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chickenwing
 
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Default troubleshoot crown mldg

anyone ever seen crown molding seperate from the ceiling?

it's all throughout the house, every room

1/4 - 3/8" long gaps...
the ceiling looks very flat

the gaps are at the top of the mldg, it seperates from the ceiling, you
see the caulking
pulling here and there...the caulk does not stretch...

so it needs a caulk job, but I cannot imagine what is causing this

during the summer there are no cracks
during the winter it looks awful

my guess is that the house shrinks during the winter
even the house has settle on one side leaving small
stress crack in an interior wall...

but this shrink swell winter summer mlding pulling loose

i have never seen this

it's all painted see...

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DanG
 
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Default troubleshoot crown mldg


My first guess would be that you have trusses rather than a cut
roof. Trusses are much more prone to this seasonal uplift. Only
you can decide what is the best cure. Latex painter's type caulk
is not good at stretching. There are caulks that are much better
about stretching, though you must be careful to avoid bonding to
anything more than 2 surfaces by using backer rod.

Here is some interesting reading on the problem:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...=Google+Search


(top posted for your convenience)
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Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"chickenwing" wrote in message
oups.com...
anyone ever seen crown molding seperate from the ceiling?

it's all throughout the house, every room

1/4 - 3/8" long gaps...
the ceiling looks very flat

the gaps are at the top of the mldg, it seperates from the
ceiling, you
see the caulking
pulling here and there...the caulk does not stretch...

so it needs a caulk job, but I cannot imagine what is causing
this

during the summer there are no cracks
during the winter it looks awful

my guess is that the house shrinks during the winter
even the house has settle on one side leaving small
stress crack in an interior wall...

but this shrink swell winter summer mlding pulling loose

i have never seen this

it's all painted see...



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HarryS
 
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Default troubleshoot crown mldg

If your house has truss rafters, that might be the problem. A condition
referred to as truss uplift can cause the ceiling to rise, especially toward
the center of the truss. It occurs mostly during the winter. Since the
bottom chord of the truss is usually embedded in a thick layer of
insulation, the heat from the house keeps it dry and it tends to shrink.
The top chords of the truss are in higher humidity and expand. This
differential moisture will cause the bottom chord of the truss to rise and,
consequently, the ceiling will rise. Since the crown molding is generally
fastened to the top plate of the wall, it stays down and a gap forms. At
times the ceiling will crack during the winter because of truss lift, then
the cracks tend to close during the summer. You can probably tell if this
is the cause by noting how the trusses run and observing if the phenomenon
is worse toward the center of the truss.

The only solution I know of is to fasten the crown molding to the ceiling
rather than the wall so that it can rise with the ceiling. If you add caulk
when the gap is present, the caulk will have no place to go when the ceiling
comes back down.


"chickenwing" wrote in message
oups.com...
anyone ever seen crown molding seperate from the ceiling?

it's all throughout the house, every room

1/4 - 3/8" long gaps...
the ceiling looks very flat

the gaps are at the top of the mldg, it seperates from the ceiling, you
see the caulking
pulling here and there...the caulk does not stretch...

so it needs a caulk job, but I cannot imagine what is causing this

during the summer there are no cracks
during the winter it looks awful

my guess is that the house shrinks during the winter
even the house has settle on one side leaving small
stress crack in an interior wall...

but this shrink swell winter summer mlding pulling loose

i have never seen this

it's all painted see...



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Posted to alt.home.repair
chickenwing
 
Posts: n/a
Default troubleshoot crown mldg


HarryS wrote:

The only solution I know of is to fasten the crown molding to the ceiling
rather than the wall so that it can rise with the ceiling. If you add caulk
when the gap is present, the caulk will have no place to go when the ceiling
comes back down.



Thank you

this makes alot of sense,

i've never heard of this

evidently his builder did not know about this...
I read there is a solution to this, an L bracket

it is probably too late to install L brackets, or a pain in the buttox

we said the same thing, if we put caulk in now...where will it go when
it shrinks...
it's going to push on the molding..but I doubt it would be very
visible..

I don't know, maybe a few L brakets in the attic could minimize the
seasonal seperations

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