Crown Molding Buying Guide:

Crown molding is the perfect way to add elegance and style to many of the rooms in your house or condo. I know several friends who have taken on the project themselves in a do it yourself (DIY) manner. You need to be somewhat proficient with a miter saw or coping saw in order to do the installation correctly. There are newer, inexpensive crown molding products that use corner blocks to eliminate many of the tedious angle cuts required with the installation of crown molding. The hardest part of putting up crown molding is the intricate cutting that is necessary for the corners. There are several websites with easy crown molding installation tips which we will go into further down below. Keep in mind that there are really no simple crown molding products that go up in minutes. It will take some time to measure all the areas in your rooms where the walls meet the ceilings.

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Crown molding is usually made with plaster or wooden trim. There are cheaper crown molding available that are made with foam (styrofoam) or plastic. If you go to your local Home Depot or Lowes home improvement stores you should find a nice variety of crown moldings made with different wood types (oak, cherry, etc). Crown molding is actually pretty cheap to buy, but it's the labor intensive installation that could break your budget if you are doing a large room or area of your house. You will find most crown molding products sold in 38 degree or 45 degree formats. For people with vaulted or cathedral ceilings, you may want to consider using a crown molding software program like Perfectcuts.com which will give you specific compound miter angle cuts based on information you supply. If you want the professional look of crown molding without all the work, then take a look at Easycrownmolding.com. This product requires no nailing and no mitre saw cuts whatsoever. You literally peel and stick the crown molding to your walls where they meet your ceiling. The kit comes with 16 pre-mitered pieces of the self-adhesive boards giving you the instant crown molding you always wished you had. The only drawback is that it doesn't work well on textured ceilings but for a quick solution without all the miter cuts, give it a try. Crown molding comes in 3 general styles - exterior, traditional, or decorative. The traditional molding includes unfinished solid wood molding, medium density fiberboard molding (MDF crown molding), and prefinished molding. Decorative moldings include architectural moldings, decorative hardwood moldings, and veneer hardwood moldings. Many homeowners go with the prefinished molding since it comes ready to install with the finish already applied.

Cutting and Installing Crown Molding:

The most time consuming part of installing authentic crown molding in your house are all the miter cuts necessary on the angles around the corners of your rooms. You'll need exact measurements to get things right the first time. We read an expression online that really hit home, it said "measure twice, cut once". The most common mistake amongst DIY homeowners on projects of this nature is that they don't measure correctly or cut the boards improperly creating a real hassle. There are dozens of websites designed to help guide you through the process of crown molding cuts to the actual installation of your crown molding. One of the most popular is that of Bob Vila and the show This Old House. You can visit their section on crown molding HERE. The video on the page will really give you the tips and pointers it takes to make the most important cuts like a mitered return, mitered outside corner, coped inside corner, and scarf joint. If you are better with written directions that take you step by step through the process, go ahead and print out the instructions on the page listed above. For a technical website with photos and directions on installing crown moldling, visit Installcrown.com.

Inexpensive Crown Molding:

Certain types of crown molding can be expensive and the time involved to make all the cuts for the angles can be daunting. The latest solution is to use foam (styrofoam) crown molding, or faux wood. These types of crown molding require no power tools, nails, saws, or miter cuts. Visit a website like Simplecrown.com to see the varieties available and see just how easy these are to install. I have seen a few of the inexpensive crown moldings in a showroom versus the more expensive types and it's very hard to tell them apart without actually touching them. You will be limited on some of the finishes you can put on the dense styrofoam moldings - manufacturers say to stay away from oil based paints and solvents.

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