Have you ever wondered how people "cap" their crown molding when it ends somewhere other than another wall?
Well, let me tell you -- that little floating cap is called a return and despite its tiny size it's a real pain in the keester to cut.
But that's okay, we won't let it defeat us (yet...haha).
In 90% of cases when you're measuring your wall and marking your crown molding, you're measuring along the bottom of your crown, not the top.
However, with a return you'll want to measure from the top of your adjoining outside corner piece to the wall.
BUT your blade hits the bottom of your crown first (when cutting in the nested position, upside down and backwards) making it difficult to measure and mark your piece of molding.
See what I mean?
Let's take it one step at a time.
If you break down the "anatomy" of a return, it's essentially two outside corner pieces.
We know that when cutting outside corners the top edge of the profile is always going to be longer than the bottom edge of the profile.
Let's start by cutting the piece of crown molding on the right aka the right side of your outside corner.
(side note: hang on to your waste piece; it can be used as the left side of an inside corner!)
Position your first piece so that it's sitting on the wall -- you could even lightly tack it in place with a finish nail if need be. Measure from the top edge of your piece to the wall. This is measurement number 1.
Next: if you haven't figured this out yet, calculate your ceiling projection. To do this simply cut a sliver of crown and measure the ceiling projection using a carpenter square (For a video demonstration, check out this Instagram reel). Your ceiling projection is measurement number 2.
Now subtract number 2 from number 1, and that should be where you place your mark to cut on the bottom of your crown. It's likely going to be a reeeeally small measurement -- like 1/2" from the edge. That's okay because your waste piece on the left is long so your fingers should be safe from the blade.
Alright, you're finally ready to cut that pesky left piece.
Swing your blade to 45 degrees. Your saw should look like this for the cut.
Here's a close up of what it should look like after it's cut.
Preferably, if you have a layout table you could glue up the joint in a placeholder like this for a few hours. Use a bit of wood glue and some miter clamps to hold in place while the joint dries. If not, just be very careful when you're nailing that end cap piece not to damage or jolt the joint out of whack.
The idea of using a layout table stems from watching endless hours of Gary Katz video tutorials. He is definitely the OG of crown molding mastery!
Hopefully this tutorial will help you with your next crown molding return. If you would like more in-depth information on my crown molding installation process -- workshop setup, space planning, materials, etc -- feel free to check out my ebook here.
Happy building!
Erin
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