Kitchen Crown Molding Installation: Lower Detail

This is how the room will look when I’ve finished installing the lower crown molding detail.

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

Prepare the Corners

Drywall tape and joint compound usually forms a small “U” shape in the corners that can push your moldings out of whack. To help your corners come out better, use a putty knife to knock them square like I did in the images below.

U shaped corner not good for installing crown molding.

Most inside corners are rounded like this one.

A hammer and putty knife will get the job done just fine.

Note: I normally install the cornice piece first. But since I can’t layout the cornice on the ceiling until I’ve installed the lower detail around the air vent, then I have to start with the lower detail this time.

Note: I’m using 18g brad nails for the majority of this installation.

Gluing the Scarf Joint

The right side of this air vent is a long wall that requires I use a scarf joint to join the two pieces together. Here’s how I do it.

crown molding buildup in kitchen scarf joint

Both sides of this scarf joint need to be glued before nailing together.

Hey, they’re my walls, I can make a mess if I want!

Wrapping Molding Around the Air Vent Box

Air vents are one of those limiting factors that affect what size crown molding you can install in a room. My preferred method is to wrap a box around the vent like I’m doing here. But you could also start and stop the crown with a return to the wall on either side of the vent.

Note: Make sure you make your box deep enough that you have room to adjust your air vent lever.

Cut the first piece and test the fit.

kitchen crown molding installation around vent

Hold it in place until the glue tacks up enough for you to let go.

Above: This is what I get for putting too much glue on the mitered faces. Tip: Let the glue dry for two or three minutes and then scrape it away with a scale or putty knife. Glue that has set up a bit won’t smear like fresh glue does.

Above and Below: With the extension tabs installed and the glue dry (above), you can now measure an then cut the front piece (below).

Below: I built this box just barely big enough to allow me to adjust the vent lever and also remove the screws and the entire vent if I need to.

crown molding box around air vent in kitchen

Now I can build the rest of the crown molding around this box.

Glue Molding to the Brick Wall

Our “dining room” wall is a brick firewall between ours and the next townhouse. If you have a brick wall too, you may be wondering if you can install crown molding. The answer is yes, and there are two methods:

Anchor the lower detail by drilling holes in the brick and screwing and gluing it in place.
Just glue the lower anchor in place.

I use method #2. I’ve attached plenty of crown molding to brick and tile walls, and they are all still solidly in place today. All I ever did was glue the lower anchor to the wall with a heavy duty construction adhesive (not molding adhesive) — and lots of it — and hold it in place for a while until it sets up. That’s it. That’s my secret to attaching crown molding to brick or tile.

installing crown molding on a brick wall

When you’re up against a brick wall, use plenty of heavy duty construction adhesive.

Below: Tack a scrap piece of wood that can support your lower detail until the glue drys.

Cutting the Cope Joint

Below: The lower anchor only needs to be coped on the right side. The left side will be a blunt cut.

Molding ready to cope.

coping crown molding for brick wall installation

I put about a 45 degree back cut on my cope joints.

cope crown molding for brick wall installation

Let the small sections fall away so you have more room to work your cope saw.

Tip: Don’t force the blade through the material, let the blade do the work. It helps to always use sharp coping blades — they’re not expensive, so have lots on hand and change them often.

cope away the detail from your crown molding

With the first section gone, cut the easy, straight piece away.

Note: Always test the fit of your cope joint before you apply the glue. This MDF is soft enough that you can use a utility knife to make fine adjustments to the fit.

Below: After gluing a molding to a brick wall, I always let the glue dry overnight before I add any molding on top. That may be overly-cautious, but I feel better if I don’t disturb it for while.

lower detail glued to brick wall for crown molding

Maybe I used a bit too much glue here.

The next step is to install the cornice on the ceiling.

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Cheers, Ken