A quick and dirty crown molding installation tip
Jonathan Alcantar shows how to close in on the angle you need and how to measure the right length. He also offers this advice: "If you don't own an angle finder, do yourself a favor and get one."
- Slide angle finder into the angle between ceiling planes. Place the hinge into the corner and then slide the legs out to rest against the ceiling planes.
- Tighten the angle-finder to the desired angle
In the example in the video, the angle is 30.5 degrees, so that number is split in half, to about 15 degrees for each piece of molding.
- Use a pencil to mark the 'drop' on the wall—the amount of space the crown extends down from the ceiling. Mark this on the wall for each ceiling surface to find the intersection.
- Cut two sample pieces with 15-degree miter cuts to test-drive the joint. Place the bottoms of the samples on the pencil lines and adjust the pieces for a tightfitting joint.
- When the joint is good, hold the left piece in place, remove the right one, grab a pencil with your right hand—without moving that left piece.
- Mark the bottom corner of the left piece.
- This mark establishes the placement of the left and is also an accurate line to measure to.
—Richard McMurray, of dfw Crown Molding, is new to ProTradeCraft but has a good pile of videos on YouTube. Look for the best ones to be highlighted here in the coming weeks, months, and years.
