Crown molding model

Scribe the projection and drop on the wall with your pencil.

[This is part of Our Kitchen Molding Makeover series.]

On This Page

  1. Make Projection/Drop Gauge Blocks
  2. Scribe the Crown Upper and Lower Limits
  3. Mark the Stud Locations

I prefer a fine point mechanical pencil instead of a carpenter’s pencil for finish work.

Make Projection and Gauge Blocks

Use some scrap material to make gauge blocks to help you scribe your projection and drop layout lines around the room.

This is a projection gauge block.

Crown molding drop gauge block

 

Scribe the Drop and Projection Around the Whole Room

Now walk around the room and mark the upper and lower limits of your crown molding.

Gauge blocks for crown molding

Keep your gauge blocks close at hand.

Locate and Mark Studs

If you want, you can do this at the same time you’re scribing the projection and drop.

Stud finder

Use a good stud finder with fresh batteries.

You’ll appreciate the blue tape trick when you are actually installing a long piece of molding on the wall.  The tape makes it so much easier to find the studs quickly when they are marked with blue tape, rather then squinting to see pencil lines.

Blue tape for fast stud location when installing crown.

Use a bit of blue tape to mark your stud locations.

Wall ready for crown molding installation

Do this in the rest of the room.

That’s all there is to laying out the room for your crown install.  In the next post we’ll actually install some moldings!

 

CROWN MOLDING-103 Installation Series

1.  How to Install CROWN MOLDING-103 for About $3.00/ft

2.  Crown Molding Limiting Factors

3.  Kitchen Crown Molding: Materials from Lowes $211.75

4.  Building a Crown Molding Model

5.  Preparing the Cornice Molding

6.  My Crown Molding Layout Techniques

7.  How to Install the Crown Molding Lower Detail

8.  How to Install the Crown Molding Cornice

9.  How to Install the Last Piece of Crown Molding

10. Before & After: Another CROWN MOLDING-103 Installation