I was putting up some crown the other day and I remembered a reading post a while back that I never got around to responding to.
Someone had asked for advice for installing crown molding without a helper to assist holding up the peices.
The best way I’ve found to do this, and forgive me if someone allready posted this idea, is to partially drive 2 or 3 small finishing nails in the wall along the bottom line of where the length of crown is going to go before you try to place it up there. Leave the nails sticking out an inch or so, and this will give you a ledge to sit your peice of crown on while you fit the coped end to the butted peice. Once you get your first nail into the crown near the cope, you can let the whole thing go while you work your way down nailing the rest of it to the wall.
After the crown is up, pull out those temporary nails underneth it. You get 2 or 3 small holes right at the bottom of the crown in the drywall, but if you are putting up white crown, they will disappear when you do the caulking.
I guess if I were doing stained crown and didn’t want any caulk up there, I’d put the nails slightly high (like an extra diameter of the nail itself) and then pull them out as I got to them and let the crown come down that much to cover the holes.
By the way, If you don’t own a Stanley Fat Max measuring tape yet, get one!
Replies
I used a squeegee on the end of an extendable pole. It had a "cloth" cover to prevent scratches. Not sure if it was time efficient but the walls were painted already and I was only.
Next time I'm alone, I'm going to use the Locktite Grabit. Has just enough tack to hold but is repositionable.
I remember the tip and techniques column some years back someone suggested, putting a nail in up, just below ceiling level and the put a string loop on it, loose enoought so you can slide the end of the crown through. This will hold it untill you install the other end. Then move your ladder cut the loop and pull the string.
If hand nailing I could see the problem.
With a nailgun? Not a problem at all.
Hey.!
Right on..blast a keeper nail, and work from the end.
But you an I can always stretch out and hold a 16' er with a spare foot offa the 5 galmbucket to reach a 12' ciel. LOL
I'd hate to be short. Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
" out of kindness, i suppose"
Towns, the original.
I do lotsa solo crown.
99% of the time ... it's before the big re-paint.
I make a coupla "crown brackets" out of scrap 2x.
usually about a foot long ... maybe 6 to 8 inches ... deep.
I mark my level line on the wall ...
then attach the brackets in a coupla feet from the corners ... they are screwed into a convient wall stud ... and I set them an inch or so below my level line that marks the bottom of the crown.
I use them to keep the end of the tape from dropping down so I get an accurate measurement ... with a ladder in the middle I can easily feed up to a 16ft long piece of even MDF crown onto them. Half way up the ladder ... get one end set ... then walk up the ladder and place the other end up and over.
the little stops just keep the crown from sliding off when I move it around.
I then set one "end" ... tack ... reach and work the crown down the wall ... and check the fir at the far end ... if it needs trimmed ... just flop it onto the brackets and take her down from the ladder.
View Image
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Edited 6/17/2005 1:22 am ET by JEFF J. BUCK
I make brackets from scrap MDF and attach them to studs slightly below the final location of my crown.
Maybe I missed something, but how to you get the brackets out from behind the crown after you nail it?
they're screwed tight to the wall ...
under the crown.
Kinda like Dave's pic's .. which I think is another great idea.
in my sketch ... the "up leg" ... is just there to keep the crown from sliding off the bracket and onto the floor.
Dave's idea looks like it holds the crown in the right position ... angle ... to the wall/ceiling. Might work better than what I use. I gonna try that.
Jeff
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
It keeps it pretty close, Jeff. Usually, all I have to do is move the crown up and it's in the right position.
You'll notice that the tips of the brackets are cut off. That allows me to hold the crown face down and kinda "roll" it into the brackets. Then, I start on one end and work my way across nailing it off. That strip at the top of the wall and behind the crown gives me a solid nailing surface so I can nail where I need to instead of being limited to nailing to studs.
I did about 200' of 6-1/2" crown on 12' ceilings last fall and had to make my brackets out of 1x stock. The 1/2" MDF just couldn't handle those 16' pieces of 6-1/2" crown. - lol
I used to do the protruding nails as well.
Broke down and purchased one of those telescoping "Third hands".
How did I live without that thing?
Screw Pete!
Gabe for Governor!