am about to install crown molding in my house but I have never done
that before. I think I got the cutting part down but I am not sure
about the installation part. Any one has ideas about what the best way
to install them? Is it better to nail it from the corners in or from
the center out? On the mitered corners will nails be enough or should
I
glue the corners as well (regular wood glue is good for that)?
If anyone can help I will appreciate it.

I assume you're using coped joints on the inside corners. Nail it in
the center, and leave the butt end with a little give. When you join
the butt end with a new coped piece on the inside corners, you'll be
able to marry the 2 pieces if the butt end has a little give.

I will not be coping the inside corners. I will be using a regular
miter cut.

"Silk" wrote in message
oups.com...
I will not be coping the inside corners. I will be using a regular
miter cut.


Using mitered inside corners for CM is an amateur's mistake. You'll get
far better results if you learn to cut a coped joint. It will take
about an hour investment.

Marrying a coped joint is actually a lot easier than getting a mitered
joint to fit, and that joint won't open up on you over time. They are
also more forgiving and adjustable if you corners aren't square and
plumb. Coped joints also give you more structural integrity.

If you're not convinced by now.....

"Buck Turgidson" wrote in message
I will not be coping the inside corners. I will be using a regular
miter cut.

Using mitered inside corners for CM is an amateur's mistake. You'll get
far better results if you learn to cut a coped joint. It will take
about an hour investment.

He's right Silk. A small cost for a coping saw (type of hand jigsaw) and
you'll be able to make crown molding corner joints that look great. When
people come into your home and see the crown molding, the corners are the
first thing they will look at. And it is a very small investment of your
time to learn how to do it properly. There's a number of small tricks you
can use to speed up the process like scribing with compass.

I'll third that emotion. Learning to cope isn't all that difficult and
you'll (the OP) be proud of your work. Mitered joints will open up.

Dave

Upscale wrote:

"Buck Turgidson" wrote in message

I will not be coping the inside corners. I will be using a regular
miter cut.


Using mitered inside corners for CM is an amateur's mistake. You'll get
far better results if you learn to cut a coped joint. It will take
about an hour investment.


He's right Silk. A small cost for a coping saw (type of hand jigsaw) and
you'll be able to make crown molding corner joints that look great. When
people come into your home and see the crown molding, the corners are the
first thing they will look at. And it is a very small investment of your
time to learn how to do it properly. There's a number of small tricks you
can use to speed up the process like scribing with compass.

Take some time and a few lengths of scrap, and learn to cope the
molding joints. It's frustrating practice at first (you'll probably
ruin several feet), but the final product is well worth the effort.

On 13 Jun 2005 11:39:03 -0700, "Silk" wrote:

I will not be coping the inside corners. I will be using a regular
miter cut.

Bear in mind that a "regular miter cut" for crown molding is not what
you may think it is if you've never done it before- you can't just lay
it flat and cut a 45" angle. You need a compund miter saw, and it
won't be as good as coping in any case.

On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 03:20:26 -0500, Prometheus
wrote:

I will not be coping the inside corners. I will be using a regular
miter cut.

Bear in mind that a "regular miter cut" for crown molding is not what
you may think it is if you've never done it before- you can't just lay
it flat and cut a 45" angle. You need a compund miter saw, and it
won't be as good as coping in any case.

Actually you don't need a compound saw.
As long as your crown is not too big for your mitre saw you can cut it
with the blade straight up and down. You can even cut it with a hand
mitre box if you have the time.
IMHO the easiest way to cut crown (inside corners or outside) is to
place it upside down on your miter saw with the crown laying at the
same angle as it will lay on the wall (except upside down), turn your
saw to a 45 and cut. A left or right outside cut will do the outside
corners and a left or right inside cut for your copes depending on
which direction you are running. Once you get used to cutting crown
this way, you won't need to lean that saw over very often.
Now if the crown is too large for the mitre saw then I will lay it
down and use the compound but I don't have to do that unless the crown
is larger than about 6".

Mike O.

Mike:

Thanks for posting that. I was going to post something like that, but I
couldn't get my brain and fingers to work together to explain what I wanted
to say. A photo would explain it real simple, but putting it to words....

You did good.

Phil

1. Cope the inside joints (mitering is fine for outside joints).
2. No need to glue the corners if they're properly cut. You *might*
have to use a bit of putty to fill in any gaps (assuming you're
painting afterward).
3. Get another person to assist you in holding the molding up for a
test fit. Then it won't matter so much about center-out/corners-in
nailing. Just make sure you know exactly where your wall studs and
ceiling joists are -- they are your friends!

I put up crown molding in my daughter's room last year (first molding
project), and though it was VERY frustrating at first, I was pretty
comfortable with the process by the end. Good luck! (Buy several
extra feet of molding and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE your coping!).

Silk wrote:
I am about to install crown molding in my house but I have never done
that before. I think I got the cutting part down but I am not sure
about the installation part. Any one has ideas about what the best way
to install them? Is it better to nail it from the corners in or from
the center out? On the mitered corners will nails be enough or should I
glue the corners as well (regular wood glue is good for that)?
If anyone can help I will appreciate it.

Thanks.

"Oriole1" wrote in message
oups.com...
1. Cope the inside joints (mitering is fine for outside joints).
2. No need to glue the corners if they're properly cut. You *might*
have to use a bit of putty to fill in any gaps (assuming you're
painting afterward).
3. Get another person to assist you in holding the molding up for a
test fit. Then it won't matter so much about center-out/corners-in
nailing. Just make sure you know exactly where your wall studs and
ceiling joists are -- they are your friends!

So, what did you do for the ceiling joist that ran parallel to the wall?

Darrell

On 13 Jun 2005 11:09:15 -0700, "Silk" wrote:

I am about to install crown molding in my house but I have never done
that before. I think I got the cutting part down but I am not sure
about the installation part. Any one has ideas about what the best way
to install them? Is it better to nail it from the corners in or from
the center out? On the mitered corners will nails be enough or should I
glue the corners as well (regular wood glue is good for that)?
If anyone can help I will appreciate it.

Everyone has given you good advice and I agree with the suggestion to
cope the inside corners. For some reason (being right handed) I find
it easier to cope the left end of my pieces. So I will work around
the room from left to right and will have only one cope from the other
direction if the room is a simple square If the room has an outside
corner, I will probably end there because I can hold the coped piece
up and mark the outside corners from each direction.
Starting to nail from the middle and leaving the ends loose is a great
suggestion and allows you to move the piece up or down in the corner
if needed. I always glue and nail the outside corners. Depending on
how big the crown is, you may be able to nail near the middle of the
crown and hit the top plate of your wall. Nailing near the bottom
will allow you to hit the wall studs. Nailing through the top of the
crown will let you hit the joists or trusses on the two walls where
you have them.

Mike O.

Last night on DYI show with David Thiel he had a way cool jig setup for
doing crown molding so you don't get confused when installing them....here's
a link for it...makes doing crown molding easier

http://www.diynet.com/diy/hi_tools/a...387707,00.html

Tina

"Mike" wrote in message
...
On 13 Jun 2005 11:09:15 -0700, "Silk" wrote:

I am about to install crown molding in my house but I have never done
that before. I think I got the cutting part down but I am not sure
about the installation part. Any one has ideas about what the best way
to install them? Is it better to nail it from the corners in or from
the center out? On the mitered corners will nails be enough or should I
glue the corners as well (regular wood glue is good for that)?
If anyone can help I will appreciate it.

Everyone has given you good advice and I agree with the suggestion to
cope the inside corners. For some reason (being right handed) I find
it easier to cope the left end of my pieces. So I will work around
the room from left to right and will have only one cope from the other
direction if the room is a simple square If the room has an outside
corner, I will probably end there because I can hold the coped piece
up and mark the outside corners from each direction.
Starting to nail from the middle and leaving the ends loose is a great
suggestion and allows you to move the piece up or down in the corner
if needed. I always glue and nail the outside corners. Depending on
how big the crown is, you may be able to nail near the middle of the
crown and hit the top plate of your wall. Nailing near the bottom
will allow you to hit the wall studs. Nailing through the top of the
crown will let you hit the joists or trusses on the two walls where
you have them.

Mike O.