Crown And Popcorn

silvertree

I have been asked to comeback and install another room of crown for a customer I did crown for this past fall. There are popcorn textured ceilings and it will be painted crown at 3 1/2 inches. Last time I scraped off the popcorn and used a block plane to fit the crown, then I used a little caulk. I don't like the way the crown looks when I plane the top edge. I also don't like scraping the popcorn back because setup and cleanup add more time to my job and most guys around here just squash the crown up and caulk into the popcorn and leave it at that. What works best for you.
Scrape popcorn and set?
Squash it up in there?
Plane, scrape and set with no caulk?
Buy caulk on sale at HD and squirt everywhere till the cows come home?

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wink

what ever you did last time must have worked, they asked you back, were's the picks?

neolitic

Pop lines with my white chalk box
and scrape.
Caulk when necessary (read always).

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silvertree

White chalk! Never thought of that, and as far as caulk, one guy posted on CT that he never uses caulk and that was more or less an amateurs way to install crown. I don't use it much, but I've tried planing the crown to fit and in some situations you can plane so much off it looks way worse than a bead of caulk. I used a electronic angle finder with the previous install (first time) and have made that a spot in my trim bag.

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neolitic

I try not to use caulk,
but with popcorn/heavy texture...?
I keep repeating the mantra:
"I did not choose this texture."
"I did not choose this texture."
"I did not choose this texture."
.......

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silvertree

As you say!

"I did not choose this texture."

And I got over 30 years of hearing guys tell me their way is the best, most of the time it's guys with 30 years less experience than me.

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NorthstarNC

I don't understand the need for planing the top of the crown? If the popcorn is scraped off, then won't the crown seat like normal on top? I'm just curios.

silvertree

Not if there is a bow in the ceiling joist or floor joist. Maybe a bad tape job, plaster key gave loose years ago, or the framing isn't even for whatever reason. On a support wall someone may have altered that to install mechanicals and the whole wall sags a bit. Those are the reasons I can think of. Planing the crown I did when I started out, rarely do that now.
All I think of when I install is whens lunch!

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Tom R

I install the crown right over the popcorn, - - then scrape a trail in the popcorn with a narrow screwdriver (about 1/8" wide) by pulling it toward me with the front edge of the crown as my guide, - - then caulk a bead into the flats.

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neolitic

That's assuming a fairly uniform "aggregate"
(don't know what to call that s**t) right?
I can see that.
Some of the stuff they blew around here
has some pretty huge chunks.
Your way sounds cool with the small even stuff.
Will remember that.

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Teetorbilt

After your tack strip is up use a short piece of the crown to remove the popcorn where the final moulding will go.

Best bet is to convince the HO to update the entire ceiling. Popcorn is so tacky. If the ceiling is bad (not flat) sell a knockdown.

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silvertree

I'm gonna try that! This is painted crown, preprimed with 2 coats Benjamin Moore Snow White enamel. It's all painted when I install it, I just fill the nail holes and touch up and go home. I use 18 gauge nails only and 23 gauge nails and glue on my outside corners and returns. I stopped coping my inside corners last year and have had no problems with that so far. I still cope base cap though.

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chris klee

every house i have ever done painted trim in the painter has always gone back and caulked the edges to the drywall anyway. i go with the squash n caulk method