American new-home buyers have been conditioned to settle for the stripped-down model of Home, Sweet Home—houses lacking in crafted detail, missing, among other things, the gracious moldings that bring a timeless sophistication to any room. Primary among these is crown molding. The good news: Crown molding can be added without a big bill from the lumberyard or clouds of drywall dust.
Installing crown molding, however, is a task that strikes fear in the heart of every amateur carpenter—and even some pros. Because it sits at an angle on the wall, each joint is made of compound angles. Getting it right requires a lot of patience, an aptitude for spatial relations, and a few tricks from an experienced pro.
There are some basic rules for installing crown molding that you can pick up anywhere, but the best way to master them is to watch a pro. When we asked Tom Silva to show us how he puts up crown, his 40 years of experience became evident right away. For one thing, he seldom picks up a tape measure, marking his cuts in place whenever possible. "Measuring leaves you open to miscalculations," he says.
He also doesn't lay the molding flat to cut it. Cutting crown flat, though it might seem easier, requires a saw that lets you tilt the blade (for the bevel) and rotate it (for the miter angle). You also need a set of tables to know the correct angles for the cuts.
Instead, Tom uses a simple power miter saw and arranges the material so it sits against the saw fence at the same angle it will be nailed to the wall.
Although the molding has to be upside down in this method, a simple downward cut of the blade set at 45 degrees produces the perfect bevel and miter at once, as you'll see
1. Create a guide fence
Place a piece of your molding at an angle upside down on the miter saw table so that the narrower bevel on the back of the molding rests on the saw table — this is actually the top of the molding, which will contact the ceiling when in place. The wider bevel (actually the "wall" part of the molding) will be against the saw's vertical fence. Secure with clamps.
Cut a piece of plywood or solid stock 30 inches long for a fence.
Apply hot glue to the saw table on either side of its rotating center, and press the fence in place against the clamped molding. Hold it in place until the glue sets. Then remove the crown and cut away the center section of the fence at 45 degrees in each direction.
2. Make the first scarf cut
When two lengths of molding are required for a long wall, join them with an angled, overlapping scarf joint.
If you're working counterclockwise around the room, adjust the saw for a 45-degree miter cut to the left. (Swing it to the right if you're going clockwise.) Then put the crown, upside down as before, on the saw table between the wood guide fence and the vertical saw fence. Make sure the piece you're keeping is on the side to which the blade is turned.
Hold the molding securely, then cut through it slowly.
Leave the blade in the same position, and cut the adjoining length of molding with the piece you're keeping on the other side of the blade.
