Dimensional lumber as useful "crown molding?"

[beatle]

Like most people, I have less garage space than I'd like to have, so I try to make the most of what I have. I am considering ripping some dimensional lumber to remove the rounded edges (likely 2x6, maybe 2x8) and then paint and install as crown molding. Not purely decorative, the idea is that I could then use this "crown molding" as a place to hang longer tools at any interval vs finding a stud and mounting directly to the wall. The previous owner seeded the idea with some 2x4s running horizontally across the drywall. They were spaced down a foot or so from the ceiling and were nailed to studs. I liked the flexibility, though it was kind of ugly, especially since the 2x4s weren't painted. Removing hooks would not require drywall mud, just some wood putty and maybe paint.

Thoughts on this as a look / function? Not exactly garage mahal, but hopefully more useful and a little better looking than the 2x4s.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

Maybe use dried 5/4 x 6 deck boards. Do you really need the thickness of a 2x? And why square iff the edges?

 

[beatle]

I suppose you could use the "lipstick on a pig" phrase here, but ripping the rounded edges would be to make it look a bit more presentable on the wall and less like dimensional lumber. You're right in that I really don't need the strength of 2x material. It was just what seeded the idea.

In hindsight, regular 1x lumber would also work and look better, but a 1x6x8 is actually twice the price of a 2x6x8. 5/4 decking seems to all be pressure treated which wouldn't be needed up high, though it's strangely the least expensive option.

 

[WinMod21]

Would you be ripping both edges —at 45°— and installing it like actual crown molding - at a near 45° angle?
I would use the cheapest lumber you can find - if you're going to paint it.

 

[firebirdparts]

I looked at a house a long time ago (nice high priced house) that had 1 x 4 sawmill lumber as crown molding and baseboards. Looked okay. Cheaper and less work than ripping planed lumber.

 

[beatle]

I would probably leave it square at the bottom. Cutting the other side at a 45 is not a bad idea. May even give me a cavity to hide some speaker wire...

 

[nadogail]

Attaching horizontal boards to your studs to hang things from seems practical; when you call dimensional lumber Crown Molding, is a lot like putting Revlon on Swine.

 

[beatle]

A foot down I would not refer to it as crown molding. At the intersection of the ceiling and walls? Pucker up, Babe!

 

[BukitCase]

If you're considering ripping at 45*, google French Cleats, might also help for a few things besides hanging tools... Steve

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Too close to the ceiling and it could be difficult to hang many types of tools.

I'm a bit strange. In one area I have plywood walls and my baseboards are aluminum flashing to cover styrofoam insulation and I capped it with 2x4s.
In another area I have drywall. Used plastic panels to form the baseboards and 1x4s to cap them.

Both look OK to me. Several other guys noticed them. Some like the look, others scratch their heads.

 

[Cruzan80]

In a previous house (Pittsburgh 1940s), it was stained pine 1x4 and 5/4 as the baseboard trim and window moulding. Looked really nice in an older Mission/Craftsman style.

 

[dfiler2]

I would dress up that bottom corner by either cutting a chamfer or doing an obvious round over. I did something like that in my garage and I think I did a cove on the bottom edge, I'll look in the morning and take a picture.

 

[Viper98912]

I looked at a house a long time ago (nice high priced house) that had 1 x 4 sawmill lumber as crown molding and baseboards. Looked okay. Cheaper and less work than ripping planed lumber.

This is what we have in our house, they call it "craftsman". I call it stupid and cheap. I hate the way it looks. Now looking to do something different, but ripping out hundreds of feet of baseboard, window trim, door trim, and ceiling molding (I won't call it crown), to start over, is a heck of a lot of work.

As for the OP, 2x lumber is fairly thick to post up in the corner of the ceiling. I personally think it'll look cheap, like if you just threw something up there, plus it'll be very difficult to use since you'll be hitting the ceiling all the time and having to reach up into the air. I would just put something at head height (about 6' off the ground) for ease of use.

 

[Cruzan80]

Just found an old listing of the house. We really liked the look, but it also has to fit the style.

1818 Viruth St, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 | realtor.com®

View 10 photos for 1818 Viruth St, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, a 3 bed, 1 bath, 1,444 Sq. Ft. single family home built in 1940 that was last sold on 09/16/2014.

www.realtor.com

 

[PossumDog]

My first thought was that the corner between your wall and ceiling is not going to be perfectly square. Of course your boards won't either. It will be frustrating to try to make a tight fit between the two. You'll either have gaps which you'll either caulk or leave exposed, or have to do a lot of scribing and fitting. If you're going to have to do all that work anyway might as well use better molding material.

Then I read the other comments and agree it seems too high to hang things from.

Kind of off topic but I see a lot of internet pictures of people framing with 1x2s 1x3s and 1x4s and calling it craftsman style and I don't like the look either.