How to Nail a Crown Moulding
According to Wayne Drake in his book, "Crown Molding & Trim, Install it Like a Pro," the most common mistake when installing crown moulding is nailing the moulding too low or too high on the wall and having a gap in the joint at the corner. He suggests that to avoid this problem, you should use a short piece of the crown to mark a line as a guide for placing the moulding at each corner. Using a nail gun will make the job go quicker than using a hammer. Nailing crown moulding can be intimidating. If you test fit and take the time to mark where the crown should go, you'll avoid the most common pitfalls. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Hand saw or power miter saw
- 6-inch to 12-inch scrap crown moulding
- Ladder
- Pencil
- Nail gun
- Finishing nails
- Stud finder
- Nail set
- Caulk
Instructions
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1
Cut a short 6-inch to 12-inch piece of crown moulding using a hand saw or your power miter saw. Do not miter either end of this piece. This is your guide for fitting the crown.
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2
Hold the bottom of the guide against the wall at one of the corners and slide it up until the top of the piece touches the ceiling.
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3
Draw a pencil line along the wall at the bottom of the guide.
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4
Repeat steps 2 and 3 at each corner and at the location of each stud along the wall. Use the stud finder to locate the studs. To use the stud finder, place it flat against the wall. Press the buttons on its sides and slowly move it across the wall until the lights indicate that you have found a stud.
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5
Starting with the longest wall, test fit the crown moulding by holding it in place at the ceiling. If the length is correct, the bottom edge of the crown will run from corner to corner at the ceiling. If the piece is too long, trim or sand the edges and test fit it again.
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6
Hold the crown firmly in place with the bottom of the crown on your pencil mark.
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7
Use the nail gun to nail the crown at a corner. Position the nail about halfway between the top and bottom of the moulding. Apply firm pressure upward on the crown before you pull the trigger. For crown larger than 4 inches, use two nails at each location. Place them each about 1/3 away from the top and bottom edges of the crown.
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8
Nail crown at each stud along the wall.
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9
Nail crown at corner. Make sure bottom of crown is on your pencil mark.
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10
Repeat for each wall. Make sure you have good alignment of your miters at the corners.
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11
Use your nail set as needed to set any nails that are above the moulding surface. This can happen if you don't apply enough pressure to the nail gun.
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12
Run a bead of caulk along the top and bottom edges of the crown.
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13
Cover your nail holes with caulk. Once the caulk dries, use paint to touch up the nail holes.
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1
Tips & Warnings
It helps to have two people, one to hold each end of the crown moulding as you nail it in place.
Before beginning, test the nailing depth setting of your nail gun. You want the nails to be set about 1/16 inch below the moulding surface.
Make sure to hold the tip of the gun firmly against the wall. Otherwise, the nail may not go in deep enough.
Use a nail gun with a soft tip to avoid denting the crown moulding.
For very large crown, use nailing blocks at every other wall stud.
Always use caution when working with power tools.
You may need to drill pilot holes when nailing close to a corner to avoid splitting the wood.
