DIY: How to Remove Crown Molding from Your Home

Unless you are a proud owner of a century home, with its beautifully crafted woodwork, you may be thinking about removing that old crown molding from your room. From my years as both a homeowner and a contractor, I have seen beautiful homes with and without crown molding. I tend to notice that a room with low ceilings looks even smaller with crown molding. For large rooms with tall ceilings the crown molding seems to finish off the room.

Before you begin, there are a few points to ponder, but most can be taken care of by the average handyman or do-it-yourselfer.

Tools and materials:
Small putty knife
Hammer
Small tub of spackling or joint compound
Sheet or two of sandpaper – fine grit
Primer paint

Using a small putty knife, carefully remove a piece of your crown molding from an inconspicuous spot. Be careful not to break the trim in case you decide to not remove all of it and need to reinstall it. You will be checking to see what’s underneath. Some track homes built in the 50’s and some manufactured homes install crown molding to cover up the fact that the corner between the wall and ceiling has not been finished. If so, decide if you are willing to tackle the job of installing drywall tape and taping mud and finishing all the corners. You may find a local drywall finisher willing to take on a small job of this sort for a reasonable price. If the corners are finished and suitable, finish removing the crown molding from the rest of the room. The finish nails used to install the molding should pull right out with the trim, if any nails are left in the wall gently hammer them flush and counter-sink with a nail.

Take a small amount of spackling or joint compound and spot all nail holes in the wall and ceiling. Let dry and gently sand smooth.
You are now ready to prime the areas with high-quality primer paint, – very important step – to avoid color variations when you paint your finish coat.

Option:
One very popular trend noticed in the last few years is to paint the crown molding white. This is especially popular for crown molding made out of the cheaper wood, and also popular if you are searching for a more modern look. The most important thing here is to be sure to wash the molding well with a strong cleaner, such as TSP, to remove any grease dirt and possible wax. Let dry thoroughly and tape off your ceiling and walls with painters tape. Note: standard masking tape is not recommended here, it may pull the paint off your walls when removed. Using a high-quality paint brush or small 2″ roller, paint the trim with 2 coats of quality interior paint made for trim. Remove the tape and voila! a fresh new look for your room.

Green tip: don’t throw away that old crown molding – someone else may be able to use it! There are tons of free local classified ad sites online where you can offer it to someone for free – we’ve found the site Freecycle very useful – type in your location and what you are offering for free. It will save someone else some money and also save some trees!