A room with a high vaulted ceiling is perhaps the best type of room to add crown molding. Nothing adds warmth to a room faster than crown molding, especially those with high vaulted or cathedral ceilings.
The Warming Effect of Crown Molding
The intent of crown molding or any molding is to create a smooth aesthetic transition between the ceiling and the wall. This three-part molding, which you can get already together as one piece, enhances the transition and makes it not only decorative but warming, as well.
Have you ever walked into the entrance way of a home and marveled at the great look of the high cathedral ceiling yet felt cold at the same time? Although vaulted ceilings open the room and make it seem much larger than it is, that same architectural effect also makes it seem more like a hotel lobby than a home. However, adding molding brings the ceiling and wall together and creates a warmth rather than a boxed, stand-offish feel to the room.
Contractors and Crown Molding
Whenever you speak to a contractor about adding crown molding to a high ceiling, they will invariably scoff and tell you it is not advisable. They will come up with all sorts of reasons why you shouldn’t do it, but what they’re really saying, if you read between the lines, is it’s too difficult, and they would rather do something easier. Don’t let a contractor talk you out of adding crown molding. In fact, if a contractor tried to talk me out of doing something I really wanted to do, I would start looking for another contractor.
Adding crown molding is not an easy job, particularly on high vaulted ceilings, and many will mess it up or cut corners on the project. Cutting corners when it comes to putting up molding is normally what gets many contractors in trouble. Therefore, many will create the corners using short pieces of molding and add the longer pieces going away from the corners. Although that is not the preferred method, it is not really an issue if the contractor can make it look natural. Just be careful to inspect those seams after they are finished, because if they are not flush and don’t look seamless when they are new, it won’t be long before they look really bad, as the house settles.
Types of Crown Molding
There are several different types of crown molding you can use. In most cases, you should specify in the contract exactly what you want. If you do not specify wood, a contractor could use Polystyrene, which is very cheap compared to wood. There’s nothing wrong with using Polystyrene to keep costs down, but that should be the customer’s choice, not the contractor’s.
Other types are:
- Polyurethane, which is an attractive alternative to wood. Although softer, it lasts longer and is less expensive than wood.
- PVC is a plastic polymer most often used in plumbing, but it’s waterproof, making it ideal for bathrooms and exterior projects.
- Flex Trim is a rubber-like product that is easier to bend for bay windows and other projects where the shape is not customary or straight. Must be custom ordered.
- Plaster is likely the most expensive and elegant of the crown molding choices.
- Solid wood is the most often used, but not always the right choice, because it rots, shrinks, and expands with the weather.
- Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) has a stable base and can often be stained to resemble wood.
Whatever molding material you decide to use and whatever room you choose to use it in, installing molding is a delicate job that is best left to a professional, if you want it to continue looking great for years after it is installed.
Contact Tell Projects for a Free Estimate
Contact the professionals at Tell Projects for a free consultation and estimate of your crown molding or another building project: call (832) 730-2471.
Tell Projects will give you a professional result that meets your specifications every time. Use our contact form online or send an email, info@tellprojectstx.com.
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