Trying to match moldings in 1920's house...sources

17 years ago

Hello all:

My husband and I are currently reparing walls and moldings in our 1920's bungalow/mini Colonial in Massachusetts. We have had a lot of trouble stripping the woodwork in order to restore it or repaint it. We need to replace at least some of it. I'd like to keep to the original character, and see if I can match the molding. Before talking to a woodworker to have it custom milled, I would like to see if we can purchase it. HD doesn't have it at all. Does anyone have any online sources they could recommend?

If posting a picture will help, I will try to take on in the next day or so. (My camera is acting up a bit, sorry!) In the meantime, the current molding is about 4" wide. It has a 2" recessed panel in the center, with a 1/2" ridge on either side, and a 1" panel on the outer edge. I have found "belly band" molding, and it sort of looks like that, but the center panel is flat instead of rounded.

Thanks in advance for any advice you may be able to offer!

Take care,

Emmie

Comments (7)

garyfla_gw
17 years ago
Hi
Have you thought of "This old house?" They won't do the work of course but could give you long list of shops that do. Check their website on PBS.
They're headquartered in Boston so should be even more helpful. Maybe you could even get them to do the work for you!!
gary
bruc
17 years ago
Hi, find an architectual millwork shop in your area and have them take a look at your mouldings...we do it often and have a set of cutters made to machine the profiles per different homes and ages
Sometimes they're built-up mouldings and it takes a trained eye to figure them out.

bruc
Related Professionals
Glendale Heights Carpenters · Homer Glen Carpenters · Matteson Carpenters · Bellevue Flooring Contractors · Damascus Flooring Contractors · Damascus Flooring Contractors · Fairview Park Flooring Contractors · Gallatin Flooring Contractors · Gretna Flooring Contractors · Pasadena Flooring Contractors · Santa Cruz Flooring Contractors · Redmond Furniture & Accessories · Encinitas Furniture & Accessories · Robbinsdale Furniture & Accessories · Short Hills Furniture & Accessories
brickeyee
17 years ago
There are still real lumberyards around that make doors and moldings to order.
You probably will have to pay a setup charge, but should not have to have knives made top match an old molding in the same geographic area.
Most large cities have at least one place that can make any molding used in the area for the past few hundred years for a price.
Expect to pay a pretty decent amount though. Old moldings often require thicker wood, and many are built up from multiple pieces. Wide door jambs are commonly at least two pieces.
stanlie_gw
17 years ago
Check out the woodwork on the inside of your closets. Its usually the same as the rest of your house. I removed mine and replaced it with new wide woodwork. No one sees the inside door jamb anyway.
johnnygraham1_yahoo_com
12 years ago
I to am looking to strip molding for an 1910 home and can't
find any solution for this molding.I have spent a ton of money on all these amazing stripper with not much of any result.
karinl
12 years ago
John, you should start your own thread, and provide more detail about what you've tried and what the results have been. But the topic has been discussed often on the Old Home forum, you might search the past threads there for helpful information - use search terms such as "stripper" (no joke intended :-) or "moldings" or both. And that might be a better place to post your thread than here.

KarinL
sloyder
12 years ago
Since you are in Massachusetts try Anderson McQuaid in Cambridge they have tons of moulding profiles. Most in stock mouldings are poplar, but will run stock in any species.

http://www.andersonmcquaid.com/