Why Houses With Crown Molding Take Less Time to Sell

Because it increases property values, crown moldings are one of the most popular upgrades made to any home or building. Rooms in new buildings are often painfully plain because moldings are frequently skimped on to cut construction costs. You can greatly enhance the beauty and warmth of any room by installing window, door, crown and other architectural moldings.

Experts in real estate often recommend installing crown moldings as a way of increasing visual appeal especially in an entryway or at least one major room. When sales are slow, homes and buildings with enhanced moldings sell faster than plain ones. While some home improvements cost more than they add to a property's value, crown molding is frequently mentioned as one upgrade that increases value beyond the cost of installation.

Steve Berges, author of 101 Cost-Effective Ways to Increase the Value of Your Home, says "When you're comparing two houses, the one with the crown molding is going to show better."

RealEstate.com's consumer expert Holly Slaughter says, "Trim work can really add interest, depth, and sophistication to your house, and put money back in your pocket at resale."

Did you know that crown molding doesn't have to be expensive? While six inch crown molding in rare woods can run six dollars a foot or higher, prices for the least expensive woods start as low as only sixty cents a foot.

You could add crown molding to an average room for as little as $300 to $500 including materials, painting or staining, and installation. The total price per foot can be a very reasonable $8-$12 a foot installed.

Millwork companies offer vastly more crown molding choices than retail stores and many installers. They can match existing moldings – even in historical buildings of any age.

Manufacturers also stock far more wood types, sourcing 100-200 different wood species – and because they are the manufacturer it actually costs less – not more – to buy direct.

There are hundreds of Crown Molding profiles specifying style, shape, width, thickness and height. Available in widths from two to twelve inches, the wider and thicker the more impressive and generally the more costly.

The most popular wood moldings are made from pine, poplar, oak, mahogany and cypress including rare sinker deadhead cypress. While we prefer the warmth and distinction of wood moldings, they are also available in cured polyurethane (flexible plastic), polyvinyl chloride (recycled cellular pvc) and polystyrene (foam).

Unless you are a talented do-it-yourselfer or carpenter, installing crown molding is usually best left to an expert. Few buildings are totally square and one expert says "crown molding has to be cut upside down and backwards" to specific angles. Arches or complex corners can make the job even more complicated.

Many installers neglect this important step: be sure to have your mouldings painted, stained or sealed on all sides before installation. Any unsealed surface will be susceptible to damage from moisture that can cause warping or deterioration. Your mouldings will last much longer when sealed prior to being installed.

If you decide to install moulding trim yourself, we recommend buying specific mitre saws, True Angle measuring gauges, and compound mitre charts that make installing crown moulding far easier.

We also highly recommend Wayne Drake's book Crown Molding and Trim; Install It Like a Pro. His book includes 350+ photos and hundreds of specific examples.

The difference moldings make in the appearance of any room is spectacular. Visit or look at photographs of any favorite historical building and you will immediately see the impressive moldings around doors and windows and how the crown moldings set off the ceiling from the walls.

Crown moulding is one of the most widely recommended ways to increase the value and beauty of your home or office. Whether you install it yourself or hire a crown moulding installation expert, consider adding crown moulding to at least one room. When you see the difference it makes you may decide to continue adding interesting architectural mouldings in other rooms.

Frank Wright recommends reading more about buying Crown Molding. You can use the same free Architectural Molding search tool Frank does. Architects can download free approved CAD drawings. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service