Carpentry and Woodworking - installing crown: too much for a newbie?

I'm undecided if i want to do both living room (21x17) and dining room (21x15) but the living room for sure if i do any. Thankfully it's a standard room with just 4 inside corners. The dining room has 2 closets on either side of one wall so that would be adding 2 more outside and 2 more insides if i choose to do that room.

I have plaster walls. Does this make it any easier/more difficult than drywall? I assume as long as you find the studs it doesnt matter. Just pound in the nails with a hammer. I've also seen a home depot video saying if you buy vinyl, it's light enough to glue on but i guess that's a rather permanent thing then?

I've built decks so it's not like a cant build things, but decks dont require any fine work like crown moulding. :) I just took a peek at the home depot instructions and the talk of angles and protractors is a bit intimidating for the crown.

Only powersaws i have are circular, jig and reciprocating. Unless you count a dremel :) . So i guess thats my first question...can you do this manually or with just the equipment i have?

I've also learned that some people put corner blocks both inside and outside and assume it's because they aren't too confident of their woodworking skills either? I wouldnt mind that if it looks better than me trying to to fancy cuts. is there anything inherently bad about using the blocks or just a preference?

One finally silly question: does it matter that the crown may be relatively close to both my exterior door and my 2 archways? I guess the crown is about 4 inches and didnt know if it would look silly. Also i have a 13ft by 5 ft window and was thinking of putting framing around it to 'set it off' as well but if i did, then the crown would be about 10 inches from that window frame as well as the same from my door (which of course already has framing).

edit: i see the crown comes in 8 ft lengths (is gonna stick out the jeep window so couldnt get longer even if i wanted to). So do you just use caulk to mask the joints? If so, i'm then assuming you dont paint the crown until it's nailed in place so you get a uniform color?

Crown molding is difficult at best. Not to say you can't do it, but it will tax your brain something awful. When looking up at your ceiling, you see simple angles, right? Now lower your head to the saw. Those angles don't mean anything any more. You have changed your perspective on them. Now, if you could mount a miter saw to the ceiling, you'd have it made, but that's impractical.
Since you have limited cutting utensils, if you can't beg, borrow or rent a miter saw, then you may be better off using the corner blocks, and making square cuts on the crown. Anywhere you have a joint, you should cut them at a compound angle to minimize the sight of the crack.
The "look silly" part, you're on your own. Only you can tell if it won't go well. You can buy a stick and hold it up to see if will overpower the doors and windows, but I doubt it will.
Crown will come in 16' lengths, but you can have them cut down if you have to for transport purposes. If they hang out the back, be sure to wrap the ends and tape them securely to each other. If they slap themselves, they will shatter.
Once you have it installed, use painter's putty to daub in the nail holes and latex caulk in the cracks, wiped with a damp sponge to remove the excess, then prime and paint. You can paint them down, but will have to touch them up once you have them installed. That's easier.
While you are renting, rent a compressor and finish nailer with 2 1/2" nails. Sooo much easier.

Read more than one book: installing crown moulding - Google Books (http://books.google.com/books?ei=8h0KSqSpLKTgtAPf5ezhCA&ct=result&q=installing+crown+moulding&btnG=Search+Books) Be safe, G

Crown is like anything else..... looks easy but its not so easy LOL.That isnt to say your not capable.But without the few basic tools Chandler mentioned..(Mitre Saw,Nail Gun,air compressor)you will probably lose interest in doing the work yourself after hanging the first piece so do yourself a favor and make a small investment youll be VERY GLAD you did.Now a few words of advice to help you along.... First of all youll be cutting the crownmoulding "Upsidedown" which will enable you to hold the moulding at an (45,32,or 38deg) angle both flush against the Saw fence and saw table.Also make all your "Outside" cuts first and run the end (if an inside corner)all the way to the wall and leave the cut Square.Or for instance if your working in a Square/rectangular room (all inside corners) cut the two longest walls first and just leave them square at both ends then measure the two shorter walls,and holding the crown upside down on the saw,cut each end of the moulding at 44deg.When finished the edge against the saw fence should be 6 or so inches longer than the edge against the saw table.Now that you have cut tho moulding to length your gonna want to use a coping saw and use it to cut off the little raw ends you just created after using the mitre saw.If you have done this correctly the piece of crownmoulding will now fit snug between the other to pieces you installed earlier and this will eliminate you having to make those otherwise difficult inside angles. lOL so good luck, I wish it were easy to explain. If you saw t done once it would be alot more clear and it wouldnt be as difficult as it sounds. Maybe ask someone at your local lumber store to show you real quik. Most Carpenters will willingly give you a quik lesson :)

hogan can i assume your explanation of angles is for installing without corner blocks? I went to home depot today to check out the types of crown they have there and i see i have an overwhelming choice (wood/vinyl/primed etc). Also their selection of corner blocks is almost non existant so a trip to lowes may be in order.

one question: if i get something intricate like dental, whats the best brush to use to get in all the little nooks and crannies? or even some of the other simpler styles have deeper designs and it almost looks like it's best to get a can of spray paint and go to town ;)

chandler you said 'that's easier' in your post above..do you mean painting while down on the ground then just doing touchup? Or do you mean installing bare and priming and painting while hung up?

I have trouble doing a good job of hanging crown so I'll just address the painting aspect:D

Dental moulding is always a pain to paint. If I have a bunch of it [prior to install] I'll spray on the primer, sand and spray the 1st coat of enamel. If you don't have a spray gun, you can get one of those mini rollers and do a decent job - be sure to use care so you don't have any drips or ridges in the paint. I wouldn't use a spray can - they don't apply enough paint.

You can prime/paint the rest of the crown mouldings the same way. the finish coat should always be applied after install and caulking and putty.

There you go driver, the paint man spoketh!! To take Hogan's comments further, the higher end saws will have detents on both the bevel and miter for crown, so you can lay the crown flat, face up and get good cuts, but the upside down and backwards method is right on. Good luck with the install.

I have trouble doing a good job of hanging crown so I'll just address the painting aspect:D

Dental moulding is always a pain to paint. If I have a bunch of it [prior to install] I'll spray on the primer, sand and spray the 1st coat of enamel. If you don't have a spray gun, you can get one of those mini rollers and do a decent job - be sure to use care so you don't have any drips or ridges in the paint. I wouldn't use a spray can - they don't apply enough paint.

You can prime/paint the rest of the crown mouldings the same way. the finish coat should always be applied after install and caulking and putty.

I didnt expect it to be ez but the dental sounds frustrating to do, especially if you have to do the 2nd coat while it's hanging. I did realize you would have nail holes to fill and knew some touchup would be needed, but not the entire 2nd coat. So other than touching up nail holes, why cant you just finish up the painting before it's hung?

I guess from what you said if you do the primer and 1st coat on the floor, that you dont need to 'be perfect' for the 2nd coat while it's hanging and just try to avoid all the drips and runs. But sounds tedious.

Also regarding nailing it, is just trying to find the studs and nailing 1 per stud enough usually? I just worry the plaster will crack but hope it doesnt. And is predrilling recommended? I think ill do it regardless, dont want to hurt some 4-5 dollar /ft wood lol. Heck when i built my 12x18 deck i predrilled every single floor screw to avoid any chance of splitting so this sounds like a piece of cake ;)

So how does a nail manually driven get buried in the wood anyway?

finally: should the crown be installed before you paint the room or after? I'm assuming after but wanted to be sure

When hand nailing, you take a nail set [punch] and drive the nail head below the surface. A nail gun usually does this automatically.

I always paint the ceiling 1st, then enamel the crown, windows and doors, then the walls and paint the base board last. If you installed the crown after the finish coat of paint on the walls - you'll have a lot of wall touch up. While you could just touch up the caulk and putty, the crown will look nicer if you apply a fluid coat of enamel over it all after installation.

ok thanks for the play by play. I was planning on 2 coats on the walls so i guess will do the entire room once, then ceiling 2nd coat, then proceed as you described.