Installing Curved Crown Molding

 

Installing crown molding on curved walls.

We had a project with quite a few curved walls and crown molding need to be install all through the house.

First, the radius and the length of each of these curved walls has to be measured and calculated, so specific length of latex flexible crown molding matching the profile of the straight 6 ¼ crown to be install could be order.

The maximum length you can get in custom made flexible molding is 9 feet ( that's the size of the molds they have ), so for longer walls, and we have a few, two pieces has to be order and we have to deal with a joint, which it was not a problem because even if we could get it all in one piece, practically any piece longer than 9 feet it would be too heavy to properly hold.

Latex flexible crown is much heavy than crown made of any other material including solids wood.

When the radius is ordered right you will get a piece of crown that will adjust and run around the curved wall very tight and nice, as it was made for that unique wall. It glues and sands with no much problem and holds nails very well as long as you nail far enough from the edges.

Due to its weight and flexibility it needs solids proper support pieces previously install for backing.

The fact that we have to deal with the curved walls and the height we had to reach to install the crown in places like the stairs ( a platform was built ) it made a very interesting project out of this one.

Dovetails : The symbol of Fine Woodworking

                                                           DOVETAILS

Since I started working and learning carpentry skills ( many years ago ) I always felt intrigued by the beauty and the clean effectiveness of this specific type of joinery.

Once I learnt the long history of this technique, it goes all the way back to the tombs of the Egyptian mummies and the Chinese Emperors, my liking of dovetails only grew.

With time I mastered all the different dovetails techniques, from half blind to sliding dovetail, by hand with a handsaw or with the help of a dovetail gig and a router, ( a lot more practical way for production on the real business world these days )

Dovetails joints are very strong, very difficult to pull apart and impossible to do when glued together

Every time I have to build drawers boxes from some type of solid wood, I praise the opportunity to get my dovetail gig out and get them done, always knowing I am building a piece that will last for generations using a technique that's nothing else than the symbol of Fine Woodworking.

These pictures are from the drawers boxes for a mud room project with two floor to ceiling Cherry cabinets that I am currently building.

Coffered ceiling with ceilings tiles

                                                        Coffered Ceiling with Ceiling Tiles

Ceilings are one of my Favorited Projects, the most elaborated the better. 

This week once again I had the opportunity to bring to life an exclusive and interesting ceiling. In this specific project a ceiling was needed for decor and for hidden the removable panels that will cover the opening to access the air conditioning unit.

We had to come up with a design that will complied with the site measurements, but at the same time allowed enough clearance for the panels to be removable in an easy way, fits as part of the complete design to hide the opening and leave enough room in the center to clear the sprinkle head on the ceiling.

Custom Work

Custom Work


There is a difference between regular generic and custom work, as well as there is a degree of how customize a project is. These are the details that make a project unique and the results exclusive.
As a carpenter I look forward to these projects and the pains and pleasures involved in the process of bringing these projects to life.
The following pictures are from the building process of a commercial highly customized bar top, in this project every part and piece was built from scratch.
The biggest challenge is always to be able to assemble the piece in the shop in a way that could be disassemble and transported  into the job site in the most effective way, limiting the installation time at the site to a couple of days with the least man power.

 

THE INSTALLATION PROCESS

THE BUILDING PROCESS

me with my helpers at the shop