Millwork

I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but it looks like I’ll be heading back to the mill. A year and a half ago I went to one of the local mills and had a bunch of custom casing milled to replace the stuff that was cut-down back in the 1920s. When they cut the place up in to apartments they took some of the more grand entry ways on the first floor and reduced them to small openings more appropriate to a small apartment.



I opened up the entryways back to their more grandiose size and needed the casing to match. So I took a small sample of the 1895 casing down to the mill and they cut a custom knife for a milling machine that can reproduce the profile exactly. The original 1895 casing that was cut down, while being too small for those openings, was perfect to use in other areas of the house. I had a whole stack of it up in the attic that I planned to use for the bathroom and kitchen.

Well, I used it in the bathroom and kitchen, but there is not enough left for the mudroom. There are 2 doors and a window, and I only have enough for one door and the window. So it’s back to the mill. I’m also going to have enough made so I can do the door to the laundry room. When I went to the mill a year and a half ago that door did not exist, so really I’m shorter than I thought (Short than I thought? Does that make sense?)

The stuff left in the attic is really bottom of the barrel stuff. While technically enough to do one whole door and the window, it’s really in bad shape. There is only one piece that is not cracked or missing notches here and there. I think I’ll just get enough made to finish up all of the doors and use that stuff for the window. If you count one door as having two sides, and each side needs two side casings and a header, I need 12 side casings and 6 headers. That comes to 88 feet of casing.

They cut the knife last time, so I won’t be paying for that again. Depending on how much I order, they may or may not charge me a set-up fee. If they do, that would be $75. I also need 6 plinth blocks, and those are $15 each if I get redwood. Poplar would be cheaper. If I need to pay the set-up fee, and they charge me $2 a foot for the lumber (A guess), that comes to $365.72 with tax. Ouch! This was not an expense I had anticipated for the mudroom.

Oh well, all in a days work.