Installing crown moulding: Your guide to a beautiful job

Add character and elegance to any room by installing crown moulding. This attractive trim can adorn the top of cabinets or cover the transition between walls and ceilings in almost any room. Besides being a decorative addition, crown moulding can also be used to conceal cracks, hide wires that have been added for lighting or electronics, or create a space to hide ambient lighting.

Here are some tools and supplies you will need to have for your project.

• Tape measure and pencil

• Ladder or work platform

• Miter saw 

• Level

• Hammer and finishing nails or pneumatic finish nailer

• Adhesive and caulk gun

• Sufficient crown moulding to complete the job 

• Sandpaper

• Safety gear (gloves, safety glasses, N95 mask, etc.)

Once you have your crown moulding and the above tools, you’re ready to start the installation. You may want to put a coat of paint (or a natural finish) on the moulding before hanging it. Then you can add the final coat after it’s installed, and you have sealed the edges and filled the nail holes. If you have purchased pre-painted moulding, this won’t be necessary.

1. Cut your first piece of moulding: Measure from an inside corner to the next corner. (Always measure along the wall, not the ceiling.) If your piece of moulding is not long enough to reach to the opposite corner, cut the end at a 45° angle for a less visible joint.
2. Miter the corners of the moulding at 45° (for a 90° corner).
3. Apply a bead of adhesive near the edges of the crown moulding. We suggest using LePage 2in1 Seal & Bond Interior Adhesive.
4. Attach the moulding: Hold it up to the ceiling, check for level and that the length is correct, then attach it using a nail gun or a hammer and nails.
5. Wipe away any excess adhesive with a cloth.
6. Continue the above process, working around the room in one direction.
7. When the installation is complete, use a quality sealant along the edges of the moulding and in the corners. Also, fill the nail holes with putty.
8. Apply a final coat of paint (or varnish) and allow it to dry.

Installing crown moulding on cabinets is a very similar process, especially if they go all the way to the ceiling. In other installations, the cabinets don’t go all the way to the ceiling, so keeping the moulding level is even more important. 

In such a case, you may want to put masking tape on the cabinets where the bottom edge of the moulding will be. Use a level to make sure the masking tape is straight and level.

Now you can install the moulding as described above, except you will only use nails at the bottom edge of the crown moulding.