Hanging Crown Molding On Plaster Walls

The number one trick to cutting inside and outside corner crown molding is to cut each piece upside down with the ceiling side on the bottom and the wall side on the top image 1.

Hanging crown molding on plaster walls.

I can still give you some great ideas for hanging on plaster walls. The furring strips add more stability to the larger heavier crown molding and greatly simplify nailing the molding to the wall. One of the previous owners had tried to put up crown molding but the job was unfinished and looked bad so i pulled it down. Hanging without picture rail.

Popular in new england and southern townhouses during the victorian era picture rails may seem. If you think something is too heavy then it s best to mount it in a more secure way to the wall. Fastening crown molding directly to walls can be a headache but well fastened rail trim makes nailing the crown foolproof. After all it is just a piece of wood molding.

Install baseboard along the floor at the base of the walls. As with all trim secured to old plaster walls locate the studs. Use a level or laser level to extend this mark along the walls from corner to corner image 2. Make a marking gauge the same size as the crown then use it to position the crown on the rail.

This type of molding was once an elegant way of hanging artwork on hard to penetrate plaster walls. There were lots of holes chips and cracks in the plaster where they had nailed the molding in the plaster. Position the molding in the desired location on the wall. The nail came out of the gun into the crown molding and then did a 180 against the plaster walls and came back.

The second trick is to set the molding against the saw and mark a line on the table with a pencil image 2. Cut the first piece square. If you don t have picture rail or don t want to install some that s just fine. I repaired the plaster and have painted the walls and now want to put new crown molding up.