My brother is a carpenter and just installed crown molding for us but according to pictures I have seen it seems to be upside down. It is standard crown molding and it was installed so the smaller cove is toward the ceiling and the thicker or wider more pronounced section on the wall. He says that all of the builders he works for have him install it this way. I also called some lumber stores and the majority of them have told me that the correct way to install it like my brother did. Is this the new way of installing crown molding?

like most moulding it can be installed anyway you want. it is not a law that it be installed a certain way.

i've seen chair rail used as door casing or had angles ripped on it and used as crown.

however, the most widely accepted way (and the only way i've ever seen it installed) is with the small cove down against the wall.

at first i would think that your brother was trying to bullsh*t you to cover up his mistake by saying that most of the people he does work for have him install it that way. i am a cabinet maker and trim carpenter and where i live, that is certainly not the case. however, if the lumberyards you called told you the same, either they don't know what they are talking about (lowe's/home depot have a reputation for that) or it really is the case in your area.

at any rate, if you are happy with it, let it go. if it really bugs you, have him redo it.

Thank you for your response. It is not that it looks that bad upside down but it really is bothering me because I wanted the job done properly. Unfortunately I think I am going to have to live with it because my brother insists that it is the correct way and I don't want to give him more money to redo the job.

Paul is absolutely right, you can put it any way you want of course... but the classical crown is a centries old design and the scotia at the bottom is made to balance the the ogee (wave) at the top. It creates the proper shadow & balance when installed the correct way.

Crown comes typically with 2 (spring) angles 45/45 and 52/38 if it is the more common 52/38 the longer height is always down the wall. You wouldn't want the crown to extend out onto the ceiling more than it comes down the wall.

If you or your brother wants to learn more on installing crown, or even more on the basics like "which way is up" visit my http://www.installcrown.com/ How to install crown molding site.



Alter Eagle Construction & Design

http://www.altereagle.com/ | Construction & Design | http://decks-ca.com/ | Decks, California outdoor living | http://kingofcrown.com/ | Molding and finishing | http://installcrown.com/ | Crown tutorial

Thank you for responding to my post, Altereagle, and referring me to your website. It was actually after viewing your website about a week ago and seeing your instructions on how to install crown molding that caused me to realize that it was probably upside down. I have been researching this ever since. Since we don't want to tear it down, my husband and I think we will resolve this problem by adding a smaller molding or lattice at the bottom so more will be on the wall and it may appear more like we purposely had it installed upside down.