![]() 11/01/2015 at 07:55 • Filed to: Homelopnik | ![]() | ![]() |
I doubt you can see it, but in the above pic the ceiling arches upward. This will be a bit frustrating while putting up moulding because the ceiling and moulding wouldn’t connect. The internet says ceilings are usually uneven (makes sense if you ever worked with drywall), so what is a good remedy for this?
I know one avenue is to visit my good friend the attic and try from up there (not sure what though), but this is the edge of the house and there isn’t much wiggle room to work in. Another thought I had was to apply spackle as filler, but it’ll be a ~12” x ~12” area to fill up to make it consistent with the rest of the ceiling. I think spackle might be the best route, but only because it seems the easiest. I asking because this is new to me, I’m not sure if my current approach is the best choice. And i couldn’t find any sites that I felt have clear or satisfactory answers.
What does oppo think? Anything I might of missed or another approach that I can consider?
Edit: not sure why I didn’t do this before, but I put the trim up the measure the gap, it’s about 3/4” wide.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 07:59 |
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Ignoring it is probably the easiest fix to be honest.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:02 |
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I’m having a little trouble seeing the arch as you pointed out so I’m not sure if my idea is valid but you could rip the top of the trim at a 45 ish degree angle using a table saw in a way that the front of the trim is still full height but the backside has an air gap to allow for the arch
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:08 |
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Poor, not to scale, scribble
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:08 |
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This is actually no biggie. When you pick out your crown, pick out a smaller one. You can actually bend the molding to follow the ceiling, or at least pretty closely. You may have a bit fatter of a caulk joint at that spot, but only you will notice that (because you made it), nobody else will. It’s even easier if you get a moulding made of composite, instead of solid wood.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:12 |
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I would fill the gap with plaster, sand to be even, then paint over. Just me though. Sure you might be able to bend the crown, but filling the gap will keep the moulding even all around.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:14 |
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We picked out door trim, mistaking it for moulding, but it’s very discrete and unassuming, perfect for the ceiling I think. It’s wood, and is suppose to lay flat against the wall I believe.
So it’s suppose to be bendable?
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:15 |
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I was debating about just putting up the trim, and fix the ceiling next summer. I have a bit on my plate with other projects, lol.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:18 |
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Not a bad idea actually, it could work.
The arch is definitely there. Since I’m a bit OCD, while walking past it a few times I noticed it seemed ‘off’. Eventually I just stared at it long enough that ‘perhaps it wasn’t even’. Sure enough, when I took a level to it, it wasn’t.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:21 |
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That might be the end game honestly. The idea of having the moulding consistent throughout the kitchen/dining room goes with my OCD ideologies
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:24 |
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Plaster won’t last. Anytime you have 2 pieces of drywall, they move with settling, or expansion/contraction. Plaster would crack within 6 months. I would just put the moulding up, and caulk it.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:34 |
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Paint it white and ignore it. No-one will ever see it. One of the hardest parts of doing this kind of job is keeping a sense of proportion: it’s easy to be up a ladder, inches from the thing you’re working on, trying to get it perfect without realising that it’ll be barely visible and completely unnoticeable from a normal distance.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:35 |
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Hmmm, I’ve heard about drywall contracting and expanding. So spackle doesn’t do that as well? Rats...
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:38 |
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This suggestion might be the easiest, lol.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:52 |
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put the molding up level, fill in the gap with caulking.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:55 |
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With the big gap that is there, that might be the best option.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:56 |
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How big is the deflection? Have you tried putting a long level across the ceiling to see how much it dips down. There’s 3 ways to do it. You could bend the trim to the curve, run the trim straight and caulk the top, which could look wavy. The most OCD way would be to run a long level across the ceiling to see the low spot and then to float it out with sheetrock mud. But that involves sand/prime and paint and is dependent on your sheetrock skills. It’s also overkill for me, all houses have irregularities, from settling or from when it was constructed. Normally in this situation we run the crown with the ceiling and caulk and call it a day.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 08:58 |
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Yup, I expect so. I’d slap some filler into the gap to bring it flush with the edge of the cornice and call it a day.
You could probably cut out and replace that section of plasterboard, but you’ll just run into the same problem trying to blend it in: it’ll be unnoticeable long before it’s invisible if you really look.
This kind of not-quite-squareness is pretty normal, really. You just don’t notice it until you get up close and personal.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 09:03 |
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Yep, it makes me semi-afraid to check other places in the house, lol.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 09:04 |
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It seems caulking it is the best idea.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 09:09 |
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Do you have an SO or good friend around? If so, when you find something like this just ask them to go into the room by themselves and see if they can spot anything wrong. If they don’t see it without being prompted to look in a certain place (or whatever) then you don’t need to worry.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 09:18 |
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I used that same door moulding as a cheap chair rail. Yeah, it lays flat against the wall. You will be able to bend it some. If it’s a big bow in the ceiling, it’ll probably look best if you “split the difference”. Bend it up about half the way the ceiling, and then fill in the rest of the gap with a fatter caulk joint. Use your best judgment as to whether you should bend it all the way, or split the difference. There’s no right or wrong, just do what looks best.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 09:20 |
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Just saw your added picture. That’s definitely a split the difference size gap.
![]() 11/01/2015 at 10:16 |
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It certainly is the least painful option :). Typically if your ceiling is white and you paint your trim white it will look fine caulked in. That is a pretty impressive gap. Judging by the screw hole in the sheetrock that low spot is on a ceiling joist, most ceilings have some wave to them. This one just happens to be in a pretty noticeable. If you have a large gap to caulk you can fill it in and run a putty knife over it to smooth and level it. I’d use like an Alex fast dry from DAP out another latex fast dry caulk to fill so there’s less chance of sagging on larger caulk joints. Been in residential remodeling for 11 years and nothing is straight or level or square so don’t sweat it!
![]() 11/01/2015 at 12:12 |
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Not so well. That’s why they use tape at all the joints. Grout has the same problem. I regrouted a shower a few times before I learned you should use caulk where the floor meets a wall (or 2 walls meet).