Can this crown molding be rescued?

11 years ago

I have not had any problems with the developer for my new construction home.... until now. We added two-piece crown molding (one piece was not an option available) to the family room. We also did a floor to ceiling stone fireplace that bumps out 2 inches from the wall. Not a single person warned us that there are issues with joining the molding to the fireplace.

You can see by the attached picture that the molding was molding to the fireplace. They did not dissolve it into the stone because the two piece sticks out past the stone by about an inch.

Personally, I hate it. To me, it looks amateur-ish and not finished. I wanted to paint the wall a dark gray and the little triangle of gray paint is going to look very odd, IMO.

Is there any solution, apart from removing the crown molding? Is there a decorative corbel that we can install? Any ideas at all? Is this a normal finish for this kind of situation?

Thanks,

Jennifer

Comments (10)

kirkhall
11 years ago
Perhaps you can put a better picture of the specific area up? I can't really see anything in this picture of the area of concern.
chibimimi
11 years ago
They should have brought it up flush to the fireplace and cut it to follow the stone. It takes longer than that goofy diagonal, which is why they probably didn't do it, but they need to make this right. Now it's just wrong.
Related Professionals
Brushy Creek Architects & Building Designers · Palos Verdes Estates Architects & Building Designers · Mililani Town Design-Build Firms · Clayton Home Builders · Commerce City Home Builders · Miami Home Builders · Hainesport General Contractors · Aurora General Contractors · DeRidder General Contractors · Highland City General Contractors · Keene General Contractors · Norristown General Contractors · Saint Andrews General Contractors · San Carlos Park General Contractors · Wolf Trap General Contractors
rrah
11 years ago
It's wrong. If they were not going to do it properly they could have at least cut it straight.

My builder even cut an outdoor wood stair tread to match the stone it bumps up against.
palimpsest
11 years ago
I would wrap the crown moulding over the top of the fireplace since it already sticks out past it.
smugsy
Original Author
11 years ago
I knew my gut was right on this one... The builder insists that "this is how it is done in the industry". As it was alluded to, the crown is two-piece and sticks out past the stone on the fireplace. I understand that this creates a bit of a challenge to work around. But I would think that any trimmer worth his/her salt could handle that challenge.

The builder refuses to fix it. We met over the weekend, and I went home quite upset. So, it is now in our hands. A few more questions then:

Can a corbel or some type of decoration be added to help the transition from the end to the stone?
If we attempt to remove the crown ourselves, can this be done without damaging the drywall?

Thanks,
sombreuil_mongrel
11 years ago
You don't know what they should do to fix it other than something besides what they did do. And you do recognize it is deeper than the chimney breast. Any other solution is going to entail some the molding, even a 1x1 tip edge, extending onto the surface of the stone. Would that be OK?
The other solution is having the entire crown wrap the chimney breast, but that is difficult for the trim guy, because the face of the chimney is rough, uneven; unprepared for crown (the stone would have stopped at the height of the crown and a wood nailing strip let in). Maybe the trim guy should start in on the stone with a grinder to even things up?
The architect failed to provide a workable detail, so don't blame the trim guy.
Casey
chiefneil
11 years ago
I don't understand why the crown can't be coped and butted against the stone? Look at the last photo of this angle to see what I'm talking about.

It would be a rough cut, but I imagine you could get decently close and then caulk up the gaps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Coping crown molding
brickeyee
11 years ago
You could run it from side to side across the stone (might not look good from below if the surface is rough), let it 'die' into the side of the fireplace and just end (coping to the stone surface), or 'return' it to make a clean end (but watch out for trying to cope tiny sections to a rough surface).

In any case is is not 'standard' to have the ends hanging in mid air, especially if they stick out past a corner.
chiefneil
11 years ago
Oh I see what sombreuil was talking about. He's correct in that you'd either have a slight extension or a return.

It might be possible to use a decorative corner block instead, where the molding meets the chimney. That might look a little more natural when it extends past the chimney than the crown molding by itself.
rollie
11 years ago
The problem with trying to fix it, is that the two flanking pieces are not able to be used.. if they wouldve coped them into the stone, then you could cope a mitre and wrap the stone.

If it were mine, and I wanted it changed, I would remove the top 8 inches of stone (or whatever it takes to get below the molding backer strip).. Then I would fabricate a small "soffit" for the stone to die into at the height of the molding backer strip.(approx 3 inches deep) Run the crown around the soffit and then have the stone relaid to meet the soffit.

You could also build a small "niche" fo the stone to tuck under, so they wouldnt have to provide a perfect cut to the bottom of the "small soffit" Labor intensive?? Yea, I guess, but certainly not the end of the world, given the stage that you are at.

Its unfortunate that what is supposed to be a focal point in your house, has become just that, only negatively..

I take it that the stone was laid before the decision to crown the room.. If not, then it certainly was something that the trim carpenter shouldve brought to light.. and maybe he did, but he got told to do it that way by his superior.