Stucco Cornices

Stucco Cornices

Stucco Cornices are an easy way to add curb appeal to your home - by selecting a complimentary or contrasting color (usually to match the window trim) you're able to frame the house, adding architectural curb appeal. Cornices act as a "frame" to your walls, creating visual cues as to the boundaries of the surface and bringing out other architectural features such as trim and decorative accents.

Traditional options for cornices include wood or concrete, both of which have drawbacks. Wood cornices are generally limited in design to being flat, restricting any potential visual flare and relegating it to being a cheap band "drawn" across the wall. Wood also falls short in longevity as it's organic, meaning it's susceptible to mold and rot - and if there's anything less appealing than a bland wall, it's a wall framed with blotchy, decaying accents. Concrete cornices offer a higher end look with more design options, but are extremely heavy and costly which requires proper planning and possibly engineering to ensure the walls and installation can bear the weight. Styrofoam-core cornices coated with a modified cementitious coating offer the benefits of both without the drawbacks - it's not organic, has limitless design possibilities, and is light weight and inexpensive, making it simple to install as a retrofit.

Installing Cornices

These light-weight, styrofoam-core cornice moldings are a great way to add depth to your home design and smooth out the transition between the wall and soffit. They can be colored in any color of your choosing with exterior masonry paint, and we recommend matching the colour to pre-existing window / door trim and accents. Our cornices can be installed as a retrofit, requiring no additional structural reinforcing, simple construction adhesive is recommended.

Care needs to be taken not to overlap the cornice with any soffit vents, as this can impede airflow into the attic area and cause moisture build up, which leads to mould growth. Make sure to measure the distance between the wall and any soffit vents and select the depth of the cornice molding accordingly.

• Take $100 Off Orders Over $1000 with Coupon BULK10

Exterior cornices or crown molding are placed at the intersection of the wall and soffits. They are also known commonly as crown moldings, and can aid in hiding the unsightly joint between the roof and wall. Stucco cornices ease the transition between your wall and soffit by providing an aesthetic change from vertical to horizontal surface.

Stucco cornices can also help brighten the top of your exterior wall by ambiently reflecting light, keeping the area where the crown molding goes from being just a dark shadow.

Exterior Cornice Designs

Cornices generally adhere to a specific design philosphy, but can vary in their final design. Since cornices are installed at the intersection of the wall and a soffit, they typically have a 90 degree corner and form a "triangular" shape. The angled face can have an unlimited number of curves, steps and shapes to create any look desired.

You will generally want to match the style of your cornices to that of the nearby window trim and window sills.

A cornice has to be visible from the ground, and can be 2 or even 3 stories above the ground (20-30 feet). As such they're typically large in size, and 8"-12" sizes are not uncommon. Combined with a decent depth, they make quite bulky products and can be expensive to ship.

Cornice Dentils

Dentils are small blocks embedded into the face of the cornice, adding depth and sophistication to a cornice. They can not be manufactured directly into the product and have to be added after production, making them quite expensive compared to traditional cornices.

Cornices and Soffit Lights

Special care has to be taken when selecting a cornice size if the house has soffit lights. Lights embedded directly into the soffit easily be covered by a moulding, since most soffits are only 12" in depth and a 6" deep cornice will effectively cover most of the light. This can cause issues with water accumulation, heat that is unable to escape and will ruin the effect that soffit lights have.

 Where to Buy Stucco Cornices

Decoramould is a stucco cornices supplier for exterior home renovation, retrofits and alterations throughout the U.S.A. and Canada. Customers can buy exterior stucco cornices online, and have their exterior cornices purchase shipped directly to them.

Our stucco cornices look like high end concrete cornices, but weigh only a fraction as much - and often cost only a fraction as much as well. They can be installed during the initial construction of a home or building, or added on as decorative cornices after construction. Installation is as easy as adhering them to the wall surface, for more information see installation instructions.