# ugly crown moulding joins



## paintgurl (Sep 20, 2011)

Ok. I work new construction as a deficiency painter and I'm constantly sent back to houses to fix ugly crown moulding joins. Anyone have any suggestions for a good way to fix them? I've tried filling them out with various fillers, I've tried sanding them down (by hand) no matter what i do they're just ugly. Try convincing a homeowner to live with it though. Good luck


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## PatsPainting (Mar 4, 2010)

Well it really depends on the complex of the molding - If they have a ton of details I would just tell the HO to hang a picture or put a bumper sticker over em. Caulk is the quickest but does not always look right, spackle takes a little more time but if done right you should be able to improve the looks by 75%

Pat


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## PatsPainting (Mar 4, 2010)

They need to fire the freaking finish carpenter. If it was me I would be making fun of him in front of his face all day. 

Pat


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## Paradigmzz (May 5, 2010)

PatsPainting said:


> They need to fire the freaking finish carpenter. If it was me I would be making fun of him in front of his face all day.
> 
> Pat



Sums up what I was gonna say.


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## wills fresh coat (Nov 17, 2011)

1st coat easy sand 5, 2nd coat (if needed) same thing then sand smooth>>>>make sure there is no movement with the molding cause this may crack if there is


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## prototype66 (Mar 13, 2008)

I used to use Durhams base filland sand to match ( if possible) and either spray Elastomeric sealant (if available) or a really skillful caulk job with a wet rag or wet brush to blend in.


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## paintgurl (Sep 20, 2011)

Lmao!! Thanks guys i needed a good laugh. The crown isn't super elaborate but the profile does make it a pain in the u know what to even try to fill with a putty knife. I told the homeowners i would do what i could but they were usually uncooperative and difficult to fix completely. " it is what it is. As for firing the finishing carpenter, u know its hard to find a good 15yr old finishing carpenter who will work for minimum wage these days so i don't think that's gonna happen. Anyone have any suggestions on what to tell the homeowners who just so happen to notice that their walls "don't look right" as they r looking down them and ur thinking to yourself "well that's becuase around herewe don't use primer" yup ur stuck with those ugly walls too. Gotta love new con...


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## WisePainter (Dec 27, 2008)

PatsPainting said:


> They need to fire the freaking finish carpenter.


This carpenter obviously fit the profit margin of the GC.
NC isn't about hiring quality imho, it's about clustering as many homes per acre as quickly as possible because the banks are on the heels of recovering their $20 mil. investment.

NC hurts us the most because:

1:We are expected to repair damage, or shoddy workmanship left by subs that are LONG gone.

2: Being the end (of probably a huge headache due to the lowest bidders banging out work and going waaaay over schedule) we cannot devote enough time to quality finishes. This really hits hard when working on a custom NC led by the HO who watched HGTV and has been killed by overages of time and budget*.

Sooo basically ugly trim is very common in NC and we are expected to fix it.
In my experience there is no perma fix, just temporary patches that work just long enough to hock the house to someone.

that last line made my head hurt...














*any little inconvenience that comes with homebuilding will result in immediate meltdown of the common DIY HO Foreman/Builder/Superintendant.


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## Lambrecht (Feb 8, 2010)

Last NC I just finished was wrought with crap azz trim work. I took every opportunity to point out the shoddy work to the HO and made sure that the "finish" carpenter know that his work sucked. I think it is BS that a GC is charging a HO 250,000 for a 2 bedroom house and doesn't hire a real finish carpenter.


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## In Demand (Mar 24, 2008)

I just did a NC house a couple months ago, worst trim carpenters I have ever seen. 
The guys came in and measured along the floor for their crown then cut every piece before hanging anything. Huge gaps in some rooms along with busted out corners and wavy trim in others where they had forced the crown in place. 
They got real pissed when I refused to set the hundreds of hails they left bent and sticking out of the trim. 
Then once I was all finished with the walls and trim they remembered a column they had forgot so they ripped the crown and trim back off the wall.
I have worked in thousands of NC homes over the years but had never seen anything like the crap these boys pulled


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## Holly (Jun 14, 2011)

****


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

and Bondo won't work well?

Wouldn't it adhere well? And then sand to blend into profile?


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## Builtmany (Dec 5, 2009)

PatsPainting said:


> They need to fire the freaking finish carpenter. If it was me I would be making fun of him in front of his face all day.
> 
> Pat


Absolutely. My crown seams are cut on a 45 and lapped over one another. I also use glue and brads (nails) to hold it together. Fact is mine are still perfect 10+ years later. Bad seams are the fault of the finish carpenter and should not be a painters issue. My seams are perfect before the painter ever gets there.


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## NaplesPainter (Aug 3, 2011)

Bondo


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Builtmany said:


> Absolutely. My crown seams are cut on a 45 and lapped over one another. I also use glue and brads (nails) to hold it together. Fact is mine are still perfect 10+ years later. Bad seams are the fault of the finish carpenter and should not be a painters issue. My seams are perfect before the painter ever gets there.


I'm no finish carpenter by any means, but when I installed the crown in my living area, I 45 and glued the joins, that was about 15 years ago and they are still unseen.


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## Builtmany (Dec 5, 2009)

daArch said:


> I'm no finish carpenter by any means, but when I installed the crown in my living area, I 45 and glued the joins, that was about 15 years ago and they are still unseen.


That's all it takes. 

I recently saw a guy cut them both at 90 degrees and butt them together. In 2 weeks time they opened up and he wanted me to fill them with caulk. I told him it was the last job he was doing for me and did not even pay him 100% of what he wanted because he was a total hack.


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## RaleighPainter (Jun 13, 2011)

Builtmany said:


> That's all it takes.
> 
> I recently saw a guy cut them both at 90 degrees and butt them together. In 2 weeks time they opened up and he wanted me to fill them with caulk. I told him it was the last job he was doing for me and did not even pay him 100% of what he wanted because he was a total hack.


So he cut them square and nailed them together? How is that possible with crown molding the profile won't transfer from one piece to the other...


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## Builtmany (Dec 5, 2009)

Julian&co said:


> So he cut them square and nailed them together? How is that possible with crown molding the profile won't transfer from one piece to the other...


No nails just butt together, end to end. I'm talking about a seam where 2 pieces join together on long straight run. Moldings only come 16 ft and the room was 20 ft, the same was at the 16 with a 4 ft piece.


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## RaleighPainter (Jun 13, 2011)

Ohhhh I see. How hard would it have been to do it right 45 each and nail it... hacks... and split the run, two ten ft pieces little... lazy.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

I've seen the finger joints (don't know what to call them) and thought they would last longer than the typical 45. Any carpenters care to chime in?


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## paintgurl (Sep 20, 2011)

I've tried bondo. I've tried surepatch, I've tried dry dex, I've tried glazing putty.... I've tried just about everything. I also tried to go fix it today after making arrangements with the homeowner to be there at 1:30, and after loading my gear and driving across the site, they weren't even home. Lol. That's ok. I really wasn't into doing it today anyways. Lol. Thanks for all the great input guys. Much appreciation for taking the time to help me out. Its a relief ( a sad relief) to know that I'm not the only one suffering in a new con nightmare. Kudos to all of u who have work ethic, morals and take pride in a job well done. Apparently we're a dying breed. I'm going back on wed. So i'll let ya'll know how it turns out.


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## Lambrecht (Feb 8, 2010)

Paintgurl, try Crackshot. It does not dry as hard as Bondo but it forms well with easy sanding. It will most likely eventually fail but just remember that you are just trying to polish someone else's turd.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

I just remembered something we used in model aviation.

We never really explored what the issue you have with the join. But may I assume it is both a gap and a difference in alignment.And probably both sides of the join can move independently of each other, making future movement likely that will re-crack any weak filler.

So, the first issue is to secure both ends, and while you do, try to align them as best as possible.

Now here's the magic. We used epoxy with "micro balloons" mixed in for a tough, bonding, sandable filler. No way I can describe micro balloons intelligently here. Do a search.

What I would do is put straight epoxy deep into the join gap to secure them, and them put the epoxy w/ micro balloons nearer the surface and on the surface overlapping the join.

When dry, sand to match profile.

Complicated and time consuming? Yup. Back charge the responsible hack. I am sure being totally unfamiliar with the process, no one here will consider to do something so out of the box.

But that not withstanding, all of these supplies can be bought at a good hobby outlet. Tower Hobbies  was always a very reliable source.


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