Spent three hours measuring crown molding and it still didn't fit

I was trimming out a living room in a house built in 1920s and thought I had the ceiling angles figured out. After measuring twice and cutting once like the old saying goes, I still ended up with a half inch gap on the third piece. Turns out the ceiling wasn't level across the whole room by a quarter inch. I ended up having to re-cut three sections and it took me an extra two hours to shim everything right. Has anyone else dealt with old houses where the framing is way off from what you expect?

2 comments

2 Comments

hayden_nelson853d ago

Oh man, "frame is way off" is the understatement of the year with those old houses. You pretty much have to treat every wall and ceiling like its own unique creature, not a straight line. I've had spots where the corner is actually a 93 degree angle instead of 90, so your miters need to be cut different for each piece. Next time, grab a long level and check the ceiling across the whole run before you even pull out the saw. It saves you from that sinking feeling when you hold up a "perfect" cut and see daylight through the gap.

patriciah513d ago

On top of checking the ceiling with a level, I've started measuring the distance from the wall at both ends of the crown molding piece before I cut it. Old houses shift so much that the gap can be a quarter inch wider on one side, at least that's been my luck. You basically have to cut each piece to fit the spot it's going in, not to a number on a tape. I had one room where the wall corner was actually concave by like a half inch in the middle, so I had to back-bevel the joint and shim the middle of the board. Also, keeping a few pieces of scrap around to test fit the first miter is clutch, saves you from ruining a long stick with one bad cut.