Seam cover system for crown molding installations

Abstract

By providing a plurality of support brackets which are quickly and easily mounted to any desired surface and are constructed for receiving and supportingly retaining elongated, lineal crown molding strips, inside and outside corner seam covers, and lineal seam covers, each of which are formed from a wide variety of decorative and visually distinctive appearances, a cornice or crown molding system is achieved which is capable of being quickly and easily installed in any desired location by any unskilled individual, without requiring the use of mitered corners, abutting junctures, nails, adhesives, and the like. By employing a combination of the components of the present invention, any desired location can be quickly and easily decorated with a completely installed molding system for enhancing the visual and aesthetic appeal of any room or building.

Description

[0001]This invention relates to molding systems for installation in homes, offices, and other buildings and, more particularly, to cornice or crown molding systems which are quickly and easily mounted in position, without requiring the use of adhesives, nails, other similar fastening elements.BACKGROUND ART[0002]Homeowners are continuously upgrading their residences in order to improve the visual appeal of their homes. Frequently, these upgrades include decorative or aesthetic improvements or enhancements which are employed for making homes more visually attractive both for the homeowner as well as for resale of the home. In addition, similar improvements or enhancements are also employed by home builders in order to impart greater interest and excitement to a newly built home to enable the home to be more attractive and saleable.[0003]Although these improvements and enhancements may take many different forms, frequently, homeowners and home builders add decorative features to a hom...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015]By employing the present invention, many of the difficulties and drawbacks found in prior art installations and molding systems are overcome and a molding system is achieved which is capable of being quickly and easily installed in any desired location by any non-professional installer, without requiring the use of mitered corners, abutting junctures, nails, adhesives, and the like. In accordance with the present invention, this unique, easily installed molding system employs a plurality of support brackets which are quickly and easily mounted to any desired surface and are constructed for receiving and supportingly retaining elongated or lineal crown molding strips, inside and outside corner seam covers, and lineal seam covers, each of which are formed in a wide variety of decorative and visually distinctive appearances. By employing a combination of these basic components, any desired location can be decorated with a completely installed molding system for enhancing the visual and aesthetic appeal of any room or building.

Problems solved by technology

Although substantial interest has been generated focusing on the use and installation of various molding elements in existing homes as well as homes being professionally constructed, difficulties and drawbacks are frequently encountered in the installation of molding elements, which difficulties and drawbacks have not been resolved.

However, due to cutting errors, as well as typical home construction, precise 90° corners are not always present and gaps occur between adjacent molding portions, creating highly visible flaws.

Furthermore, even if a high degree of technical skill is employed to achieve precise miter corners in the installation of molding strips, the molding expands and contracts as the ambient temperature changes causing undesirable joint separation.

Typically, virtually all molding installation experiences shrinkage due to contraction and expansion from heat and cooling.

In this regard, once the elongated molding strip has been installed, temperature changes occur causing the molding material to expand or contract.

These changes inevitably cause gaps to occur between adjacent strips or in corner connection points, which gaps are frequently unsightly and detract from the visual aesthetic appeal of the molding components.

An additional problem found in prior art constructions is a requirement that crown molding, or any other molding components, are mounted in place by use of adhesives or fastening materials such as nails.

In particular, the use of nails causes unsightly holes to be formed in the molding members, which are incapable of being totally hidden and result in unsightly and unpleasant visual effects.

In addition, the use of adhesives adds an additional level of difficulty to the installation process, often causing unwanted spattering and drops to be formed which are difficult to remove.

Furthermore, the material employed for adhesives is often corrosive and / or toxic, thereby requiring special treatment and handling, as well as being environmentally unfriendly.

Although substantial effort has been expended in developing prior art products which have attempted to reduce or eliminate these prior art problems, no prior art system has been capable of eradicating these problems.

Consequently, molding installation occurring today continues to suffer from all of the drawbacks and difficulties detailed above.

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