Cutting Crown Molding

[agarwalsa]

I am  about to install some 5 1/4" crown molding on some cabinets I have built. My ceiling has a slope of almost 5/8" between the low and high spots on one cabinet run. I am not sure if I should even attempt to cover this gap as a) I do not know how to cut the crown to take into account this slope and b) even if it is covered there will be a difference in the space between the cabinet door and the crown.

What do you recommend in this situation? and any pointers on how to cut the molding to compensate for the slope? Would appreciate any advice.

thanks.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Your reference is the bank of cabinets top of the doors.  Your choices are:  1.) Notch into the ceiling less than 1/4" and fill the gap the rest of the way with backer rod and caulk.   2.) Scribe off some of the top of the crown, the same amount you would have notched out of the ceiling following step #1   3.) Use the 5 1/4" crown you have and using backer rod and caulk fill the gap to 5/8"   4.) Use smaller crown if necessary with any of the previous steps to get a good reveal between tops of doors and bottom of crown.   5.) Use built-up crown to trick the eye - the extra pieces will allow you to make more visual compensation.

 

[Chris Hughes]

Is it possible to use a vertical piece along the top of the cabinets like a fascia?   If so, then use the build up to reduce the taper by about half.  Sometimes this is not possible due to vertical limitations and then you will have to scribe you crown to the ceiling.  If that is the case you will have to look for a crown that has a thick top.  I would go with the RAS115.

 

[ThomasC]

If you have smooth ceilings you could feather in a few coats of drywall mud on the high end. I wouldn't try to get 5/8" of mud, but you could split the difference a little. Say 3/8" of drywall mud on the high side, 1/8" scribed off the crown on the low side. For the remaining 1/8" you could probably tip the crown up (install it with the correct reveal above the doors, and push the top of the crown until it hits the ceiling). All this is assuming you have smooth ceilings. If they are textured, it makes things a little more tricky. It is also helpful if your run of cabinets is fairly long. None of my suggestions would work if we're only talking about a 36" wide cabinet.

 

[agarwalsa]

Thanks for your suggestions !

I have already bought and spray finished all the crown and dentil molding for the entire kitchen so switching to a smaller molding does not sound very appealing at the moment  [sad]...and this molding has 2 profiles profiled on the top 1/2" so scribing is not going to look very good either though i may not have any other options.

I do have space to apply a vertical piece in between the cabinet door and the crown but that still means tilting both pieces though slighly less now , and then the question is how do you cut the mitres to compensate for the slope ? This particular section is 64" long and has 2 outside corners for the hood.

I will try follow this and then try filling the remaining gap with drywall mud or caulk.