[784caroline]

Beware of Crown Moulding installation problems.

We have recently been in 2 homes that had crown moulding installed and let me tell you it looks a mess. When first installed everything was fine and the job looked great, but with this recent cold spell and now with the heat turned on inside the homes, the wood is starting to shrink and major gaps are showing up. Especially noticeable are places (long runs of moulding) where the contractor spliced the moulding together, or at corners and angle cuts, and its even separating from the ceiling where caulk should have hidden this problem. When these homeowners called the contractor they said it was not their fault for wood will normally shrink during the winter when heat is turned on in the hosue and that it "should" return to normal when more moisure enters the home (summer).

Fortuantely the crown moulding in our house is not showing the same problems but then again it was installed by someone else. All long runs of moulding are one piece, with the exception of one that is more than 30 feet long. Contractors will try and cut corners by piecing moulding together to save on their cost of moulding and it facilitates installation but in weather like we just experienced the short-cuts to save a buck will definitely show up....and its a mess.

Anybody else see this problem first hand?