Cabinet Crown Molding: 3 Installation Tips

Installing cabinet crown molding on your kitchen cabinets can provide a very beautiful and visually appealing feature to the kitchen. It is a fairly simple job that can really change the look of the kitchen space. However, when you take on this job, there are a few things that you will want to keep in mind. Here are a few tips for installing cabinet crown molding.

1. Check Molding Width

One of the first things that you will need to do is check the width that you need for the molding. You will be installing this crown molding on the top of your kitchen cabinets. Therefore, you need to make sure that you allow plenty of room between the cabinet top and the ceiling. Many people purchase crown molding without taking into consideration whether or not it will fit on the top of the cabinets. Take your tape measure and figure out the width before you ever go to the store. It can really help you avoid making an extra trip back to the store to exchange the crown molding.

2. Consider Corner Boxes

You should also consider using corner boxes when installing the crown molding yourself. With a corner box, you can simply place the box on the corner of the cabinet and then run the crown molding up to it on each side. This will prevent the need to make miter cuts on the molding. If you do not have any experience making miter cuts, it can be difficult to cut it cleanly enough so that the edges of the molding match up. If you do not make a perfect cut, the molding will not match up and it will look like an unprofessional job. The point of installing crown molding in the first place is to add a touch of elegance to the room. Therefore, unless you feel confident about your abilities to make an angle cut, you should stick with corner boxes.

3. Use Wood Strips

When you are installing crown molding to the top of cabinets, you will want to make sure that you use wood strips. Many homeowners will nail the crown molding directly onto the face of the cabinets. This is not an ideal solution, as it will damage the face of the cabinets in many cases. A better option is to nail a narrow strip of wood onto the top of the cabinets first. Then, you can easily nail the crown molding into the small strip of wood. This does not take much extra work and it will help protect your cabinets in the long run. If you decide to use wooden strips, make sure that you account for the width of the strip when you calculate the distance between the ceiling and the top of the cabinet. This will help you avoid buying molding that is too wide.