handymac, thank you for the suggestion. If it's what I think it is, I remember seeing it on This Old House's website where Tom Silva was putting up crown. He was going to nail it the normal way because the tutorial wasn't about truss uplift. But the same triangular-wedge 'cripple' could apply I think. The key, if I'm interpreting you correctly, is to nail the 'wedge' only to the ceiling and then nail the crown in the center of the wedge angling the nail up so as not to catch any of the wall. It's definitely worth a try. The only difficulty I can foresee is being able to nail that wedge into the ceiling and hoping the truss bottom (forget the term now) is right on top of - or at least overhanging a bit - the joist(?). You know, the structure at the top of the studs. Again, not sure of the term. If we don't catch that truss wood when nailing the 'wedge', which will be holding the crown, then we'd either be nailing into that joist and defeat the purpose or just nailing into ceiling drywall! I agree that those ring-shanks are the way to go for the wedge. So, perhaps that'll cover our a$$es if we don't catch wood. lsst, I've heard about that 'stretchy' caulk. Never tried it though. I think seasons and seasons of using regular caulk - that ultimately separated - kind of shied us away from anything that even had the word "caulk" in it. :( But I'll check it out again. If you have the name of the product you used, I'd really appreciate it. green-zeus, yes, that's the key to putting up crown for this purpose. Nailing it to the walls would defeat that purpose. As I said, the problem, thus far has been trying to figure out how to only nail it to the ceiling. The top nail surface on any crown doesn't leave much fudge room to nail w/o splitting the wood. But, handymac's suggestion sounds doable. At least it's worth a shot! :) I'm still curious if anyone's tried that peel-n-stick or polystyrene formed crown. Maybe I should make a separate post for that. Thanks again!

Oh, those just look like fireplace doors - you can surely replace the doors without having to replace the entire insert. I haven't gotten that deep into my own fireplace remodels yet, but it would seem that the mantelpiece and tiling is just surface work that won't affect the functionality of the fireplace. Consult a fireplace professional, though - I'm just a random internet opinion.

The dining table and chairs are perfectly fine. Maybe consider balancing the setting with another bench on the other long side and a chair at the both ends. 3rd chair could be against a wall. As others have noted the curtains are not in tune with the room. The suggestion of linen or a linen color would work well and can be coordinated with a rug or maybe a sisal mat under the table. A rug under the table will break up the wood which is currently dominating. I think once there is a visual break between the floor and the table your room will be a warm, friendly space to gather.

If you're in B.C., Alberta, Ontario or P.Q, your home should be covered for structural defects by mandatory provincial programmes. However, minor settling and truss uplift cracking is unlikely to be covered unless it is a sign of a structural defect. In Ontario, cracks in excess of 4mm would, however, be required to be repaired. See below. But Alberta's Construction Performance Guide appears to take a stricter stand: However, it doesn't cost you to file for an inspection and claim. Here's an excellent guide to avoiding and disguising truss uplift in new home builds. One crackup definitely not covered! (When I was an Ontario licensed builder, I did only stick framing--except for one where the client's architectural technologist speced trusses to save a buck.)