This is real easy finish work. Have the contractor build the box and install it.

I am not sure what a glue lamb is but I think you are referring to engineered wood, GluLam? Thisyou want to cover it with a faux beam? Being in the mid-west, I don't see a lot of alder, but I do know it can be prone to blotching. Make sure you or your contractor runs some sample boards with your intended stain color and finish before committing to the project. You might want to stay away from Minwax pigmented stains.

Thx. I'm looking at Sherwin Williams furniture grade stains and will definitely test it first!

A simple coat of one pound cut blond shellac before staining will do wonders for preventing blotching on most woods.

Just as an aside---SW owns MinWax.:-)

This is true, but they seem to be at arm's length as far as finish chemists and product development.

Compare a can of Golden Oak stain from each and you will see not much similarity.

>> Just as an aside---SW owns MinWax.:-)

Thanks for the info Mac and Uncle!

I'm having a pro painting company do the staining, but I'd like to understand this. "one pound cut blond shellac before staining"...what does that mean? I may try to do a couple of small items myself so this might be useful info.

Shellac is a solid that's dissolved in alcohol. A one-pound cut means one pound of solid shellac flakes dissolved in a gallon of alcohol. The canned shellac you're likely to find at a hardware store is a stronger solution - probably a three pound cut, or 3 pounds of solid shellac per gallon of alcohol. To make a one-pound cut, mix one part canned shellac with 2 parts solvent alcohol.

thanks for the explanation.