Ron's first Colorado visit is to one of Denver's oldest neighborhoods. Here Ron meets with Bret and Alex Van Nortwick, a brother and sister, who each own half of a duplex in the Lincoln Park area, just minutes from downtown Denver.
Bret and Alex eagerly work beside Ron as he teaches them how to attach crown molding to an exposed brick surface. To further enhance the newly added detail, they complete the project with the addition of low voltage cable lighting for a dramatic effect. Positively glowing!
Click Here For a list of what
you will need in order to complete this project.
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- Ron recommended that they begin by putting up a ledger strip running all the way across the top of wall. To this ledger, they would then attach the crown molding. This would provide a natural trough to hide the cable lighting. Alex and Bret agreed that this would provide the effect they were looking for, so they got started.
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1. The ledger strip:
- The ledger, or backboard, was made from a strip of 1 X 4 lumber. To create more visual interest, they decided to add some detail to the bottom edge.
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- With a clamp holding the ledger in place, they used a router, which is a hand held rotary tool, to create a cove detail on the bottom front edge of the ledger strip. To use the router, they simply set the plate on the wood and moved it along the edge of the ledger. A router bit has a small ball-bearing guide that rolls along the edge of the wood preventing the bit from cutting too deeply into the wood.
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- To save considerable time and effort, Ron recommended painting the individual pieces (crown molding and ledger) before they were assembled.
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- The next task was to attach small corner blocks to the ledger strip. These would provide a point of attachment for the molding as well as keep it at the proper angle. Ron measured and marked the positions for the corner blocks. They applied wood glue to the back of the corner blocks and then set them in place along the ledger strip. After the blocks were positioned with glue, they used a nail gun to further secure them with two small nails…one through the angled side and one placed at a 45-degree angle through the perpendicular side.
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- The final step before bringing the ledger into the house was to drill pilot holes into the strip for the final attachment to the wall. Ron measured and marked the locations for the pilot holes before using the power drill.
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2. Attaching the ledger:
- Before attaching the ledger strip to the wall, Ron used a chalk line to create a straight, level line for the attachment. While Alex and Bret held the ledger to the wall with the bottom edge along the chalk line, Ron inserted a carbide-tip masonry bit through the pilot holes to mark their positions on the walls.
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- Removing the ledger from the wall again, Ron used these small holes as guides and drilled larger, deeper holes into the brick. Ron attached a piece of tape to the drill bit to act as a depth gauge that would prevent him from drilling too deeply into the brick.
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- Ron then placed plastic wall anchors into the larger holes. Bret and Alex held the ledger back in place along the chalk line while Ron installed the screws that would hold the ledger securely to the brick.
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3. Crown molding:
- To attach the strips of crown molding to the ledger, Ron recommended both nails and glue. Ron applied a dollop of construction adhesive to each corner block and along the lower edge of the ledger. Next, they set the pieces of crown molding in place, one section at a time, attaching them to the corner blocks and bottom edge of the ledger with the nail gun.
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4. Cable lighting:
- The final step was to place the lighting into the trough created by the molding and ledger. The cable lighting Ron selected was very easy to work with. It could be lengthened by coupling two pieces of cable together with little screw-on connectors and it could also be cut to size at the indicated points with wire cutters. They created the desired length, finished it off with an end cap and then plugged the cable in and set the lighting in place behind the molding.
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RESULTS:
Bret wanted something that was dramatic and different. He definitely achieved both! The cable lighting created a soft glow that accentuated the more traditional architectural details of this vintage home while creating a striking visual interest. You could certainly say this project was illuminating! |
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