Polymer Molding Compared to Wood Crown Molding

If you are looking to put up molding this year as part of your home renovations, you might want to look at the comparisons between wood crown molding and polymer molding. Wood crown molding and polymer molding are both good choices to use in your home renovations but there are some very noticeable differences between the two, and depending on what you are looking for will ultimately help you decide on which molding is right for you.

One of the major differences between wood crown molding and polymer molding is price. If you are on a budget, you might want to go with wood crown molding because it is less expensive than the polymer molding. Sometimes however, when you are remodeling your home you might not care too much about price as long as you have the highest-quality product. Whether you are on a budget due to the economy or just do not want to spend a lot on a home you might be selling in a couple years, concerns over money might make your choice for you. Wood molding does require more work than polymer crown molding, which can be a drawback if you are just looking to install molding and be done with it.

One of the benefits of the polymer crown molding is that you do not have to paint it. Wood crown molding comes primered often in white, but white primer is pretty unattractive and something you will have to paint. Primer is not something you can just replace paint with; therefore you would need to paint the wood crown white-primered molding. If you do not want to hassle with painting, then you can get the white polymer crown molding, because you can leave that unpainted and it will still look good. The finish on the polymer crown molding will look a little sticky if you leave it unpainted because the primer is there to help paint better stick to the crown molding, but you can leave it as it is without too much trouble or without it looking too horrible. If you do not have the money to think about buying paint for a while, the polymer crown molding would be better for you because it will still look good without the paint, and in due time when you get the money you can always go back and paint it.

Wood crown molding as with most things wood, often become cracked or end up splitting. Unless you are buying the really good wood, which is usually a lot more expensive, you will notice that the wood will split as soon as you start nailing it down. This is a common problem with a lot of wood moldings because the fact most of the wood crown moldings are made cheap and not from the high-quality woods so they are thinner and will crack under pressure. The wood crown moldings, although less expensive than the polymer crown moldings, are still pretty expensive and the thought of having to discard a piece due to splitting and cracking is horrible. In these economic times especially, there are many things we do not want to go to waste, and molding is one of those things. So if you are looking for something you know you can install without worrying about splitting, then the polymer crown moldings would be a better option for you so you know you are not wasting your money.

Expansion and contraction with wood crown molding also might be a problem, and might be a reason you would choose the polymer crown molding for your home renovations. The wood crown molding no matter if it is dried or treated will somewhat expand and contract over time. If you paint the wood crown molding this might not be as bad as a problem than if you did not paint the wood crown molding, but it still will be an issue. In order to avoid the crown molding expanding and contracting, you should go with the polymer crown molding. The polymer crown molding will never shrink or expand no matter what situation, so it makes for a better option for the home. Overall, I think that molding is something you should not go cheap on just to get it done, which is why I would have to say that the polymer crown molding is the better choice for homeowners. Although, you will be spending more money on the polymer crown molding, you will not have to worry about it splitting, shrinking or expanding, and you also can get away with not painting it which makes it a better option for most homeowners.