Can crown molding be purchased or do I have to cut it myself? Also, how hard is it to install? Our ceilings are cracking noticeably at the joints - our home is only 2 years old. :mad:

Thank you!

Crown molding is available in many dififferent styles from your local lumberyard, Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. They come in standard lengths, and so you cut the corner angles yourself to fit your room. Not too difficult to install - you will need a miter saw to get the 45 degree cuts, and for an older home if you want it to look professional you may want to invest in a compound miter saw that allows you to make cuts to match the exact angles in the corners of your room. You may also want a power nailer to avoid the inevitable hammer ding marks. There are a number of sites on the web that give advice on cutting and installing crown molding - just do a Google search. You can also buy "how to" books which give lots of good advice, again from Lowe's or the other home improvement stores.

Have To Disagree On This Sorry, But Yes For You Average Handyman, Crown Is Difficult To Install, Now You Can Cut It On 45 Degrees And Put Them Together But Its Not The Best Way, You Should Cope All Joints To Make Them Tight, Also 8ft Ceilings You Should Look At 3 5/8 Crown Nothing Less Nothing More, It A Good Size, You'll Need A 12" Miter Saw To Do It, A 10" May Work If Not A Taller Fence May Need To Be Added To Bed The Crown Correctly

As For How To Install Crown, Here Is What You Need, Miter Saw, Coping Saw, Air Compressor/nailgun, That Needs To Shoot 2 1/2 Nails Don't Go Shorter,
If You Have Outside Corners Use A Brad Gun And Use 1 1/4 Brads And Also Glue The Joint As Well. If You Don't Have Access To The Compressor, No Fear, You Can Use 16 Penny Finish Nails, Why So Long? You Can Use These To Nail Into The Top Plate, 1 Nail For Every Stud, Put It In The Middle Of The Piece Of Crown And Angle Slightly Upward To The Joint Of The Ceiling And Wall Meet.
You'll Also Need A Caulk Gun But Not For The Joints. Use This Where The Crown Meets The Wall And Where The Crown Meets The Ceiling, Unless You Have Popcorn Ceiling, If You Do And Caulk It Anyway, There's A Good Chance The Crown Will Pull The Texure Down If The Crown Moves.

Ok Install Time.

Say You Have A Square Room Im Left Handed And I Counterclockwise Around A Room Because The Copes Work Out For Me To Use My Left Hand, If You Not Left Handed Go Clock Wise Around The Room,
Ok First Piece, Is A Square To Square Cut, Just Measure The Wall To Wall , You Can Lay This Piece Flat In The Saw And Cut It, Now Depending On How Long The Piece Is You May Need Some Help Holding It Up, Once You Get It Up Don't Place Any Nails In The Ends, Just Nail The Middle And Maybe No Closer Than 2 To 3ft Near The End, I Leave This Loose So There Is Adjustment When You Try And Fit The Joints Together , You May Need To Slide The Crown Up Or Down The Wall To Make It Fit.
Now The Second Piece Is Where You Have To Cope. Get You Measurement From Wall To Wall Again, Don't Measure Wall To The Molding,
After You Have The Measurement, Make A Mark On The Side Where The Joint Will Be In The Corner, Where You'll Need To Cope, The Other Side Will Just Be A Striaght Cut, After You've Made Your Mark, Take The Crown And Flip It Upside Down, Slide The Crown To The End You Made Your Mark, If Your Lefthanded The Cut You'll Be Making Will Be With The Saw On A 45 , The Saw Will Be Pointed Back Toward The Left Or The Same Side The Crown Is On.wether You Left Or Right Handed, While Coping The Angle Is Always A 45 And The Saw Is Always Pointed Toward The Side Where The Crown Is On The Saw. You Cut Toward The Crown , Not Away, Cutting Away Is For Outside Corners. Now Back To The Action!
To Bed The Crown Will It Is Upside Down Look On The Back Side Of The Crown, There Is A Flat Spot, And What You Want To See Is The Back Of The Crown To Be Flat Against The Fence Of The Saw No Gap At The Top Or Bottom, Once Its Right Hold The Piece As It Is And Cut The Angle. Now For You First Cope. Lay The Crown Flat On A Table Or Work Bench, What You Want To Do Here Is There Is Now An Edge On The Crown And If You Looking At It You'll See The Inside Of The Crown And Then The Profile Of The Crown Starts , That Is You Guide To What Need To Be Removed, What You'll Do Is Called A Back Cut, You'll Need To Hold The Coping Saw At An Angle And Cut The Back Of The Crown Out To Where Just The Edge Of The Profile Is Left, To See If You've Taken Enough Out, Tilt The Crown Toward You If You See Some Wood Showing Past The Edge You'll Need To Remove That, A Good Little Tool To Get Is A Rasp To Remove Small Areas Of Wood,
Once You've Done That It Is Ready To Install
If You Place It On The Wall And There Is A Gap At The Top You Need To Slide Both Pieces Toward The Ceiling, If That Gaps At The Bottom Slide It Both Down The Wall. This Is Why I Say Don't Nail The Ends Because If You Do There Is No Adjustment.
Ok The 3rd Piece Is The Same So I Want Explain That, The Fourth Piece Is A Double Cope , The Measurements Are The Same , Wall To Wall. You Can Cope The One Side As You Have Done Before The Other You'll Need To Switch Hands To Cope It, Or Get Someone Who Is Opposite Handed Than You, If You Try To Cope It With The Wrong Hand The Angle Of The Cope Will Be Off, Anyway, After There Cope Use The Same Adjustment Method And They Should Fit Just Fine,

Lets Talk Material, They Come In Wood, And Mdf, I Preferr Mdf Only If Your Painting , No Staining, Mdf Is A Fiber Board And Really Easy To Work With And Cope On, It Also Takes Paint Much Better Than Wood And Doesn't Expand And Contract As Wood Does,
The Sizes Are 8ft , 12ft And 16ft

Now There May Be Some Who Thinks There's Better Ways To Do This, Yes There Are, But For A First Timer I Think This Will Work Best. Later You Can Learn To Use A Grinder To Cope The Crown, Cut The Time In Half.
Good Luck You Can Do It

Has For Pricing , Crown We Use Runs From 40cent A Ft Or Over A Dollar. Labor Cost Will Usually Run $3 A Ft
Our Basic Cost Is 3.50ft Includes Labor And Materials

Crown molding can be a nightmare for the average homeowner. Angles are different depending on the type of molding, not just a simlpe 45 degree cut on the corners.
There are some newer "systems" that have premade corners and you only need to cut straight runs. Some are made of plastic and can be installed with glue. Once painted you would have a difficult time telling the difference.