*
Ive been told that the way to cut crown is upside down and backwards. Im coming up on a job; obviously i have not fooled with crown before. Can anyone tell me what everyone means when they say “upside down and backwards”. One more thing, is there a formula to estimate the cost of running this stuff (3 5/8 crown).
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Replies
*
Hi Robert - I suggest that you search the Breaktime Archives for more on this. I think there are even some posts on costs, which are somewhat dependent on how square and plumb the walls are and how experienced you are with coping, which for beginners can take some time. There are some good past articles in FHB, too. "Upside down and backwards" refers to the placement of crown in a mitre box when crown stops are used - the crown is upside down to the front of the saw when making a simple mitre cut.
However, some people use a compound mitre saw and cut the crown
i flat
on the table, using a conversion chart to get the right angle (there are some general rules of thumb based on standard crown profile angles).
Jeff
*Robert,Upside down is exactly as it sounds. When you place it on your mitre box to cut, you put what will be the top, that is what butts to the ceiling on the bed of the saw. Which puts the bottom, or what butts to the wall, against the fence. You do this as opposed to trying to line it up sqare to the blade in any other way. If you were to try and lay it on the saw, in the same way as you install it, right-side-up, it would wobble and not make accurate cuts. Also that can be dangerous, as you have no support holding the top of it. If you have a mitre box with a fence shorter than the crown is, you'll have to make taller fence and attach to to the factory one.Have fun, doing crown the first time is an experience. Don't plan on making a bunch of money the first time out, unless you can charge by the hour and get paid for the practice..Steven
*I charge 1.50 a running foot per piece on a normal 8' wall. Once you figure out how to cut your piece you still have to back-cut the hell out of it to get a clean fit. You'll find this out when you try to fit the pieces together. Practice on a four foot or so piece until you get it right. Forget speed, just do it until the match is good. Crowns tough, especially if you run it alone.
*Robert, I think the trick to running simple crown molding is not to think to hard about cutting, Just place it in you miter saw "upside down and backward" set at 45 deg. and cut. Buy some smaller profile stuff (even MDF) and play with it. You may save wasting the real material
*I would quote a crown mould job time and material.Oak,cherry,hemlock,mdf,mdf light,fingerjoint primed,caulk,paint,stain,too many variables.As for cutting,I cut it the way it is going to be installed.You can hold the crown to the fence with a speed square to maintain the 45 degree angle,or better yet make a wood fence with triangular pieces screwed to the fence for the crown to rest against. A 12" compound mitre saw is the best tool for the job.Figure one day per room and you should make some money.
*>Figure one day per room and you should make some money.In which case the house I'm working on now should take, let me see, 47 years. A day per room? He's not making money, he's saving money because he's not paying you to do a room a day.
*Wow...My first crown job was made of three pieces...Had to do two large rooms...I did it in a easy day....including furniture moving...being careful with dust...cutting outside....and on and on...figure five minutes per piece up to 15 minutes if ya got an anchor to drag....include set up, breakdown time...and the other usual non productivesnear the stream,aj
*are you doing it alone? if so, a hint on holding the long crown at far end as you go. put a small finish nail in the wall just above the bottom line of the crown. you can rest the other end of the crown on this while you nail off the end close to you. as you get farther down line, remove the nail and finish nailing off the peice. since it is your first time, i would hand tack the peices in , leaving enough nail to grab and pull out , in case of fitment problems. if satisfied with fit, nail off with nail gun if you have one. the gun causes lot less movement of crown, is faster and lessens chance of damaging crown if you miss! by the way, if you are painting the trim, it is a lot more forgiving than if it is stained. just take your time and practice first.
*Shg-I'm not talking new construction.I'm talking about a home with furniture that has to be moved and covered,dust protection,hardwood floors that have to be covered,loading and unloading tools,pick up and unload trim,setup-cut station,cut crown hold sticks for one man operation,caulk 3 lines for two piece crown in two rooms,clean up haul and dump.Anybody can slam it up in new constuction.
*Wow, anyone can slam crown up? There's something I didn't know. I know trim carpenters that have had trouble with crown in new construction. I guess I'll just have my concrete guys and tin men do it from now on. Better yet maybe even my deck builders.......
*Anyone can "slam up crown" in new construction, but that's how it looks...slammed up. I cut mine upside down and backwards, using a wood table/jig that I attach to the saw with screws. Clamps would work just as well. It extends the fence up higher, and I tack a stop block to the flat part of the table to keep the crown at a 45 degree angle, and from sliding down the fence. Make sure you've got adequate backing in behind the crown, or use a backer piece that you nail or screw to the wall/ceiling. I think there was an article in FHB a few issues back that shows this. Try to stick to a simple profile your first time out. Crown with a dentil (sp?) pattern can be tricky, trying to get the squares to line up perfectly in the corners.
*Robert:Yours is a very FAQ. Use the Search function at the top of your BT screen to find out about prices. Read this and this to get a full description of the process. The second link has pictures too.
*Jeeesh, any of you guys use a compound miter saw? You just lay the thing down and cut....back cut.... and put her up. I do a normal one piece room in about an hour, by myself. No lines, trying to follow a line on a crooked wall is an exercise in futility. You just twist it a little bit till it feels right and shoot it on. If you shoot one nail to the left, then another to the right in the same spot, you've just created a drywall clip that holds real good. (Course you want to hit wood as much as possible) Sometimes you have to put nailers up for big stuff, then it takes longer. Using a hammer will make you crazy, if you want to compete, you need a nail gun, rent one if you have to.
*By "slam the crown up" I mean they use crews of three on new construction around here.These guys have a cut man,and two guys on stilts or scaffolding on some of the higher ceilings.Now HomeBldr if you are going to start using the "concrete guy" your going to have to buy him a caulk trowel.The tin men are going to need right and left corner shears for the bullnose, and the "deck guys" well they're probably havin too much fun outside gummin up sanding belts on wet wood to swap for a nice warm cozy interior job.
*Get the Bosh electronic angle finder which allows you to lay the crown on its back and the angle finder tells you what to set your bevel and mitre at on your saw. If you plan on more crown jobs in the future invest in the "SPEED COPE'which allows you to cope your crown with a jig saw, perfect fit evevery time. Initial investment a little higher for the two items approximately $375, but the time and crown saved is worth it if you'll use it more. Both items can be found at http://www.7cornershdwe.com. Good luck
*alright, no, I haven't installed crown before. I do have a nailgun and a compound miter saw (hitachi 8 1/4). I am taking this project on solo. Enough with the disclaimer. What ad ay mean lay it flat and cut? Maybe by trying it both ways, ill be able to figure it out. Do you think $2 a foot is too much ? She does not know this is the first time with crown. The rest of the projects in the house I can handle.
*Robert, Is that a new saw? Read the directions, it splains it pretty good. 2 dollar a foot good? Maybe. If its a used saw, then go to the new saw store and get a copy of the instructions. To explain it here would confuse you even more. And do a few practice cuts off site to see what they mean. Nothin a customer hates more than watching a guy turn a pc of wood every which way, trying to figure out how it goes. Definately read the archives here to pick up some good tips regarding Crown. Best of luck.
*robert - Joe Fusco has posted a picture on your duplicate post that gives you a good idea. Don't write on your crown with permanent marker, though, especially if i youhave to paint it.Also, you can use a square to determine the exact projection of the top of the crown from the wall. It is helpful to be a little careful when setting the crown stops (see Joe's photo) to exactly this setting, and putting an occasional light pencil line on the ceiling to check. You'd be surprised how much you can accidentally twist crown up or down when installing. If you run into low spots on the ceiling (say a bad drywall joint) you may have to scribe the top of the crown as required. When trimming out several rooms in my house, I found that scribing to out-of-plane spots on the ceiling and using a power plane to take 1/32'nds to the line helped a lot at coped ends.I've also seen a fair amount of crown pull away from the ceiling enough to open up the sealant joint, especially with gunnailed crown. An occasional trim head screw won't hurt - but then again I don't do this for a living.
*If she don't know this is your first time with crown, she will pretty soon. You can have all the compounds in the world, but if this is a room, and it has 4 inside corners you better know how to cope real well or $2.00 a ft. is gonna be an expensive education for someone. Paint grade I hope. Some days you're the bear, some days the bear food. Good luck.PS. An education cost money, no matter where you get it. This will be good for you.
*Agreeing with Keith and Cal here. $2.00/foot seems pretty low, especially for stain grade but we are grossly overpaid in the midwest. I quit my doctor job to do this it's so lucrative.Mostly laughing at a lot of the previous responses,MD
*Caulk hides a multitude of sins if painting, but if it's stained oak there is no room for mistakes. In the midwest, finger-jointed pine is about $1 per foot and $1.50 for oak in your basic shapes. I know a Pergo installer who charges $200/hr for a 2-man crew and it takes a lot more skill to put up crown molding.
*Hey Pro-Dek, the funny thing about doing crown is that the same carp who can actually do it right can usually do it fast. Either you know what you're doing, or it will take you a day per room.I figure an hour per room, plus 5 minutes for vacuuming. I don't include any time for folding up the drop cloths, because it just isn't that difficult (not like cutting crown, in other words). Of course, some people just take longer than others. You can always tell who by the mitres.SHG
*SHGLaw-Man your Fast,-hour per room,-but like you say"some people take longer than others,you can tell by the mitres".If you read the post you will see this is Roberts first crown job.The majority of posts suggest $2.00 a foot,so if the customer has a 15'x15'room that equates to $120.(plus materials).That is great money for an hours work but I don't believe Robert is going to get this job done in one hour start to finish.
*Are you guys actually getting 2.00 a running foot for crown moulding? I might get that in a remodel or something, but in house trimming? Geeesh, I gotta get out of the sixties, I feel guilty charging 1.50. (Ohio)
*Around here we pay about $3 - $3.50 a cut for crown. That's paint grade, new construction. Maybe $3.50 - $4 if they are putting up some kind of backer (2x2, etc). So, 1 pc crown with no backer, rectangular room, that's about $24. And 2 guys and one helper should have no trouble knocning out 3 to 4 rooms an hr. There are guys who charge less, but these are the type who cary caulk guns ;)
*Gee, you guys must really like that Top Ramen.Personally, I like a little meat in my diet. I wouldn't even unload the trim for $24.00.
*Along a similar line.Wife thinks that crown moulding would look really nice in our 1907 vintage house. Knowing that the house was built to "good enuf" standards and that nothing is square or plumb I've been hoping that she would forget about adding crown, but she hasn't.The walls and ceiling are lath and plaster, finished very rough and a nice series of waves and dips. Any suggestions on hiding all of the dips and waves, would a three piece detail help? BTW ceilings are 9'6" and the largest room is 16 x 20.
*robert,good luck with your 1st crown job there is a lot of good advice here but just remember it won't take the customer long to figure out its your first time also you might consider some help you gon' play hell gettin those corners tight with the other end of your piece floppin' aropund like a fish outta water which by the way could be the way you feel after the first hour .p.s. dont forget the caulk !!
*Scott - At the risk of entertaining MD some more, some ideas: A flat piece (could have a beaded bottom) on the wall before the crown can help - you fasten the hell out of it above the bottom of the crown (you can even use mollyes if you can't find studs easily - I can't with metal lath and rough plaster) and then you have a continuous nailing surface. Likewise you could also rip a piece to hide behind the crown for continouous nailing.Pick a crown with a tall top, that is a vertical surface of at least 3/8"-1/2" facing the room. As noted before, you can then scribe the top with a planer if necessary. Better take out a gradual 1/4" than have to caulk a 1/4" gap, although trying to scribe to a rough surface isn't always easy. I'd run a pencil line at the front edge of the crown and see if there were any high points where the crown will touch the ceiling. If you have to scribe a lot, don't plan to paint the crown a contrasting color. Especially at 9'-6" a crown scribed up to 1/4" at the top (say in 2'-3') isn't really noticeable if the color is close. If you must paint it blue with a white ceiling, you can leave some of the top vertical edge white to match the ceiling (a very fussy/artsy paint line to be sure).If the ceiling is very 'off' you may need to frame it with flat trim first then add the crown. Consider how this will look - it might be better to skim coat the ceiling smooth first - not only will it be easier to install the crown but it will look more 'natural.' A lot of rough plaster 1900-1930 was intended to give a handmade natural-material look that isn't always compatible with the look of smooth crown.You really need to check out the room pretty carefully first - say with one of those 12' stiff aluminum straightedges that the tile guys use. Out-of-square or plumb isn't as challenging as bulges and humps. Having a small room that was 3/4" out of level in 12 feet or so was a challenge for me, but I got good results even though it took some time. Due to not being able to find studs at all, I ripped an angle off a 1 x 2 and fastened it well. I really appreciated being able to screw crown anywhere.More humor for everyone - enjoy ...
*Scott,I'd forget the crown and build up flat stock. Maybe a 1x4 going horizontal along the upper wall, something that would bend like 3/4 x 1 with a routered edge at the very top and a small 3/4 x 3/4 at the bottom of the 1x4 that would hug the wall.
*Scott,Another option you have with 9'6 ceilings is to hold the crown down on the wall, not at ceiling height. You can put a backer block in to nail to and possibly put a small shelf-like top on it, similar to a plate shelf. I have also held the crown down about 6" and installed dimmable rope light behind it, it looks great. Both options give you only 1 surface to deal with, meaning the wall,you won't have to contend with wall and ceilings being wavy.Steven
*Adding another option to Stephen's suggestion is a "picture rail" (sort-of like a chair rail, but at roughly 7.5' - pictures used to be hung on chains with substantial hooks used to hang the chain from the picture rail).
*Thanks for all of the responses, I'll discuss them with the boss (wife). If anyone has any other ideas, keep them coming.
*Robert,I think I can help. I install trim carpentry in new houses for a living and I've run a good many feet of crown molding. Everybody has their own way of doing anything so read everything first, then take what you need. Here is how I set up and run crown.First you need to determine at what angle your crown is sitting on the wall. If you are buying it off the shelf, it is most likely that it beds at a 37 degree angle to the wall. The general rule is that crown beds at 37 and "bedmoulding" beds at 45 degrees. It is fortunate that you are using the Hitachi saw. It has positive stops for crown molding. Check your miter and bevel indicators and you will find a line with a little triangle at the end of it. You will also find a line with a little circle at the end of it. The triangle is the setting for crown (bedding at 37 degrees). The circle is for bedmolding (bedding at 45 degrees). You can determine the angle by cutting off a small piece of the crown you are going to use and setting it against a framing square, letting the short blade of the square be the ceiling and the long blade be the wall. Bed the crown in the square. Is the measurment from the corner longer on the wall side? If it is common crown mold and not some special mill designed by some architect then it is most likely 37 degrees. Are the measurments equal (on the ceiling and the wall)? Then it is bedmolding at it beds at 45 degrees. Whatever the measurment on the wall side is, you will want to remember it so write it down if you need to.When you are cuttin the crown you only need to remember two things. Inside miters are longer in the bottom. Outside miters are longer in the top.What I do is use the number I got from the square on the wall side (the distance from the ceiling to the bottom of the crown) and go to evert corner of the room marking this distance off the ceiling on bothe walls. Then I chalk the room to get a guideline. This will also allow you find the studs by driving a nail above this line.Next you want to cut two test pieces. Use the positive stops on your saw. If you have trouble finding them they are, for a 37 degree bed, 31.04 on the miter and 34.38 on the bevel. These test peices should be about two feet long. Go to a corner and set the test peices on the line you chalked. it is more important to keep the peices on the lines than to "make the fit look good". If the test peices are on the lines then whatever is wrong with the fit is what you need to adjust for when you cut the peice. In other words if the test is open at the top then determine how much it is open and take half of that out of the bottom of each peice. Using this method you can even recut your test peices untill they fit well in most of your corners and establish your miter and bevel angles. For inside miters cut the peice you are going to nail up so that the top is toward you first. Yes cut it laying it flat in the saw right side up. The measurment will be taken at the bottom of the crown so starting this way will allow you to make your second cut while looking at the bottom edge. It will also give you a long point to hook your tape onto.When you nail it up you want to bed it on that line you chalked. Remember that this is only a guideline. Imperfect sheetrock may cause the crown to bed higher or lower in places, but you should be able to get it mostly on the line.So you've marked for the studs and now you're shooting (I hope you're shooting) or using that other method to nail the crown. If you don't nail the corners you can "roll" the next fit together. Leave the nailing off about two feet or so from the corners untill you have fit your next piece. USE GLUE. Another trick is to cut plenty of small shims that taper from about a quarter inch to nothing and are five or so inches long. If a corner doesn't come out exactly right after you've adjusted the cut several times you can tap a shim where it is needed to close up the gap till the glue comes out. This is the metod I use for miteing the crown. If you want to cope it and it can be coped it may be eaisier to do that. The setup is the same and the saw settins are the same only you don't need all those test peices. Cut your long to longs square but don't nail them into the corners. Take the measurments for the cope to cope at the bottom of the crown. Cut, cope and roll the fits together. I know this is long winded but there is no other way of explaining it to you my e-mail is hdixon6304@aol.com. I also had a math friend of mine make up a table of miter and bevel settings for every angle from 0 (on the ceiling) to 90 (on the wall) that a person can bed a peice of crown. We often have architects drawing wierd crownmolding that are not standard angles so the table save time in guesswork. As far as price is concerned, if I were doing a small crown like you said three and a half inches or so and only one peice (just the crown with no soffits) I would bid it at 5.00 per running foot. I wish you success I'll check this thread often or e-mail me if you need to. FDTS Greg
*Greg-Nice Post-you even taught this old fart something.
*Ditto - 'specially on the architects dreaming up uncuttable profiles.
*Greg's post is good information. I'd supplement a couple points: Crown would be an easy install in most cases if the wall corners and wall/ceiling junction were all square, but that's practically never the case. So, it gets tough--because if you try to adjust angles to compensate for out of square corners, you screw up the angle the moulding beds at. This is why it really should be coped, though Greg's hints with the test corners will work fine--but the glue is the key. Without a good glue joint, the miters will want to open up and that ruins the job at any price. Coping is a pain, but there are some advantages: The joint should stay put, and you can cut your length ONE time, instead of shuffling back and forth to the miter saw which unfortunately isn't always located near the room you're working in. But you can cope it pretty well anywhere. The cope is very forgiving, you can play with angles much more, and use the length of the crown as a spring to force a coped corner to a tight fit.YOu'll have to experiment and find your own methods. I set up a cope like any other coped joint, except I place it upside down and backwards between the fence and table on the miter saw at a 45 degree angle(if the corner is 90 degrees, otherwise adjust as needed) saw to cut it and expose the cope pattern from the profile of the moulding as you would for base moulding. Then, I sometimes very carefully backcut some or all of it on the miter saw or else take an extra coarse belt sander to it and give it a really radical backcut as close to where I'll be coping as possible, then cope with as much backcut as I can before trying the fit on the wall. I take a trim hammer, a small but very sharp chisel, a four-in-hand file/rasp, a couple sanding blocks, a pencil and a utility knife up the ladder. If I still need more backcut, I mark the position of the coped piece by LIGHTLY tracing the profile's edge onto the other moulding, and backcut THE FIXED PIECE with the knife and chisel any high spots-and file/rasp the coped piece to fit. When it is good, I lightly sand the coped edge to make it really fine. If there is any stain goofed up, I either use some stain or a magic marker to match-then spring it into place and nail it. Yes, a Senco SFN 40 is a good thing...If you get unacceptable voids between the moulding and either the wall or the ceiling, cheat with some spackling or quick setting drywall mud-I like 45 easy sand, can fix it the same day even with a couple coats if necessary-just put some masking tape on the moulding and work the mud right under it (as long as it is well-nailed first). Also good to take various sand textures with you.But I would like to know how one of the guys in earlier posts cuts crown moulding the way it sits on the wall-it's pretty danged hard to hold steady even with both sides tight to fence and saw table much less with one floating in thin air--won't mention any names to protect the "innocent" haha!Happy crowningMD
*Mad Dog, Thanks for the kick in. Robert, I hope we've helped. I'm serious about the e-mail. Call me if you need to. FTDS Greg
*Just another two cents worth.......I cope all crown and base when trimming a house, trying to fit a corner the other way would drive me nuts. Coping is very easy and fast once you get the hang of it. I also use a Hatichi 8 1/2. Once I cut the compound angle, I backcut the piece with a jig saw (small toothed blade) I always get a perfect fit (perfect meaning there are no open spots along the joint) The last piece to hang is the hardest so I try to save an outside corner if there is one, or the shortest wall in the least conspicous part of the room. 5.00 a foot??? Where in the US can you get that kind of money?
*
View Image © 1999-2001"The first step towards vice is to shroud innocent actions in mystery, and whoever likes to conceal something sooner or later has reason to conceal it." Aristotle
*Hi Joe, Just wanted to add that on the last crown installation I did, the longest run was over 20'. I tried Gary's method for the splice and found it to yield excellant results. I wouldn't splice crown any other way now that I've tried this procedure. I assembled my splices in the morning and installed them in the afternoon. The wavy walls had no effects on the splice.
*Which splice method would this be?
*Roger, What you do is cut your scarf joint with the moulding at a 45 degree angle upside down and bedded against the fence so that the cut is both mitered and beveled. This gives the splice a large glue area. Then glue the splice and add a 1/4" plywood backer that extends a foot or longer beyond each side of the splice and attach it to the back side of the crown moulding with glue and brads. After the glue dries it's like you're dealing with a solid stick of moulding and the scarf joint will not become mismatched by wavy drywall.I used to just bevel the joint and install a biscuit to aid alignment which worked fairly well, but would sometimes show some misalignment on an uneven wall. This problem is eliminated using the extended backer.
*Man, where were you when I was still nailing that stuff up by hand. Can't tell you how many times I'd have a perfect joint, predrilled for the nails and then when setting that last finishing nail the sucker would move a 32nd. What a pain in the butt. Get Andy to put that in Tips and Techniques and cut you a check!
*If he would cut me a check I'd have to share it with Gary Katz and some others at the JLC Finish Carpentry forum which is where I learned of it.
*So right,,it is very easy once you get the hang of it,,coped or mitered.I usually cut a full room at a time in paint grade,and just use miters,,,all standard cuts,,just twist and turn
*MD,I'm a homeowner with very limited experience installing crown molding. My house is 50 years old. Frequent remodel jobs have left me with a vey "wavy" ceiling. I'm currently installing crown molding in a second room, the living/dining room. I've drawn a level reference line around the perimeter of the room to locate my lowest point of the ceiling. Bedding a piece of the crown in a framing square, I've determined the depth of the crown from the ceiling to the bottom edge of the molding is 2 1/4". From the lowest point on the ceiling (that I found earlier), I measured down 2 1/4". I drew a second level line around the perimeter of the room at this height. I'll use this second line as a guide to keep the bottom edge of the molding level as I install it around the room. Here's the problem - using this method, I end up with 1/4" to 9/16" gaps between the top edge of the molding and the ceiling in some high spots. I'm using this approach so that I won't complicate my inside miters (and outside). I will be coping the joints to help the fit. Any recommedations? Also, this is the best case scenario for this room right now. I spent the entire weekend "pulling" up the sheetrock to the ceiling joists by installing blocking over the low spots. Doing this, I've reduced the variation between the high and low spots of the ceiling, but still not enough. Will I have to use joint compound to "hide" the gaps or just caulk like hell. This will be painted crown molding. Advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
*Just happened on this thread a few days ago, a day before I had to hang some at my house. What little crown I have hung has never been long enough to need a scarf joint but this did, so I was pretty jazzed to learn of "The Splice". Did just as the Dog said and man, the joint just dissapears! Thanks guys.
*Glad it worked for you Wedge.
*Stocker - see 19.1 above - it works.
*Where is "19.1 above"?
*b here you go. Jeff Clarke - 08:30pm Feb 7, 2001 EST (19.1) AiltireScott - At the risk of entertaining MD some more, some ideas: A flat piece (could have a beaded bottom) on the wall before the crown can help - you fasten the hell out of it above the bottom of the crown (you can even use mollyes if you can't find studs easily - I can't with metal lath and rough plaster) and then you have a continuous nailing surface. Likewise you could also rip a piece to hide behind the crown for continouous nailing. Pick a crown with a tall top, that is a vertical surface of at least 3/8"-1/2" facing the room. As noted before, you can then scribe the top with a planer if necessary. Better take out a gradual 1/4" than have to caulk a 1/4" gap, although trying to scribe to a rough surface isn't always easy. I'd run a pencil line at the front edge of the crown and see if there were any high points where the crown will touch the ceiling. If you have to scribe a lot, don't plan to paint the crown a contrasting color. Especially at 9'-6" a crown scribed up to 1/4" at the top (say in 2'-3') isn't really noticeable if the color is close. If you must paint it blue with a white ceiling, you can leave some of the top vertical edge white to match the ceiling (a very fussy/artsy paint line to be sure). If the ceiling is very 'off' you may need to frame it with flat trim first then add the crown. Consider how this will look - it might be better to skim coat the ceiling smooth first - not only will it be easier to install the crown but it will look more 'natural.' A lot of rough plaster 1900-1930 was intended to give a handmade natural-material look that isn't always compatible with the look of smooth crown. You really need to check out the room pretty carefully first - say with one of those 12' stiff aluminum straightedges that the tile guys use. Out-of-square or plumb isn't as challenging as bulges and humps. Having a small room that was 3/4" out of level in 12 feet or so was a challenge for me, but I got good results even though it took some time. Due to not being able to find studs at all, I ripped an angle off a 1 x 2 and fastened it well. I really appreciated being able to screw crown anywhere. More humor for everyone - enjoy ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Thanks. Stocker
*
Ive been told that the way to cut crown is upside down and backwards. Im coming up on a job; obviously i have not fooled with crown before. Can anyone tell me what everyone means when they say "upside down and backwards". One more thing, is there a formula to estimate the cost of running this stuff (3 5/8 crown).