Trim and millwork
The parts of an old house that carry its character
Brackets, casings, sills, porch posts and the heavy door at the front. This is where water gets in first and where a new part never quite matches.
We repair what can be repaired, splice in matching wood where it can't, and repaint the lot so the house keeps its shape.
Soft sills spliced, not replaced whole
Casings and stops repaired in place
Brackets and carved trim cleaned back and repainted
Doors freed, repaired and repainted
What we do
Five places water gets in
Window sills
Sills made to shed water again: soft wood cut out, a matching piece spliced in, the joint sealed.
Window casings
Casings repaired in place. We match the profile by hand or by knife, and prime every cut edge.
Brackets and cornices
Cleaned back to sound wood, repaired where they've split, primed and repainted.
Porch posts and rails
Post bases, rails and balusters repaired, with end grain sealed before paint.
Doors and thresholds
Doors freed and repaired, hinges reset, and the bottom edge sealed.
Storm sashes and screens
Wood storms repaired and painted, then labeled so they go back where they came from.
Repair or replace
When a splice will do, and when it won't
We repair as little as the wood allows, and we say when a part has reached the end.
| The question | Replace the part | Splice or repair |
|---|---|---|
| How much is rotten? | Replace the partMost of the piece, or rot that has run along the grain. | Splice or repairA hand's width or less, with sound wood on both sides. |
| The profile | Replace the partCut new to match, which is worth it when the profile is plain. | Splice or repairThe original stays, with its molding and its wear. |
| Hours | Replace the partMore hours of fitting, and new material. | Splice or repairFewer hours when the wood is mostly sound. |
About trim work
Do you match old molding profiles?
Yes. We copy a profile from a sound piece on the same house, either by hand or by grinding a knife, and cut the new piece from matching wood.
What happens to the old paint?
It's wet-scraped and vacuumed, never dry-sanded and never burned off. On a house built before 1978 we work as the federal rule asks, and we'll ask the year before we price.
Can you work around the house's historic status?
If your house is in a local historic district, changes to windows and trim may need approval. We'll write a description of the work for your application; the approval is yours to apply for.
Trim that's gone soft?
Send a photo, or ask for a visit. We'll mark each soft spot and write down the hours.