Adding crown moulding or cornice to a bathroom

 In my bathroom they never bothered to fit a cornice around the top of the wall and it always looked unfinished, so in this project I am adding a cornice.

 

 

 

 

My double-storey home has a concrete slab that forms the ceiling in all the downstairs rooms, including the bathroom. In some of the rooms, and the bathroom, they never bothered to fit a cornice around the top of the wall and it always looked unfinished. Thanks to the guys at DAS Products for supplying an easy solution for adding a decorative cornice to the bathroom.

 

 

While the bathroom previously looked unfinished, the new cornice makes a huge difference and adds a finishing touch. Installing the cornice took 2 hours tops, and that included trying to work out all the angles that needed cutting. It would be nice if walls were built absolutely vertical, but this isn't a perfect world and walls are always skew!

 

 

If you purchase your cornice from DAS Products, they also offer a DIY Installation Kit that comes complete with everything you need to install. Plus, their website has information and instructions that you can download to make the job easier.

 

 

 

 

1. Sand the top of the wall where the cornice will be mounted with 120-grit sandpaper. While not absolutely necessary, the 'roughing-up' cleans the wall and ensures a firm bonding when the adhesive is applied.

 

 

2. If you buy the DIY Installation Kit, this comes complete with an extra-wide mitre box and saw. Place the cornice against the back plate of the mitre box so that the cornice is upside down. i.e. the edge that will be fixed to the ceiling should be on the base of the mitre box.

 

 

GOOD TO KNOW

While using the mitre box is perfect when you have 90-degree corners, which isn't always the case, a Mitre Saw also cuts those difficult angles in-between. For example, the corner angles in my bathroom were 38-degrees and this wasn't easy to cut using the mitre box.

 

 

3. I found it easier to cut small strips of moulding to use for checking the angles needed to be cut for all the corners and angles in the bathroom. Start off with 45-degree cuts on each section and then adjust until you find the right angle that fits.

 

 

4. The DIY Installation Kit also includes adhesive for mounting the cornice. If you don't purchase the kit you will need to use a solvent-free adhesive. Apply a bead of adhesive along the top and bottom edge. Don't skimp when applying the adhesive - too little and the cornice won't be stuck down properly. It's far easier to have a cloth handy to wipe away any excess adhesive these squeezes out when you press down.

 

 

5. For long walls you will need to join sections together. When doing this, add adhesive to the ends before joining and wipe away any excess.

 

 

6. When mounting your cornice to the wall and ceiling, make sure that the top and bottom edges (which are flat) are against the wall and ceiling.

Finishing

The adhesive supplied can also be used to fill any gaps and seal around the top and bottom edges, if necessary.

Only paint a polystyrene cornice with acrylic paints such as Plascon One Coat Ceiling paint, or solvent-free enamel paints like Plascon Velvaglo water based enamel.