A dumb question about crown molding....

From my experience, the thinner or beaded edge goes to the wall.

-- Maker of Noise and Fine Sawdust

generally speaking mouldings off the floor are heavy side up , baseboard is heavyside down . if you really want to know if its upside down draw a profile of it and post it . i can probably help you . however i see crown moulding upside down in peoples houses all the time . they seem happy so i dont ruin thier day ! lol heres some examples

-- if you aint the lead dog the scenery never changes

The rule for crown molding is this: The side with the most detail goes at the bottom.

MrTrim:
I see crown upside down all the time and it drives me nuts. I was watching one of those BS home shows on HGTV the other day where one of the idiot hosts was showing a homeowner how to install crown and he put it up upside down.

-- Tony, Ohio

Here’s the profile:

http://s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk161/poopiekat/?action=view&current=crownmolding.jpg

I did get the thinner edge against the wall!! I’ve only done 2 1/4” plain cove molding in the past, and this molding perhaps is a bit out of scale to the small room (45 sf) that I put it in.
Thanks everyone for your helpful replies!

-- If stradivarius was alive today, he'd be using Gorilla Glue.

near as i can tell from the pic it looks like the right side as you look at it would go to the ceiling

tony z ive never heard that rule before however i cant think of any crown that it dosent coinside with the rule i have heard . i have a subdivision that i work in and every house has the crown upside down ! yes it bugs me some also but even more when i have to do some that way so it matches . lol

-- if you aint the lead dog the scenery never changes

I think most (if not all) crown is cut at different angles top and bottom. I believe standard is 38/52 degrees. The crown should be oriented so that it covers more wall than ceiling.

-- What exactly is "The Move" and who are you calling a "Quirky Jerk"? -- http://www.north40custom.com

mrtrim is correct in that the right side would go to the ceiling. I have installed miles of molding in the past.

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

peter , i believe theres two different types , most crown sits on the 38 you mention but some bed on 45 . i think most mitre saws now have markings for both mine (hitachi comp slide ) , the 38 is indicated with a triangle the 45 is indicated with a round dot .

-- if you aint the lead dog the scenery never changes

I’ll go along with that, mrtrim – I’m pretty sure you’ve installed more trim than I ever will! I’ve used 45 degree molding, but I’ve never used any 45 degree crown. With 45 degree crown, I would have to agree with your earlier post that the heavy side would go up.

-- What exactly is "The Move" and who are you calling a "Quirky Jerk"? -- http://www.north40custom.com

peter , im not sure if in hindsight we were on the same page . im refering to the angle the crown beds on in reference to the wall . most of the 45 deg . crown ive run across is dentil and some of the custom cut variety . you may be refering to the actual angle on the back . ive not checked that in many years but if im not mistaken some years back most of the manf. changed the angle at the top slighty so the front edge at the top met the ceiling with a backcut . lol im not sure even i can make sense out of what i just said ! good luck . sorry about getting all up in your thread poopie , i think crown moulding gives more guys fits than about any other except maybe bar rail

-- if you aint the lead dog the scenery never changes

mrtrim – no, I think we’re talking about the same thing, we’re just saying it differently – it’s just really hard to describe in words!

-- What exactly is "The Move" and who are you calling a "Quirky Jerk"? -- http://www.north40custom.com

...of course in Australia it would be just the opposite. I had an engineer specify I put the crown in upside down. It just looked different…. it’s decorative not structural.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

poopie cat , in reference to your other concern the scale of your mld. to your room . i usually recomend the size of crown in reference to the hieght of the ceiling as opposed to the size of the room . ex. a room with 8 ft. ceilings i rec, 4 1/4 or 4 1/2 , 10 ft ceilings 5 1/4 – 51/2 and so on

-- if you aint the lead dog the scenery never changes

Thanks, mrtrim, and all the rest for your helpful replies!
Looks like I opened a hornet’s nest here, but I’m glad to see that there is a need for greater awareness on the subject, and that I was at least right in questioning the work I did.
I do lots more casework, and rarely get involved with crown molding…I’ll be more aware of whether my work is right-side up on my next project! Thanks again, all!

-- If stradivarius was alive today, he'd be using Gorilla Glue.

your most welcome poopiecat , and i dont see a hornets nest here , i thought it a great disscusion on the topic . i learned a new rule id never heard , i think you learned more about crown and im sure some others probably benifited from it as well . thats what it all about . great post thank you

-- if you aint the lead dog the scenery never changes

POOPIECAT?

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Thanks guys, I learned something that I never thought about. I just looked and I did it right. Whew!!!

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Yes, Dadoo?

-- If stradivarius was alive today, he'd be using Gorilla Glue.

On the other side of the big pond crown molding is hung with trim side on the ceiling line…. 38, 45, 52 degree refers to the spring angle off the wall…the higher the ceiling line the large angle should be used for visual effect along with increasing the actual size of the molding…Blkcherry

i find that quite interesting blkcherry . got any pics ? maybe ill start a new trend over here ! lol do you guys have different profiles than us or are you saying you do it opposite with the same basic profiles we have ? im always interested in something different

-- if you aint the lead dog the scenery never changes

What I’m saying is its not uncommon for people to hang crown unside down it depends on were your from….and I always hang it with as you say heavy side UP…Blkcherry