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This has been driving me crazy since I bought the house back in 2011. And now I will probably put it on the market within the next year or so. Yes, it's time to fix things, especially eye sores such as this.
So, what do I do about this. It's a regular, standard 1 story 1200 sq ft rancher, not a fancy house. (why they put crown all over is beyond me) In the winter I guess the wood gets dry and shrinks, pulling the crown down and taking the caulk with it making a super fugly gap at the ceiling! By mid May it will start to close up as we start getting humid again.
Things I've read is that I would need to either;
>remove the molding, clean the caulk and then nail it to the ceiling so the wall will move behind it. (making it unaligned at seems and corners in the winter I'm sure but still better then what I have now)
>Clean all the caulk out during this winter while its open and then re caulking with a high quality, flexible caulk while I have the open gaps. (BTW, some sections are about 1/2 inch)
The other issue that comes with it is that the ceiling drywall in a couple of the corners seems to have been pulled down by the molding (currently caulked to the ceiling and wall) and has cracked it pretty good for a short section (about a ft). I don't know if I could re nail/patch when the crown gets fixed or cut out a section, replace, and re attach the drywall surrounding it where a couple screws have seemed to make holes as the drywall got pulled down.
Following...this happens to the joints in several of my crown moldings. Mine is the MDF stuff. Only happens in the winter. It does close back up come spring time. I've dug the caulk out and recaulked during winter every year the first 4 years of home ownership. The gap the next year isn't as pronounced. However, come spring time, the MDF seems to push the caulk back out and it looks squished out. All my neighbors homes do the very same thing. I'm not sure if the crown molding was acclimated inside the house before install, and cut and put up tightly during winter time, if that would help? Kind as if caulk was ALMOST not needed?
Thats one thing I was wondering as well. Like, is there a season in which it is best to install initially (or repair), especially in this 4 season climate. I live in coastal MD where it is dry in the winter and very humid in the summer. From what I understand, a fair amount of houses in this community have ceiling issues along drywall seems, screw holes opening up and corner tape loosening up.
In my current home I see gaps and cracks during winter and not during the summer.
In my previous home in Florida, I didn’t, because I kept the humidity at 50% year round. Now it varies between 50-60% in the summer and 30% in the winter.
If you can keep your house’s humidity consistent you won’t have a problem. I was told it’s best to fix it early spring when you can still see the cracks but before the humidity rises.
Thats one thing I was wondering as well. Like, is there a season in which it is best to install initially (or repair), especially in this 4 season climate. I live in coastal MD where it is dry in the winter and very humid in the summer. From what I understand, a fair amount of houses in this community have ceiling issues along drywall seems, screw holes opening up and corner tape loosening up.
It will close back up as soon as the humidity returns. If it bothers you, put in a humidifier.
There are caulks that are better at stretchiness than others. Even so, in cold dry weather (my house is at 31% humidity right now) there will be some visible gapping. I used Big Stretch, but I still get a gap every winter, and then in the spring it's all good again.
Was it put in by an installer miter corners or a Carpenter coped corners and snapped in.First thing I learned as a young Carpenter is caulk is not a piece of trim.
Was it put in by an installer miter corners or a Carpenter coped corners and snapped in.First thing I learned as a young Carpenter is caulk is not a piece of trim.
I'm guessing it was, but this isn't the best constructed house. When installing the upper kitchen cabinets and hanging pictures I swear in some places they just randomly put the studs as they seem to be off several inches in a few spots. It was probably built as a rental as I live near a resort town. But I wasn't expecting too much as it was/is my first house and the price was right.
Speaking of kitchen, I'm thinking it will look better if I close in and install drywall over top my cabinets so I don't need to mess with the crown molding, other then removing it in that part. It's just a little galley style kitchen but that, and the hall is where these openings are worse.
Then there's that other sayin'- "Caulk and paint makes you what you ain't"!
Reminds me of a particular trim crew I would use on VERY RARE occasions because of time constraints- there were about 10-12 guys, could do the job in a day (these were 3800-4200sq/ft houses); site built stairs, two story spaces, treys, 4 and 5pc crown, etc. Short-cuts were few, but execution was not my usual standard. Anyway, my next call was always to my painter to let him know who was doing the trim- He knew that meant extra wood filler, and several extra cases of caulk! It also meant a higher than usual invoice from him- extra materials AND the expected extra work on One Year Warranty.
Last edited by K'ledgeBldr; 01-20-2021 at 11:39 AM..
Yeah K'ledge I retired 3 years ago and still get pulled out of it by high end contractors I used to sub for begging to do crown and such.The painters actually tip me with beer.So glad I was born long ago when real craftmanship was taught and respected.Would never get into it today nobody would want me cause I take to long and the warranty is only a year.The new normal.
Half inch gaps? I was thinking .040" gaps, based on the size of the house (1200')
.500?" I'd say remove the moulding altogether.
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