Part of our Christmas present to each other was to add crown moulding to our living and dining room. We had been wanting to do this for a while and knew we could save a lot of money by doing it ourselves. We did a lot of online researching, but found them to be somewhat incomplete. In sharing our mistakes, I hope that some of you might avoid some along the way. The job is best done by two people. It’s not easy, but it gets easier as you go along.

Before you get started

• Do your research! We asked my dad, who had done it before, and also looked online for guides and videos. Maybe check out a book from the library.
• It’s a two person job.
• Be patient. It takes some trial and error to figure it out and you should expect some bumps.
• We found it better to paint the moulding once it was on the wall, but some prefer to paint it beforehand and do touch-ups later.
• The first room took us several hours to complete, while the second (smaller) room took us about four hours from start to finish. It can be a weekend project, but for first-timers, allow yourself plenty of time.

Gather your tools

Here’s a list of tools we used for the project. Thankfully, we were able to borrow the majority of them from my dad. I’ll note here that some of these tools, namely the compound mitre saw, is not a toy. Please be extremely careful. As my dad warned us, the saw can’t tell the difference between a piece of wood and your finger.

• Tape measure
• Sliding T-Bevel
• Carpenters Square (optional)
• Stud finder
• Painter’s tape (I recommend Frog Tape; it’s worth the extra cost!)
• White caulk (we liked DAP ALEX)
• Caulking gun with a release
• Compound mitre saw
• Sandpaper
• Brad nail gun and air compressor (there are other types that don’t require the air compressor)
• Putty
• White paint and paint brushes
• Primed pieces of moulding

Measure your rooms and find your studs

Here's a T-Bevel out of the package and used against the wall. When measuring a corner, make sure both sides are flush against each wall and carefully tighten. Then place over a protractor to see the angle of the corner.

Grab a tape measure and measure the length of the walls. Crown moulding typically comes in 8 and 12 foot lengths, so decide which length would work for you. It’s always good to buy an extra piece, if you can. It’s also a good time to measure the angles of the room. Don’t expect the corners to be 90 degrees. In our living room, they were all over 90 degrees (strangely enough). In the dining room, two of the angles were more than 90 degrees and one was slightly less and the other was 90. To do this, grab your sliding T-bevel and fit it to the angle of the wall. Tighten it to hold that angle and place it over a protractor (we printed one from online) to find the angle.

You'll see the blue tape we used to mark off the wall studs. This is where you'll nail into the crown moulding to provide it a sturdy anchor. Matt then measured three inches from the top of the wall, as it is where the bottom of the crown moulding should sit. Doing this ensures a good fit.

The second piece of prep work will include finding the studs, as they will hold the brad nails more securely. Using the stud finder, place painters tape on the wall and ceiling, and mark the width of the stud with a pencil. You’ll need to know how long and wide the moulding will be so that you won’t secure the moulding over the tape.

Make your cuts

We had initially thought (before measuring the angles) that we would just cut the moulding at 45 degrees, both for the angle and the bevel cuts. This didn’t work and had us ripping a piece of installed moulding out, which then broke in  half. (Conveniently, however, it gave us scraps for us to try the trial-and-error method.) Our compound mitre saw had markings for where to cut crown moulding, which happened to work for us most of the time. We also looked on the moulding manufacturer’s website for an angle chart for the type we bought.

Once you have determined the correct cuts, have someone help you secure them to the wall with the brad nailer using those stud guides.

Splicing & Corner Gaps

In addition to getting the corners right, you’ll likely need to join pieces together by splicing them. Use an angled cut to splice as it goes together more seamlessly. As your home shifts, a straight splice will show movements and gap more than an angled one.

Corner gaps are pretty much unavoidable. Of all the eight corners we did, this one below was the worst. You can mask it pretty well with a decent amount of caulk. You can see in the picture below the same corner.

This was the worst corner gap that we saw. Fill these with caulk, or a combo of putty first and then caulk, and good-bye gap!

Tape, putty, caulk and sand

Once the moulding is installed, you’ll want to prep it to be painted. Tape above and below the moulding and press down the tape hard so you can avoid bleeding paint. Using your finger, take a small dab of putty to fill in the holes from the brad nail, and any gaps in the corners or splices.

Grab your caulk and place it in the gun. Using scissors, make the smallest cut possible to the tip of the caulk so you won’t use too much. Slowly and with even pressure, apply caulk to the top and bottom of the moulding, where it meets the wall and ceiling. Quickly, move your finger along the caulk as you go to smooth and spread out the material. The caulking can also be used to fill in any gaps.

NOTE: You'll see that there's no tape at this point. We made the mistake of not caulking with taping the edges. This leads to touching up the bottom part of the wall as well as painting the crown. So tape first!

After caulking a two-foot section, smooth it down with your finger. Try not to put too much, because you can always put more.

Once the putty and caulk are dry, grab the sandpaper and run it over any rough patches to ensure a clean paint job. Remember, paint can’t fill in holes like putty and caulk can, so don’t expect to make up for anything with paint.

Paint and remove tape

If your moulding is primed, you’ll likely just need to apply one coat of white paint. Remember to use long strokes for a smoother finish. One new trick that we learned is to remove the tape just a few minutes after painting.

Admire a job well done and money well saved

We were able to save money by borrowing tools, using gift cards and coupons, and doing our research to avoid buying excess materials. Plus, doing it ourselves was fun and we saved a ton of money. We installed about 100 feet of moulding and it cost us about $60 after our savings. A professional in our area charges $10 per linear foot, which would mean our project would have cost us $1,000 including materials. Not too shabby, right?! I’d like to think that our improvement will add value to our home, too.

I hope this helps!