# What tools do you need for installing crown molding?



## epson (Jul 28, 2010)

If you intend on using any air tools for future projects then I would suggest you get yourself one. Porter cable is pretty good and reasonably priced right now. But if you only intend to do just your crown molding then see if you can borrow or rent the air tools. Also you will need a coping saw for your crown molding and maybe liquid nails…


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## tcleve4911 (Nov 6, 2010)

The most important "tool" you'll need is your crown jig.

You'll want to cut it upside down and backwards and you need a jig to always have the crown sitting at the same angle to your fence.


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## unlvrebel (Jul 20, 2010)

Beer. Lot's of beer.


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## Just Bill (Dec 21, 2008)

Miter saw, coping saw, utility knife, scribe, and I prefer a non-air nailer(no hose to drag around). I also use a stud finder to locate studs for nailing the lower edge.

I set a piece fo the crown in position and mark the wall. Set the scribe to that mark and mark all aroubnd the ceiling. This keeps the molding from wandering up/down. Cope all inside joints. Use scrap pieces to fit outside miters(no corner is a true 90deg). Fine tune copes with the knife.


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## tcleve4911 (Nov 6, 2010)

A round and a flat file also work to fine tune the cope.
Sometimes sandpaper wrapped around a dowel.
Some use a dremel type tool or some type of grinder.

The trick is to backcut enough so you're just shaving and fitting the very edge. 
It's a [email protected] when you have to take off the whole backside just to close up a 1/16th inch gap.


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## gotogregg (Sep 16, 2010)

Hey Tazznum1,
I am Gregg from The Home Depot in Chicago. You can usually get a decent air compressor and finish nailer together. Having a small air compressor around is worth it alone. You never realize how much you needed one until you have one. 
If you are doing a basic style and size crown moulding there is a product called “perfect cut crown moulding” that is really easy to install. The trim is double sided so you can make all your cuts with your compound miter saw on one setting. I’ve used it recently and loved it. Here are the instructions for it:http://www.homedepot.com/hdus/en_US...illwork/Docs/PerfectCutCrownTearPad2-5-10.pdf

I hope this helps and good luck!-Gregg


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

tcleve4911 said:


> The most important "tool" you'll need is your crown jig.
> 
> You'll want to cut it upside down and backwards and you need a jig to always have the crown sitting at the same angle to your fence.


A jig is great, but do NOT buy the orange clear plastic 'see-through' model. It is made of very brittle plastic, and will snap the very first time you drop it on the floor. Trust me! I broke one twice in the very first day of using it.

Try to get one of the more substantial plastic ones that are made from a more break resistant plastic.

Rockler, (a very good company in my opinion) where I bought that jig, was great and replaced it immediately, 'no questions asked', but I now use it only with a short teather cord tied to my miter saw stand.


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

Silicone what?
Ron


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## mrgins (Jan 19, 2009)

Ron6519 said:


> Silicone what?
> Ron


My thought exactly. Don't use silicone caulk unless you know it accepts paint well. Use an acrylic latex.
The only jig I use is one the DeWalt puts out for their chop saws. It just screws onto the base plate of the saw so that your moulding is seated in the same place each time. I also use a round rasp to fine tune the back cut on the coped ends


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## mrgins (Jan 19, 2009)

oh yeah, two ladders and a plank too


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## hyunelan2 (Aug 14, 2007)

After the miter saw (and jig - I built my own crown jig), the finish nailer is the most important tool, IMO. I have a cheap refurb Campbell-Hausfeld that does a fine job for crown. My smaller 3gal Craftsman compressor is not too big to lug around and powers the nailer just fine.

If you are never going to use a compressor or nailer again in life, rent them. If you are going to need to use it twice, buy it. Plus, then you aren't in a rush to finish the project and return the tool.


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

For what it's worth, I picked up a Stanley 18-gauge finish nailer & air compressor for $75 at Home Depot. 

It was a clearance deal & I figured I couldn't go wrong. Oddly enough, it has been amazingly perfect for certain jobs! The compressor is tiny and very easy to lug around. The nailer is actually (as you know) made by Bostich. 

So for the price of renting for a day, I own the tools.


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## Edgar214 (Jan 20, 2011)

Here is a site that demonstrates how to cut crown.

http://www.ehow.com/video_4417863_cut-inside-corner-miter-saw.html

Mike


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## NASCAR9 (Jun 17, 2009)

Buy this book: COMPOUNDMITER.COM

It will teach you how to use your saw, measure corners, and Spring Angle:thumbsup:


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## WirelessG (Mar 22, 2009)

Edgar214 said:


> Here is a site that demonstrates how to cut crown.
> 
> http://www.ehow.com/video_4417863_cut-inside-corner-miter-saw.html
> 
> Mike



That video shows you how to chop the crown with a compound cut. You don;t want to do this unless the crown is too big fro you to nest in the miter saw.


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

One set of tools that I find ABSOLUTELY indispensable for hanging crown are "Crown Molding Hangers".

I have a set of two adjustable plastic hangers that I paid $10 each for... and two sets of four non-adjustable plastic ones (total of 8) that I paid $8 for each set. (Both can be seen at the bottom of this post)

But, believe it or not, shown here is what I use most. These cost nothing, and I can easily bend them to snug molding up tight against the ceiling.

This is two shots of a simple piece of thick, stiff wire (I happened to have some around, but you can buy pieces at HO) that I cut and bent with a pair of lineman's pliers.

I have shown one just lying on the floor, and also up on the wall, hanging from the necessary nail. Please ignore the position of the nail. It really should be within about an inch of the ceiling... and it should have a big head (like a roofing nail) on it. You drive the nail 'almost' snug up against the wire... but my wife wouldn't let me drive any more nails in our walls. (This nail already happened to be there, so I used it to take the picture.)

After the crown is nailed in place at both ends you simply lift or tilt the wire off the nail, slip the wire out, and leave the nail permanently sitting in the wall behind the molding. It hurts nothing, and no one will ever know it's there.

ALSO..... another thing you will need to do is give yourself some sort of wooden backing into which to nail the molding. Some people will tell you to search for studs. Frankly, this is dumb... and not only time consuming, but VERY frustrating!

On regular size crown molding (about 3 1/2 to 4 inches) I simply buy bundles of firring strips and cut the whole bundle in half at 4' lengths. I use firring strips because they tend to hold nails better than some of the softer junk wood you can buy. I make my strips 4' long because you need to leave gaps between the ends of your strips to mount your "hanger" wire (or commercial ones if you want), and long 8' strips make that difficult.

I merely hold up a 4' piece of firring strip in the same running (lateral) position the crown will be nailed in, (one edge on the ceiling and one edge on the wall) and shoot 12 penny nails through the strip into the top plate of the wall behind. three or four nails per 4' strip. I can prep the average room this way in about five minutes, and I NEVER have to search for any nailing. If your walls are going to be painted later, it gets even easier... just, using a pencil (NEVER a pen or magic marker... it will bleed through the future paint job), make a mark down the wall at the ends of the strips so you will always know where the strips are, and where they are not.

Sometimes you cannot hit the top plate just right. In those incidents, you would be surprised at how well angling the big nails, first left, then right, will wedge themselves toward each other and hold the firring strip tight to the intersection of the wall and ceiling.

I use ADHESIVE CAULKING (Polyseamseal, I think) to caulk the edges after everything is in place, and it anchors the molding up there like a rock.


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## Edgar214 (Jan 20, 2011)

WirelessG said:


> That video shows you how to chop the crown with a compound cut. You don;t want to do this unless the crown is too big fro you to nest in the miter saw.


Not an expert, but I cut all my crown this way.
Mike


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

Nothing at all wrong with cutting your crown either way, flat or 'nested'. I just happen to find that 'nested' is quicker and easier since you dont have to constantly keep making both miter and bevel adjustments for walls that are a little off 90 degrees. With 'nested' you only have to move the miter adjustments since the bevel always remains at 'zero'.


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## mrgins (Jan 19, 2009)

Edgar214 said:


> Not an expert, but I cut all my crown this way.
> Mike


I used to but its much easier if it fits in the saw as WillieT said. It's also easier to adjust the cut a degree or two if the miter is off.
Willie, I like your hanger. I also cut angled blocks from 2x4s for more solid nailing, especially on the walls where the joists run parallel, but I just cut them in 6" lengths and nail them to the top plate every 16"


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## Edgar214 (Jan 20, 2011)

Willie T, GREAT idea about the fir strips and hangers?:thumbsup:
Thanks Mike


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## neight (Apr 28, 2010)

First off, don't use silicon, it's not paintable. Second, you don't need fancy jigs. When I first started putting up crown moulding I kept messing up the cuts from an outside corner to an inside corner. I made these templates to help me remember where the blade needed to be. Example, inside 1 to outside 2. i'd bring the templates with me and match them to the 45 I needed. Saved me from a lot of headaches. 

cheers!

nate



















P.S. Also helps in determining how off the walls are. You may need to adjust your angle.​


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## fungku (Jul 27, 2008)

Edgar214 said:


> Willie T, GREAT idea about the fir strips and hangers?:thumbsup:
> Thanks Mike


Lee Valley Tools has some handy crown hangers too.


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

neight said:


> First off, don't use silicon, it's not paintable. Second, you don't need fancy jigs. When I first started putting up crown moulding I kept messing up the cuts from an outside corner to an inside corner. I made these templates to help me remember where the blade needed to be. Example, inside 1 to outside 2. i'd bring the templates with me and match them to the 45 I needed. Saved me from a lot of headaches.
> 
> cheers!
> 
> nate


CLICK HERE to see a quick and easy way to remember which way the cuts are supposed to be made for any given corner.


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

Here's a very convenient way of making certain your crown is placed into position the same, each and every time.

It's a simply made jig that I ran across on www.finehomebuilding.com, I think.

Another cheap and easy tool that you may come to really depend upon.


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## fungku (Jul 27, 2008)

Willie T said:


> Here's a very convenient way of making certain your crown is placed into position the same, each and every time.
> 
> It's a simply made jig that I ran across on www.finehomebuilding.com, I think.
> 
> Another cheap and easy tool that you may come to really depend upon.


I'd like to try that one out.

:thumbup:


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## Edgar214 (Jan 20, 2011)

LOL I see all these really neat tools AFTER I've put up all my crown.
Mike


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

Often when you are coping an inside corner, it does not fit quite right. Wouldn't you like an easy way to determine just where the coped part is lacking enough depth? Or be able to really see what is happening inside that cope that is holding you off just a sixteenth of an inch or so?

Well, now you can.

With this jig (also from www.finehomebuilding.com) you can slide your coped workpiece (the tan one) up against the permanently installed piece of crown (the pink one) and look through the 'window' in the backside to see precisely what the problem is, and where to cut to fix it. (You can't tell any of this from just looking at the corner from the face of the molding.)

And do all this conveniently and comfortably right down on your work bench.

You will see a small piece of alignment stock nailed to the base of the jig in the two lower drawings. You need to have this installed. (I just left it out of the other views so you could see better how things work.)

Of course you would have to make both a righthand jig and a lefthand one.


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## Augie Dog (Oct 22, 2009)

I find this shop built fixture the easiest way to cut nested crown. I not only holds the crown at the same spring angle for every cut, it also provides a zero clearance kerf to line your mark up with. That little trick adds accuracy and speed like no other thing besides experience,


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

Augie Dog said:


> I find this shop built fixture the easiest way to cut nested crown. I not only holds the crown at the same spring angle for every cut, it also provides a zero clearance kerf to line your mark up with. That little trick adds accuracy and speed like no other thing besides experience,
> 
> View attachment 29309
> 
> ...


These are great jigs. However, for those of you with smaller (10") saws, be careful that the jig you construct is not so beefy that both it and the crown you intend to cut won't fit under the blade... or that the blade won't cut all the way through the molding when it's mounted in the jig.

It is very disappointing to finish a jig like that only to find that the blade is too small to complete a cut through the workpiece... or that the saw hits the jig before getting all the way through the cut.


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## algored2deth (Jan 7, 2011)

So lets recap all of the advice here into one reply:

If you intend on using any air tools for future projects then I would suggest you get yourself one.

Crown jigs: A jig is great, but do NOT buy the orange clear plastic 'see-through' model. It is made of very brittle plastic, and will snap the very first time you drop it on the floor. 

Rockler, (a very good company in my opinion) where I bought that jig, was great and replaced it immediately, 'no questions asked', but I now use it only with a short teather cord tied to my miter saw stand. 

The only jig I use is one the DeWalt puts out for their chop saws. It just screws onto the base plate of the saw so that your moulding is seated in the same place each time. I also use a round rasp to fine tune the back cut on the coped ends. 


Beer. Lots of beer.


Miter saw, coping saw, utility knife, scribe, and I prefer a non-air nailer(no hose to drag around). I also use a stud finder to locate studs for nailing the lower edge.

A round and a flat file also work to fine tune the cope. Sometimes sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. Some use a dremel type tool or some type of grinder.


Don't use silicone caulk unless you know it accepts paint well. Use an acrylic latex.

I use ADHESIVE CAULKING (Permaseal, I think) to caulk the edges after everything is in place, and it anchors the molding up there like a rock. 


two ladders and a plank too 

the finish nailer is the most important tool, IMO.


Buy this book: COMPOUNDMITER.COM

One set of tools that I find ABSOLUTELY indispensable for hanging crown are "Crown Molding Hangers". See various incarnations available.


First off, don't use silicon, it's not paintable. Second, you don't need fancy jigs. When I first started putting up crown moulding I kept messing up the cuts from an outside corner to an inside corner. I made these templates to help me remember where the blade needed to be. Example, inside 1 to outside 2. i'd bring the templates with me and match them to the 45 I needed. Saved me from a lot of headaches. First you need jigs, now you don't. It is a wonder than crown molding actually gets installed :- )


While I left off some of the more esoteric jig ideas, this is the basic summary of it all.

dennis


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## GB Greg (Oct 14, 2010)

One trick I use, especially in older homes with lathe/plaster walls, or if the walls and ceilings are bowed, rather than wrestle with keeping things tight against difficult surfaces and lack of nailing, I'll add base board to both the ceiling and wall. 

Basically, chalk a straight line from corner to corner on both the ceiling and wall. Nail the "top" edge of the base along the chalk line. This gives me a continuous edge to nail to if the walls are irregular or the crown itself is bowed or twisted. 

You can achieve the look of a bigger, more intricate crown moulding with less frustration and depending on the crown and base combination, it could be cheaper than a more decorative crown.

This has saved me many hours of dealing with plaster walls where finding studs could be difficult, not to mention, giving me the opportunity to put a nail where ever I need one.


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

GB Greg said:


> One trick I use, especially in older homes with lathe/plaster walls, or if the walls and ceilings are bowed, rather than wrestle with keeping things tight against difficult surfaces and lack of nailing, I'll add base board to both the ceiling and wall.
> 
> Basically, chalk a straight line from corner to corner on both the ceiling and wall. Nail the "top" edge of the base along the chalk line. This gives me a continuous edge to nail to if the walls are irregular or the crown itself is bowed or twisted.
> 
> ...


I have one question.

I can fully understand how you would be able to nail the wall-mounted baseboard to studs (although locating all of them is a bit of a pain in the rear). But how do you nail the ceiling-mounted baseboard to anything if the trusses/joists are running parallel to the crown?

Seldom, if ever, is there wide enough dead wood above to anchor that baseboard. As I see it, this leaves you nailing into only 5/8" drywall or some very hard plaster.

OK... 'two' questions.....


GB Greg said:


> This has saved me many hours of dealing with plaster walls where finding studs could be difficult


What do you end up nailing into if you cannot locate any studs as you mentioned?


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## GB Greg (Oct 14, 2010)

Willie T said:


> I have one question.
> 
> I can fully understand how you would be able to nail the wall-mounted baseboard to studs (although locating all of them is a bit of a pain in the rear). But how do you nail the ceiling-mounted baseboard to anything if the trusses/joists are running parallel to the crown?
> 
> Seldom, if ever, is there wide enough dead wood above to anchor that baseboard. As I see it, this leaves you nailing into only 5/8" drywall.


 
What's nice about using this base board trick is that you're covering a good portion of the base with the crown. Any number of different drywall anchors would work. I usually go with those white threaded anchors that you screw in to the drywall, then fasten with a screw. Something like this: http://www.lowes.com/pd_133873-1033...&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0__s?Ntt=drywall+anchor

I put them 2-4 feet apart depending on how flat the ceiling is and one where there are low spots. Once everything is nailed in place, it's rock solid.


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## unlvrebel (Jul 20, 2010)

Willie T said:


> I have one question.
> 
> I can fully understand how you would be able to nail the wall-mounted baseboard to studs (although locating all of them is a bit of a pain in the rear). But how do you nail the ceiling-mounted baseboard to anything if the trusses/joists are running parallel to the crown?
> 
> ...


One could also use construction adhesive and tack every two fet into the trusses.


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## mrgins (Jan 19, 2009)

GB Greg said:


> One trick I use, especially in older homes with lathe/plaster walls, or if the walls and ceilings are bowed, rather than wrestle with keeping things tight against difficult surfaces and lack of nailing, I'll add base board to both the ceiling and wall.
> 
> Basically, chalk a straight line from corner to corner on both the ceiling and wall. Nail the "top" edge of the base along the chalk line. This gives me a continuous edge to nail to if the walls are irregular or the crown itself is bowed or twisted.
> 
> ...


I've never done that myself, I like to install crown moulding the way it's originally designed to be, but just some food for thought: why not prebuild your L-shape out of 1x? If you prebuilt it, the ceiling part of the L would be nailed down to the wall part and would be supported by it. On the parallel-to-the-joist runs, you could use some adhesive and then toe nail to the drywall till it set. Then you could add a moulding to the edge of the 1x that would conform to the wall/ceiling. Then you would install the crown with lots of backing where ever you needed it and with less caulking. It's an extra step, but would work on the really bad surfaces. Any thoughts?


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