# Crown molding...how to handle caulk?



## Robie (Feb 25, 2005)

Hi,
I'm new to the forum but spent an hour last night reading mamy, many posts. This seems like a friendly place with some helpful folks.
I'm a woodworker/handyman that paints probably 3-4 times a year.
I'm currently remodeling a bathroom and have installed crown molding. I have the usual gaps, both at the ceiling and the walls and am wondering how to proceed with the final painting. I have caulked the molding at the ceiling but not the walls as yet. The entire room was primed with BINS, one coat of flat white on the ceiling and 2 coats of S&W Super paint (dark blue) on the walls. I primed and sanded the molding and gave it one coat of S&W Super paint in an off-white (all the trim, along with beadboard will be the off-white)
Just wondering what to do with the caulk. Does it usually get painted the same color as the crown or the walls/ceiling? There is one gap of about a 1/4" between the ceiling and molding, but the rest looks pretty good. That one gap sticks out like a sore thumb right now with just the caulk color showing.
Thanks for any and all advice.


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## AAPaint (Apr 18, 2005)

1/4" gap? Don't you mean cavern, lol? 

That's a big gap for sure. Do you have caulk in a tub, lol? Maybe cut the OTHER end of the tube to caulk it? Hehe! Alright, enough. j/k :innocent:

Seriously. It's a 1/4" cavern, but how long is it? You pretty much have to caulk it because anything else will only crack eventually. You could try multiple coats. Also, you can try using something as a backer for the caulk. Backer rod is a foam noodle looking product used to fill large gaps before caulking. You could try cutting a thin strip to fit the hole before caulking. Just make sure none protrudes further than the wood. Again, multiple coats are necessary.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

AA, have you trimmed any new homes lately? 1/4" is a cakewalk in most of them. One would think that with lasers and metal studs, walls would be more precise but I find just the opposite to be true. How about almost 3" out on an 18' wall? Up to 7/8" out of sq. on window returns? I'd be tickled pink with only 1/4" to deal with.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

Robie said:


> Does it usually get painted the same color as the crown or the walls/ceiling?


Paint the caulk the color of the wall. The eye will accept it, because you have the factory edge of the crown running straight and true on the wall.


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## AAPaint (Apr 18, 2005)

Teetorbilt said:


> AA, have you trimmed any new homes lately? 1/4" is a cakewalk in most of them. One would think that with lasers and metal studs, walls would be more precise but I find just the opposite to be true. How about almost 3" out on an 18' wall? Up to 7/8" out of sq. on window returns? I'd be tickled pink with only 1/4" to deal with.


No, I don't trim new homes. I just got out of new construction before starting my business though, and I have seen what you speak of. Saw one wall that had a curve sticking out at least a few inches further than the rest of the wall. Sheetrock was finished, trim was caulked and painted, but the wall was shaped like an "S"!! I informed the builder, they ignored it and walked the customer through the new home. Customer FLIPPED when they saw they wall. Turns out, someone left a collar or something around a pipe in the wall which cause the whole wall to bow outward. I'm telling you, it was a 10' long wall that bowed out over 3" for about two feet in the center of the wall. 

The sad part is every single trade came in and did their work drywallers, trim guys, painters, etc and not one said a single word until I came in to do a final bump on the house before they closed on the house. It's funny because like Mike said above, you can often paint things to look straight even when they're not, but there's no way you can paint a wall like that to make it look straight, lol. 

I know 1/4" gap isn't that bad, but I was having fun with his post, hehe!! I've seen gaps larger than that in the trim just between baseboards and the floor....and that's rediculous. I don't see how someone nails a baseboard 1/2" off of the flooring??


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