Crown Molding Help - Uneven Ceilings

2 years ago

I'm hoping someone has a solution to my problem. I was supposed to have some type of crown molding at the top of my cabinets, but my contractor is saying it wont work/look right because of my uneven ceilings. The cabinets on the right half of the kitchen are approximately 2" from the ceiling & the cabinets on the left half are about 1.5". He says that's a pretty large variation and would be noticeable. I asked about using 2 different size moldings, but he said where they join up would look bad. Any solutions or ideas? It looks unfinished to me, but I also don't want a funky uneven molding.

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A P
Original Author
2 years ago
Here is a photo
kempek01
2 years ago
Was the crown [part of the original plan?

I would think that you could use a simple moulding and it would look OK. An ornate moulding would be much more difficult to get right.

The other option would be to remove the cabinets on the left side (I assume that's the group around the refrigerator) and reinstall a half inch higher. You'd have to deal with the cap at the bottom, but that would probably be less noticeable. And the refrigerator would break it up visually.. I'm not sure how feasible that would be, though.
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Thank you! I twent to look and measure again today and think the problem is that on half the kitchen the starter strip would be 1 to 1.5" but on the other half, there is no need or room for a strip--in otherword the crown moulding would go straight from the top of the cabinet so there would be no space between the cabinet door and the moulding, unlike the other half of the kitchen. I'm wondering if that will look weird--eg, perhaps it would be better for us to get a smaller crown moulding (say under 3") and then all the cabinets would have some sort of starter strip, but it would vary between 1 and 3". Of course, that means the 'finished' kitchen gets pushed off again, but maybe I can find crown moulding locally and paint to match rather than order from the cabinet company. Thoughts?
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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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Yes, we're having the cabinets made. They're framed cabinets from Kraftmaid, and come in 3 inch increments for height. I could have gone with 30, but then there's a lot of room left at the top, and I don't want a big crown. 33 inch gives me more storage space and still leaves just enough room for a 3/4 inch or 1 inch crown at the top. I want something straight as Sophie Wheeler suggested, not something that is angled. They have something called "solid stock" that is finished on 3 sides and gives you some flexibility in placement. Same for the light rail - just a straight edge mounted so it comes out slightly beyond the bottom of the cabinet.
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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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millworkman
2 years ago
Drop about half way down this page to the"Full Stack" heading. This shows the method recommended and you actually slide the crown on the back up board to meet the ceiling. This is not a promotion of Scheers in any manner just trying to illustrate the method and this page does a good job.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
2 years ago
IMO a very simple molding would be a good choice since honestly it will not be very noticable once done.
A P
Original Author
2 years ago
@millworkman I'm looking at the full stack heading and trying to imagine how that might work in our situation. If 'm understanding correctly the quarter round would all be at the same height all through your to look right ?putting it at the top of the section that's and 1.5", which would still leave a gap between the ceiling and quarter round in the spaces that are over 2" from the ceiling. If the quarter round is moved up to meet the ceiling in the 2" section it will be uneven at the bottom. Am I making sense trying to describe how my brain is perceiving this?!
A P
Original Author
2 years ago
Sorry for all the typos and auto corrections in my above post, it's early 🙃
User
2 years ago
Scribe a filler to the gap. Attach a very small inside corner molding at the ceiling.
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
2 years ago
I would have filler installed flush with the cabinet box ...
darbuka
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I had the same problem with the ceilings. My contractor ordered extra pieces of light rail, and installed them above the cabinets. Simple, and in keeping with Craftsman style.
millworkman
2 years ago
Ah now looking closer your doors are probably too close the top of the box for that application.
A P
Original Author
2 years ago
@millworkman How about just a flat molding then?
PRO
Creative Design Cabinetry
2 years ago
Not a problem.

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calidesign
2 years ago
It should be easy to use a flat molding cut to the size for each area.
User
2 years ago
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
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
2 years ago
You don't scribe crown; that would look horrible.

Crown Molding Help - Uneven Ceilings

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