Installing crown moulding on your interior walls or cabinets can add flair that truly beautifies your home. Thankfully, it’s easier than you think! Read on to channel your inner DIY and learn how to install crown moulding by yourself.
Putting up crown moulding is a great way to add elegance and architectural character to your home, adding class to cabinets, creating a visual separation between walls and ceilings, and concealing unsightly cracks or blemishes. Crown moulding comes in a variety of materials and designs to suit every taste.
Ready to install crown moulding? Here’s what you’ll need:
Moulding pieces of your choice
- Ladder
- Goggles
- Protective gloves
- Miter saw
- Chalk or a pencil
- Bubble level
- Tape measure
- Adhesive and sealant
- Scraper
- Masking tape
- Paint/varnish
- Paintbrush
Installing crown moulding in your home adds depth and contrast to every room – not to mention adding value to your property. Here’s how to hang crown moulding:
- Decide whether you want to paint your crown moulding before or after installation. This often depends on whether you think you might have a difficult time reaching all areas of the crown moulding after installation (in which case, always paint the pieces before hanging them).
- Create a template and mark the walls with chalk or pencil before installing crown moulding.
- Carefully measure the crown moulding and cut the pieces using a miter saw for precision.
- Pre-join corner pieces of the crown moulding with a high-quality adhesive for a long-lasting, nail-free bond and allow to cure.
- Paint and varnish the crown moulding pieces (if you decide) allowing sufficient time to dry.
- Install the crown moulding by applying adhesive to the moulding or wall and pressing the moulding into place. Once the adhesive has taken, repeat the process until the room is complete.
Nothing gives a cabinet a more tasteful facelift than some classy crown moulding! Here’s how to install crown moulding on kitchen cabinets yourself:
- Create a template to help you figure out how to affix the crown moulding to your cabinet. Transferring the measurements directly from the cabinet is the best course of action as you can see exactly where you need to cut the crown moulding to ensure the angles line up correctly on the cabinet.
- Cut the crown moulding pieces using a miter saw to make sure the joints will have an appropriate angle.
- Position the crown moulding pieces on the cabinet using masking tape to hold them into place.
- Using a high-quality adhesive, glue the first piece of crown moulding to the cabinet. Then, affix an adjoining piece and repeat until all crown moulding pieces are in place.
With the right know-how, repairing cracks, gaps and dents on crown moulding is simple. Here are three tips on how to repair broken crown moulding:
- Fill gaps and cracks between the crown moulding and ceiling using a high-quality, gap-filling, paintable sealant. Simply spread the sealant along the gap and smooth over, removing any excess adhesive according to product instructions. Make sure you allow the sealant to fully cure before painting over.
- Fill gaps and cracks between or within crown moulding pieces by using a high-quality, gap-filling adhesive. Follow the same process as above, applying the appropriate spackle as necessary. If you do apply spackle, be sure to use sandpaper to even out the surface before painting over any changes.
- Repair stained or flawed crown moulding by painting over it. A fresh coat of paint is a great way to hide imperfections in crown moulding!
And finally, know when to cut your losses. If the crown moulding is heavily damaged, it might be time to replace it.
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