Decorative relief on architecture takes many forms, including crown molding.
You can remodel room walls with built-up molding tailored to the overall atmosphere you are trying to create and the requirements of the space. Tall ceilings or large rooms can carry more than just a simple strip of molding at the top of a wall. Avoid the cost of custom built-up molding and get exactly the look you want by piecing together less expensive molding yourself.
Instructions
1. Use the shape, purpose, and lighting of your room to select sharper or gentler angles for complementary molding.
Measure your perimeters and select the crown molding and baseboards you'll be using. Allow for error by purchasing a foot or more of extra material per wall. Try to match the contours and bulk of the molding to the lighting and the space of your room. Clear edges of the room so walls are accessible. Select the most easily and frequently viewed section of your room and begin work at that point, working around so that imperfect joins can be hidden in darker or covered areas. Place samples against the ceiling to double check your choices. Locate and mark wall studs and ceiling joists.
2. If you're more comfortable with a handsaw than a miter saw, consider new composite products.
Lay out and measure the baseboards, one length resting against the ceiling and one on the wall under it. Use a miter saw, following the manufacturer's instructions, to cut your boards at a 45-degree angle where they meet in corners or where lengths need to be pieced together. Use wood glue and/or a nailed scarf joint cut to fall on a stud where appropriate. Complicated turns may require different miter cuts and some carpentry experience or advice. Glue the baseboards to the ceiling with construction adhesive and then follow up with nails into the joists. Then nail the second set of baseboards against the walls into the studs.
3. If required by the molding, use blocks at each stud to support the space behind the crown molding. Glue and nail the blocks into place against the corner. Miter cut the crown molding, making sure to adjust for a compound cut, then place and nail the molding into the blocks and each baseboard.
4. Make sure your caulk will take paint.
Spackle over the nails and then sandpaper these spots smooth. Brush away any sandpaper dust. Use caulk along the seams and in any gaps from joining pieces at cuts or corners. Dip a finger in water and smooth the caulk into the gap and clear up any excess. Sand down any projecting caulk after it dries and paint your new molding.
5. If your room is spacious enough or your home fits a Victorian look, consider adding baseboards to complement the molding and wainscoting to accent the dining area.
Tags: crown molding, your room, against ceiling, blocks each, built-up molding, room walls