Things to Consider before taking on a Crown Molding Project at Home.

Crown Molding is a beautiful upgrade that just about any handy homeowner can manage.  The transforming affect that crown molding offers to a room is something that you will appreciate every time you step through the front door.  Crown will soften a boxy room and bring a touch of class to your unique style.  With all the positive attributes to crown, there are some hurdles that the inexperienced DIY'er needs to be aware of before venturing out into the crown molding aisle. 

First of all, you have to get the molding home.  Finger-joint pine and MDF moldings come in 16 foot lengths.  That definitely won't fit in the Honda or even a minivan!  If you do have a way to transport 16 foot boards keep in mind that mdf will weigh about twice what the pine will, and holding that above your head while trying to nail into the wall can be a daunting task.  Polyurethane crown moldings come in much more manageable 8 foot sections but still weight as much as mdf.  Foam moldings come in 6.5 foot sections and are so light that installing is just plain easy.

Tools, tools, tools!  Installing wood, MDF and PU crown requires a plethora of tools.  If you are trying to build up your wood working garage then grab that credit card head to Home Depot!  If you just want crown molding in your dining room and don't want to be the next Bob Villa, then consider EPS foam moldings.  Installation is done with caulking, so no nails, no need to find studs, no need to put up a backer board, no cracks in the plaster, no nails penetrating plumbing and wiring, no easier method to installing crown.  If you can place a section in a miter box and cut through it with a hack saw, you can install foam moldings.  The beauty is that once it is up and painted you have not given up anything over wood moldings.  Actually you will save a boat load of time and money.

Corners.  Face it they are a pain in the neck!  If you don't have to cut corner, don't,  With wood products and PU, the corners have to be cut on-site.  Most home construction is not done in perfect angles.  Corners are usually off by a few degrees and that needs to be addressed during install.  This is also the case with foam moldings but the difference is that foam is a forgiving material so removing a little material form the corner is an option when the corner is not perfect.  Foam moldings come with precut corners and with a little forgiveness in the material, some fudging by the installer and a little caulking in the seam, it is not hard to get a perfect corner every time

Foam Crown Molding

Painting Crown can be almost as hard as installing it.  Fortunately just about everything comes pre-primed or paint ready.  MDF is usually comes with a coat of primer.  Painting is done after install because nails tend to leave holes that need to be filled with puddy and sanded.  Polyurethane comes with no primer and needs paint but also has to be painted after install because of nailing.  Keep in mind that PU is extremely smooth and either needs some primer or some sanding to get the paint to stick.  Not an easy paint project.  EPS foam comes paint ready and is bright white.  You can paint after install or before.  No nail holes to contend with just corners and seams.

Seams are the one thing with PU and Foam that people worry about.  MDF and its 18 foot lengths facilitate fewer seams but create a colossal amount of waste.  Seaming with PU is a fomidable task and currently there is no product out there made for seams on polyurethand.  Seams with EPS foam is rather basic.  If for some reason you do have a seam that is noticeable after install and painting then a little dab of nail hole filler or dry wall Spackle (not the lightweight stuff) and some sanding will make that seam disappear.  Sand with some 400 grit and repeat if necessary to hide.  Foam doesn't expand or contract so once that seam or corner is fixed it is fixed for good.

This seams like a lot of information for such a simple project but it is good to know the facts.  A typical customer install of foam crown takes about 2 hours.  According to Home Depot, MDF crown molding is one of their biggest return items.  To drive to the hardware store, purchase MDF take it home and then return it back to the hardware store, wait in line for your refund and go back home, takes about 2 hours.  I tell you what, order EPS crown online at www.SoSimpleCrown.com, they will ship it to your door with pre-cut corners, and the time it takes you to go to Home Depot and back, twice, your crown molding project will be done!    Now you can enjoy your weekend and your cozy home!