Crown molding

Old molding removed. Gap exposed

Our goal is to complete three rooms before we move in, the living room, dining room, and "master" bedroom. Each present their own challenges. For the dining and living rooms, it was primarily the painting and molding. The molding along the floor was fine, natural wood work and in pretty good shape, Along the ceiling though, not so great. At some time in the past, the original ceiling was repaired with a second ceiling installed below leaving a nasty gap at the wall. This was solved by placing cove and quarter round molding over the gap. While this solved the problem of the gap, it didn't look all that nice so me and my big mouth mentioned that Crown molding was the way to go. One lesson that I have not learned in 30 years of marriage is that is often a good idea to keep such thoughts to myself. There was no getting around it, I was putting up Crown molding.

How do you get 16' lengths of molding home in a truck with a
 6' bed? Very carefully.

The first hurdle was getting the damn stuff home. Home Depot sells it in 16' lengths making transport difficult. Luckily, my brother-in-law Randy has generously loaned us his compact pickup which made the transport feasible, if not tricky. Good news is that his Ford Ranger has a club cab and pass thru window!

Equipment set up.

Showing the angle of the molding . We later removed that
section and went with a single length. 

A much larger hurdle was the actual installation of the molding. I've dabbled in molding from time to time and have a cheap miter box but this was well beyond my skill and tool set. One of the best things about being a volunteer firefighter is that you meet people with all kinds of skills. One I've met and known for years is John Kolly, a professional carpenter, retired after 30 years with New York State. John had the tools and skills needed.

Even so, the job turned out to be quite tricky. After carefully measuring the angles, we learned that we had to adjust the measured angles to account for the fact that the Crown molding "leans" away from the wall at about 30 degrees. This led to multiple experimental cuts to set up a guide set of inside and outside angles. Then, there was the odd open angle above the fire place which sits across one corner of the living room.

John at work

Calculating the amount of molding was tricky. Generally the rule is to measure the size of the rooms, and add 10% for slop. That's what I did and it would have worked, but we made a minor mistake with one piece, and the fact that we wanted the longest spans possible sent me back to Home Depot for one more length.

An added difficulty was the solid masonry walls on the exterior of the house. No wall board or lathe, just plaster over block. This made to difficult to drive nails into much of the base of the molding. Very glad John had an air powered nail gun.

Finished product.

I selected a pre-finished molding that did not require painting. A great choice as long as you want a semi-gloss white, which we did. It eliminated the messy, clumsy, and lengthy process of painting the molding, waiting it for it to dry. Not pleasant with nine 16' sections.

Then, when you think you are done, you're not. The entire thing, top and bottom, seams and nail holes, must be caulked. John again came through, more patient and careful than I. The manufacturer of the molding makes a caulk that perfectly matched the paint which again made it very easy.

Outside corner

Now that it's done both Cindy and I are thrilled. It's easily the best and most dramatic improvement to our home that we have accomplished so far. It really adds a touch of class and refinement. Unfortunately, I failed to learn my lesson and thought out loud about adding crown molding to some of the other rooms of the house. This will only be possible if John continues to answer his phone.

So my advice to other home owners? If you want to try this, go ahead. Just make sure you have a talented friend to help. Also, keep your thoughts to yourself unless you are sure you are ready to take it on.