One of the most noticeable and attractive upgrades you can give your home and increase its value is to install crown molding. You typically won’t lose money by doing this, and it can be a big selling point if you put your home on the market.

According to the National Association of HomeBuilders (NAHB), crown molding is the third most desirable feature buyers seek in a new home. Over 60% of buyers stated a preference for crown molding when house-hunting.
The benefits for homesellers are increased interest and faster sales. “Crown moldings” is one of the top buzzwords in real estate listings. It conveys a sense of luxury, timelessness, and taste.

Realtors and interior designers agree that crown molding adds an intangible elegance that people value. People view their homes as reflections of themselves, so appealing to their best image is a smart marketing strategy.

A Step-by-Step Approach to Installing Crown Molding

Crown molding trim runs at the top of the wall and touches the ceiling. You nail the boards directly into existing wall studs and ceiling joists. The best tool to turn to for a project like this is an oscillating power tool. Then, you can just seek out the additional pieces or accessories you may need to complete installing the moldings.

Find Your Studs and Joists

Wall studs are typically 16 inches apart. You can purchase a stud finder that can sense the support beam behind the wall surface. Once you find one stud, simply measure to locate the next.

Ceiling joists span the width of your ceiling. They can be 16 to 24 inches apart. This means that two walls will have regularly spaced joists to nail into. On the remaining two, the ones that run parallel to the joists, you should secure the molding with liquid nails or put a few extra nails into the wall studs.

Preparing Your Crown Molding

Alway paint or stain your crown molding before installation so you don’t have to worry about taping off the walls and ceiling later. Pre-painting makes the overall finishing process much easier and faster.
If you plan on painting rather than staining, a variety of manufacturers carry pre-primed molding which can help you save a step.

Using a Miter Saw

When installing crown molding, you will have inside corners or, in some cases, outside corners. These corners meet at a 45 degree angle. In order to accurately cut at an angle, you need to use a miter saw.
The easiest way to cut the angle is to position the trim upside down to get the proper direction of the angle. If you haven’t used a miter saw before, practice the cut on scrap wood to understand the proper course before using your nice trim!

If you don’t plan on re-doing too much angle cutting, you can easily rent a miter saw from most major home improvement stores.

Keeping A Smooth Look

Crown molding typically comes in 16-foot lengths. If your wall is longer than that, you will have a seam between two pieces of trim. You can simply attach the second piece of trim at the end of the first, known as a “butt joint,” but it can look amateurish. Even worse, molding can shrink, creating an unattractive gap.
The more effective way of joining the two pieces of trim is with a “scarf joint.” Using your miter saw, create two opposing 45 degree angles on the end of each piece of trim. When you match them up on the wall, you will create a seamless joint that will not show a gap.

Inside Corner Finishing

For inside corners, you can simply cut two 45 degree angles and nail them in place. However, if your corner isn’t a near-perfect 90 degrees, you might have to play around with the trim to get a proper angle. Again, if you’re unsure how to proceed, test with scrap wood.

An alternative method, though a bit more involved, is to cope the corner. Start by nailing one piece of trim onto the wall and butting it right into the corner without an angle cut. Next, take the piece of trim for the other wall and lay it flat on your table, floor, or sawhorse.

Place a scrap piece of trim on the end of the existing wall trim, standing it up at a 90-degree angle with the decorative side of each trim piece facing each other. Carefully trace the contour of the scrap trim onto the face of the wall trim. Using a coping saw, cut along the tracing.

Done correctly, this coped end should fit snugly against the already installed trim on the wall. Keep in mind that you might have to do a bit of sanding on the coped end to make a perfect fit.

Adjusting Outside Corners

Ideally, all corners should be 90-degree angles, although they are often off a bit. To get a perfect angle on an outside corner, you will (once again) need to play around with some scrap wood to get the best results.
Take two pieces of scrap wood of the same width. Slide one piece up to the ceiling on one side of the outside corner extending out at least a few inches. Place the second piece of scrap on the opposite side of the corner and slide it up against the first piece.

With a pencil, draw a line along both sides of the top piece where it rests on the second piece. Next, connect those two lines by drawing a diagonal line from the top of one line to the bottom of the other.
Believe it or not, you’ve just found your angle–it’s that easy! Place the scrap on your miter saw and adjust the angle until it matches that of the diagonal. As always, test first with scrap wood and adjust as necessary before making your final cut on the trim.

A Guide to DIY Crown Molding Installation to Improve the Home’s Value by Anita Franco