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kpaquette_gw

What is a fair price for...

kpaquette
15 years ago

A pineapple finial, carved out of walnut, about 7" high? My contractor knows a guy, and he's going to get me a price (which I'm sure will be inflated) but I have 2 other inquiries on my own as well. I have no idea what something like that would cost. We're trying to dress up a box newel and make it look victorian.

something like this:

Comments (7)

  • MongoCT
    15 years ago

    $75

    Lemme see if I can find a link from a place someone bought from a while ago...well, I'm not certain that this is the same place, but it sounds the same.

    They have larger ones for $90 and smaller ones for $60. So $75 was a good guess as to what you'd pay retail.

    Pineapple finials

    Mongo

  • kpaquette
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks, Mongo! I'll call them to see if they come in walnut - I need them to match the handrail and the walnut perimeter border we have in our floors.

  • Jon1270
    15 years ago

    Mongo's price sounds improbably low to me, especially if you mean that the guy your contractor knows would carve it himself. If he's going to order it in a standard size from a mass-production shop that does most of the work by CNC, then maybe, but I'd doubt it even then. The one Mongo linked to isn't carved from walnut.

  • kpaquette
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    I guess I don't know of another option other than having it carved, since I need it in walnut. I haven't found anything online that's massed produced that has walnut as a choice of wood. I found one guy online who carves finials, out of whatever wood you want, but am waiting to hear a quote from him.

    I guess that's why I was curious what something like that would cost. I have no idea how long something like that would take, what the labor rates should be, and what the wood costs.

  • Jon1270
    15 years ago

    This site has exactly the one you pictured, though it's 6" tall rather than 7", and they list walnut as an option.

    The same company offers a 7" walnut artichoke finial, which is fairly similar, for $175.

    Many such "carved" products are actually cut on CNC machines, and only finished with a bit of handwork. Doing one of these the old fashioned way, i.e. turning a blank, and carving the details entirely by hand, would be quite time-consuming.

  • kpaquette
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Haha Jon that's exactly where I stole the picture from. :-) But since I apparently have ADD I didn't even see the prices for the artichoke. That's why I love this site LOL. If it's only $175ish that would be doable. I emailed the guy and am waiting for a quote - I'll call him later today maybe.

    So do you think that a fair price?

  • Jon1270
    15 years ago

    It's been a long time since I did much carving and I never did this sort of thing, so I don't feel qualified to say whether that price is right. It seems plausible, but it wouldn't surprise me if a custom size (7" as opposed to the standard 6") would push the price up quite a bit.