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Help! ceiling/crown molding problem

16 years ago

I found this site after our remodel started, and it's been so helpful. Hoping someone has suggestions for the newest challenge. We previously had soffits. They were removed, along with the popcorn, and new cabs go to (8') smooth ceiling. Apparently in a span of only a couple of feet, the ceiling fluctuates 3/4"! The carpenter actually scribed the crown down, and then there is a big gap above it only a foot over. Looks awful, and this can't be the right way to handle it. Has anybody encountered something similar, and if so, what is the best solution? Thankfully, only a portion of the crown is up yet. Also, the face frame portion of the cabinets have a slight overlap on the side, so where the crown returns to the wall on the end of the cabinet runs, there is a slight gap (1/8"?). Is this normal?

Not sure how to add a photo, but will try.

Thanks for your help, and for all the insight - and comfort! - your posts have given me.

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Comments (5)

boxiebabe
16 years ago
We had something similar happen. Found out the the drywall/sheetrock guy had to come and rehang a small section of sheetrock, then re-texture it. Wasn't his fault - the ceiling was crooked/sloped in one spot. It can be fixed, but it's not a simple fix. But at least the crown sits straight now. Good luck.
User
16 years ago
FIX the ceiling! or live with it. Anything else is just a bandaid.

You should prob. check you home's structure, 3/4" over 5- 20 feet is unacceptable, something is sagging too much or is installed poorly.

Rip down the frame on teh return, matrching the stain or paint may be tricky. Yo could aslo add an 1/8" shim to fill in the gap. This is why I dislike framed cabinetry to begin with, too many variables to standardize.
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I don't think the cabinet maker is at "fault" at all. Everyone is paying for the sins of the original architect here. There a a lot of intersecting planes in that space that don't bring much to the party. Sure , with a lot of forethought he could have had that crown under the soffit there, but, some other part of the design would have been compromised. Who's to say we wouldn't then be discussing if this or that cabinet looks too skinny or Does it look odd for the wall cabinets over the desk to extend underneath the soffit of the adjacent area ? I agree with several here, just leave it alone, it's not really that noticeable. Especially given all the other wall and ceiling intersections going on right there. It'll blend right in after the cabinets are complete and the walls painted.
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To me, drywall based molding is cheap. You may not agree and that is perfectly fine. But hear me out. There are some people (like me) that come to your house and think 11 ft ceilings are all fancy but you cheaped out on the details. Now you can dismiss me as a snob and that is fine. But you should know that there are people out there that understand trim and feel like you are being less than genuine. My last hood had 55 houses built by 5 custom builders. One of these areas that was developed and each builder bought lots (presumably 11 each but not sure about that). They then built some spec houses and some custom. All to about the same level (fancy cookie cutter we liked to call it). Trim levels usually pretty ornate. Most with 10 down/9up ceilings. You could always tell which houses were Rudy's houses. Ah the corners he cut..... like drywall based crown. Our good friend's next door bought a Rudy (not the company's name) spec house..... My builder (total trim snob) refers to drywall based trim as a "spec house trick" that he refused to partake in. Better to have no trim than fake trim.... On your other issue - you should post a floor plan. 11ft transitioning down to 9 ft is tricky with door sizes as you are figuring out. But the plan matters. You can mix 8 ft doors and 7 ft doors in the right situation I think.
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Does no one hire a cabinet installer with enough skill for scribing anymore? It used to be standard. This is way extra from what needs to happen with a horizontal filler and the ceiling, but the principal is the same. https://www.jlconline.com/products-tools/power-tools/scribing-wood-to-stone_o
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When I had my kitchen renovated a few years ago, I was in a bit of a dilemma: to add additional crown molding to the rest of the kitchen or not. I had simple Shaker style cabinets installed and decided to not have additional crown molding installed in my kitchen. I like the more minimalist look❣️
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pasigal
16 years ago
We are facing the same problem. It's really common and a reason why many folks have their cabs end a foot or so below the ceiling (or just use soffits). You really have to have things square to make crown molding match up to the ceiling. We're going to drop the ceiling and hopefully things will line up all right.
raehelen
16 years ago
Sorry, it's not really that big an issue.

Cabinet crown molding is different from 'regular' crown molding in that it comes in two parts. There is an L shaped angle part that attaches to the cabinet (stained to match cabinets). Then, the crown molding gets attached to that- pinned to ceiling and attached to the L shaped piece at varying heights to accommodate the differences in ceiling. EVERYBODY has differences in their ceiling. Look at alku05's kitchen. She said she had a 2" difference! You actually don't notice the variance in the crown molding on that angle piece, but you would notice if it didn't touch the ceiling in spots.
mnbobbi
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you for your suggestions.Â The sheetrock/paint guy came out this afternoon, and in checking over the ceiling we discovered that one joist (installed 20 yrs ago) must have been narrower than the others, because there is a wave across the ceiling.Â It wasn't noticeable til the crown went up.
raehelen, Yes, I'm from MN! thank you, but our crown is actually in one piece, so that eliminates certain fixes.Â alku05's kitchen looks great, but I'm not sure what you were referencing about the angle piece.
My sheetrock guy, who is just wonderful, is going to remove the crown, mud it and make it level. I think it's all going to work out, but I'm rather irritated at the GC who could have been much more proactive.Â
I'm so ready to be done with this and it hasn't even been two months!

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