What Wood Should I Use?

by stephaniesuesansmith on March 18, 2011

in Wood Species

Customers often ask what the best wood is for their architectural moldings.  The answer, of course, is that it depends.  That isn’t terribly helpful, so here are some guidelines.  They are just guides, however, so feel free to color outside the lines if that works best for you.

Will the product be used inside or outside?  If it is to be used outside, a rot resistant wood is best.  Deadhead sinker cypress is very rot resistant and is very striking in appearance.  Siding and decks made of it last a long time.  African teak works well for these applications, too.

African mahogany is also rot resistant and has a warm brown tone.  Shutters and gates made of it look nice when seen against a lighter color.  If fire is a concern, TimberSil is a good choice.  It is so fire resistant it can protect against wild fires.

Indoors, African mahogany and deadhead sinker cypress look very nice.  So does quarter sawn oak, especially as beams.  Oak lasts a long time and has been used for centuries as beams and columns.  Many of the old buildings in Europe are held up by oak columns.

If none of these woods strike your fancy, ask us and we will help you find something that does.  We offer around 300 species of wood.  Since wood comes in every color but blue, we can find a color that works with your decorating scheme.  Call us today to order just what you need.

Have Questions? Contact us or call (888) 209-9307

lg share en What Wood Should I Use?

{ 4 comments }

Wood Shutters Protect From Storms

by stephaniesuesansmith on March 16, 2011

in Shutters

3445767850 24a9617071 Wood Shutters Protect From Storms

As we watch the images of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, it reminds us that storm season approaches for North America. While nothing can protect a building against disaster on the scale of the one that struck Japan, there are things you can do to protect your home from the more ordinary storms of the season. One of them is to add storm shutters to your windows and doors.

Long a staple architectural feature for the hurricane prone coastal areas, storm shutters can protect other homes as well. Tornadoes or simple straight line winds can propel all sorts of debris into the windows of your home. Hail can also hit windows hard when driven by the relentless wind that often accompanies a storm. Unless your windows are specially impact rated, these events can shatter them.

Shutters do not have to make the house look like a fortress. It is possible to have stylish shutters that protect the windows when closed but add to the decor when open. They can add to the decor when closed, too, but most people are not out looking at shutters in a storm, so that is not as important. No, when they are closed, these shutters protect the windows and doors of the home.

Good Millwork makes a number of different styles of shutter, from louvered to board and batten. Our shutters meet the standards of most hurricane regulations, satisfy insurance requirements, and accent the doors and windows of your home. They come in a variety of wood species and designs. Give us a call and order yours today!

Have Questions? Contact us or call (888) 209-9307

lg share en Wood Shutters Protect From Storms

{ 2 comments }

CAD Files for Big or Small Jobs

by stephaniesuesansmith on March 14, 2011

in architectural moldings

5266674798 c852facdb6 CAD Files for Big or Small Jobs

At Good Millwork, we work on projects of all sizes. Whether it is a column for a house or the newel for a stairway, we can make it. If you furnish us with a drawing or photograph, we will not only make your item, but return a CAD file with it for your future use. We also add it to our data base for use in the future.

As these large columns show, we will make your piece and deliver it to you even if it is very large. On the other hand, we custom turn small pieces. Whether these are to restore a historic building or for a new structure, finding someone who does custom turning is becoming increasingly difficult. We do it, and give you the CAD file we constructed to make the piece, as well.

We also have a data base of over 10,000 architectural molding CAD files for you to download as you need them. Just use the search widget in the upper right sidebar, then download what you need. Much easier than having to draw everything out.

The CAD files are offered with no obligation. We hope you will buy your wood from us, but there is no obligation to do so. We want to show our appreciation for our customers in a way that will most help you, so the CAD files are free.

Good Millwork would love to supply you with the architectural moldings and wood you need. Please give us a call today.

Have Questions? Contact us or call (888) 209-9307

lg share en CAD Files for Big or Small Jobs

{ 4 comments }

African Mahogany versus Peruvian Mahogany

by stephaniesuesansmith on March 11, 2011

in mahogany

4388458233 3a1eee987a African Mahogany versus Peruvian Mahogany

Mahogany has been in the news lately, and not in a good way.  Some of the cables leaked on the internet reveal that US officials knew that around 80% of the mahogany Peru exports was logged illegally.  Papers were forged to certify the wood as legally harvested so that it could enter the US.

Good Millwork does not buy Peruvian mahogany.  Our mahogany is African mahogany.  Whereas Peruvian mahogany is cut from areas that are protected, in ways that destroy the ecosystem of the forest, African mahogany is sustainably harvested.

Peruvian mahogany is estimated to be commercially extinct by 2020 if current practices continue.  The loggers have decimated wildlife to feed their crews, threatened indigenous tribes who live in the protected areas, and decimated the ecosystem those tribes depend on to live.  They are not nice people, in other words.

Good Millwork buys only sustainably harvested African mahogany.  We do not purchase wood that is of questionable origin or nationality.  Good Millwork  works hard to protect the environment.  You can purchase mahogany from us with confidence that it is not harvested illegally or unsustainable.

Good Millwork was environmentally conscious before being a good steward of the environment was in vogue.  In addition to African mahogany, we sell African teak, deadhead sinker cypress, and over 200 other species of wood.  All these are reclaimed from old buildings, rivers or canals where they sank, or sustainably harvested.  You can purchase our wood with confidence, so why not give us a call today?

Have Questions? Contact us or call (888) 209-9307

lg share en African Mahogany versus Peruvian Mahogany

{ 1 comment }

Working with an architect to build your dream home

by stephaniesuesansmith on March 9, 2011

in General

Working with an architect can seem like a daunting project at first.  With a little preparation, however, you can keep things moving smoothly and have your plans as quickly, and cheaply, as possible.

According to Leslie McCormick, A.I.A., CNU, Architect,  Atelier 359,  architects do not go into a meeting with preconceived notions of the building \that “ought” to be built.  Instead, this is an interactive process.  In order for that to be true, you  must provide some information.

Some of this information is obvious, such as where the building will be built, and what it will be used for.  Some of it is not so obvious.  Has a geological survey been done on the building site?  Are there factors in there that dictate extra precautions when building?  If you have sand and a high water table, anchor beams will have to be driven into the ground to anchor the building, and these have to go into the plans.

What about zoning?  Some places require the exterior of a building in certain historical districts to blend in.  That has to be taken into account.  Of course, living in an area prone to hurricanes, floods, or tornados will change the plans some to include hardening the building against these threats.

Then you get to the interior.  Who will use this building?  If there will be kids or animals inside, that information needs to be conveyed to the architect.  If someone with disabilities will use the building, that definately needs to be conveyed to the architect.  That changes the width of the doors, passage ways, and bathrooms in all sorts of ways.

After you have given the architect information on the building site, any challenges there, what the building will be used for and who will be using it, you are ready to describe your vision for your building.  After you have done this, the architect will start the drawing.  You look at the preliminary drawing, discuss any changes you want, and the architect goes back to the drawing board to make them.

This interactive process can take from 2 to 6 months, depending on the complexity of the building and the architects workload.  However, you can use that time to find a builder and get in line for your building to be built.

lg share en Working with an architect to build your dream home

{ 1 comment }

Palm Beach County Courthouse

by stephaniesuesansmith on March 7, 2011

in Historic Restoration

c 1957a Palm Beach County Courthouse

Palm Beach County Courthouse in 1927

Courthouse SW corner Palm Beach County Courthouse

Restored Palm Beach County Courthouse 2007

Palm Beach County has a courthouse built in 1916.  Plans were made to demolish it after a new courthouse was built across the street.  Instead, the courthouse was restored.

First, it had to be unearthed.  Buildings had been built that wrapped around it.  These buildings were demolished after any original items from the courthouse, or that could be used in restoring the courthouse, were removed.  It turns out a lot of material was salvaged that allowed the courthouse to be faithfully restored.  These included limestone, granite, exterior windows, marble wainscot, mosaic floor tiles, wood flooring, doors, trim and hardware.

Hedrick Brothers Construction did the restoration in conjunction with REG Architects.  If the original could not be found, they had new ones fabricated that were as close as possible.  They went to the same quarry that originally cut the marble  they needed to complete the marble wainscotting .  They went to the quarry to find the limestone they needed for the exterior of the building.

Seventy-six of the windows are original.  The class has waves in it because it was harder to manufacture glass precisely when these were made.  For the windows that were broken, impact rated windows meeting modern standards were made that matched the courthouse exterior.

The cornerstones were found and replaced.  The eagle crest, however, had to be made on the basis of similar crests from that time period, as not close up photographs existed of it.  The columns and capitals are also original.

Inside, the restoration revealed maple floor in the court room.  The original maple floor was taken up, cleaned up, and reinstalled on the east end.  New maple was used to finish out the floor and replace damaged pieces.  The entire floor was finished to match.

There were also many original wooden doors, door hardware, and lights and fixtures.  Every where there  were missing pieces, or the existing pieces were too damaged to use, replicas were carefully constructed.

The restoration was begun in January, 2004 and completed in November, 2007.  The courthouse was designated a historic site by Palm Beach County and now houses a history museum and a few county offices.

Congratulations to the citizens of Palm Beach County for restoring their history instead of demolishing it.  Good Millwork can help you restore your history, as well.  We have reclaimed wood or sustainably harvested wood for almost any project.  Give us a call and preserve your history for another generation.

Have Questions? Contact us or call (888) 209-9307

lg share en Palm Beach County Courthouse

{ 5 comments }

Using Wood Tone in Decorating

by stephaniesuesansmith on March 4, 2011

in Home Restoration

When decorating their house, most people spend days looking at paint chips to choose just the right color for each room.  Or they spend lots of quality time with those big books of wall paper samples trying to find a pattern they like.  Why not use wood paneling instead?

Wood comes in almost any color, so your palette is not limited to brown.  Mahogany is a rich, reddish brown.  The actual color varies somewhat depending on the growing conditions for the tree, but it ranges from light reddish brown to a dark, deep reddish brown.

Not a fan of mahogany?  Deadhead sinker cypress comes in colors ranging from light tan to dark tan.  It often has streaks in it from the water depositing minerals in the wood.  This adds to the beauty of the wood.

Want more color?  Choose from purple heart, red heart, yellow heart, ebony, or any of a wide range of other woods.  About the only color wood doesn’t come in is blue.  Anodyne dye can fix that problem without masking the grain of the wood that is dyed.

In fact, wood used to be used to paint pictures in Italy.  Intarsia used different shades of wood to make incredibly detailed pictures.  They even managed to create a three dimensional appearance with the careful use of shading.

Most people do not want or need that kind of woodworking.  However, using wood to panel your house, or a room in the house, is something that will bring enjoyment for decades to come.  Good Millwork makes the paneling and rails to go with it.

Perhaps you are only interested in wood cabinets for your kitchen.  Good Millwork can mill the parts for your cabinets and doors to your specifications.  If you want the cases out of one wood, the stiles out of another, and the rails out of a third, we can do that.

In fact, Good Millwork can mill the parts for just about anything out of wood.  We have over 200 species of wood and decades of experience.  Call us today so you can begin to paint your masterpiece in wood.

Have Questions? Contact us or call (888) 209-9307

lg share en Using Wood Tone in Decorating

{ 5 comments }

Crown Molding or Crown Moulding?

by stephaniesuesansmith on March 2, 2011

in Crown Moulding

How do you spell the name of that little strip that goes around the top of the wall where it meets the ceiling?  Some people spell it “moulding” and some spell it “molding.”  Which is correct?  That depends on what part of the world you are in.

The Compact Oxford English Dictionary defines “moulding” thus:

a shaped strip of wood, stone, or plaster as a decorative architectural  feature.

The definition of “molding” is rather succinct:

US spelling of moulding.

So, it appears that if you are anywhere but the United States, you spell the name of that strip “moulding.”  We in the United States, however, spell it “molding” just to be different.

However you spell it, we at Good Millwork stand ready to assist you with deciding on one of our 10,000 molding products, deciding on one of our 200 wood species, and getting your order out.  If we do not have a profile for the molding you desire, we will make one for you.

Our wood is sustainably harvested, so no guilt about looting a forest here.  In fact, some of our wood was retrieved from a watery grave.  You cannot get much greener than that!

The process of joining your vision with our wood takes place in our factory in Alabama.  We deliver in the South.  Further than that, we ship via common carrier to most places in the world.

Contact us today to have your vision made into a reality — even if you do spell things funny.

Have Questions? Contact us or call (888) 209-9307

lg share en Crown Molding or Crown Moulding?

{ 3 comments }

Stradivarius Violins Made From Dense Wood

by stephaniesuesansmith on February 28, 2011

in DeadHead Sinker Cypress

Stradivarius violins are said to be the best in the world. They were made by Antonio Stradivari in the late 17th century. He also made other stringed instruments, such as the cello. His instruments sell for over a million dollars, as there are only about 665 left.

Scientists have been studying the instruments for years trying to figure out what makes them so special. There were theories that it was something in the finish of the wood that improved the tonal quality. More recent work has looked at the finish and found it rather ordinary.

That left the wood. What about the wood made the sound so special? One theory is that Stradivari used the wood of pilings that had soaked in the sea for years to make his violins. A fellow even made some violins out of wood fished from the Great Lakes to test that theory. They sounded nice, but not Stradivari nice.

Another theory is that the density of the wood was special. There was a small ice age during Stradivari’s lifetime. Trees grew more slowly and the wood was denser. That density may be what made the violins special.

No one knows for sure what makes Stradivari’s violins so special. We do know the wood plays a part. Dense, old growth wood has become hard to find. We sell deadhead sinker cypress. It is old growth cypress that has lain at the bottom of rivers and canals for 150 years. Who knows, you could use it for a violin and make a masterpiece, or use it in your buildings and make a show piece. Contact us today to order the wood you need to make beautiful things.

Have Questions? Contact us or call (888) 209-9307

lg share en Stradivarius Violins Made From Dense Wood

{ 1 comment }

Home Restoration or Home Renovation?

by stephaniesuesansmith on February 25, 2011

in Historic Restoration

5115355305 a23cb7491b Home Restoration or Home Renovation?

So you bought an older home, and you want to do some work on it.  The first thing you need to decide is whether you are going to restore it or renovate it.  Renovating is work done to redo the kitchen, for example, without regard to how the house looked when it was first built.  Basically, you make the house yours and do not worry about what it originally looked like.

Restoration, however, is putting the house back, as much as possible, to the condition it was in when it was first built.  This is usually done with homes from the early 20th century and older, homes built by an architect of note, or a unique home.

Even restoration, however, usually allows for modern kitchen appliances, heating system and air conditioning, and indoor plumbing.  The exception would be a house that was now a museum, or a building of note that was now a museum.  Homes on the National Register of Historic Places have some significant restrictions on how they can be restored, and renovation is usually not allowed.

If you choose to restore your home, you must first do a little research to see how it looked when new.  Looking at city permit files for old architectural drawings is a good place to start.  However, zoning and permitting as we know it are not that old, so you may not find what you need there.

The library in your town is usually a good resource, especially if they have a local history section.  The Chamber of Commerce may have some information, as may the local newspaper.  Local newspapers may even have pictures, especially if there was ever an event of note inside the house.

Once you have some photographs or drawings of the original house interior and exterior, you need to decide how faithfully you intend to restore it.  Old fixtures can be hard to find, but do turn up in estate sales or when old houses are torn down to make way for newer buildings.  Reproductions of fixtures are easier to come by.

As for the wooden fixtures, such as baseboards and crown molding, those are easier still to find.  Good Millwork can mill new wooden items for your building.  Of course, it is easier if we have an architectural drawing, but we can replicate the items from a piece that still exists, a photograph, or a sketch of what it looked like.  We have over 200 species of wood, too, so we can match the original wood.

Whether you are renovating your house or restoring it, Good Millwork can help.  Give us a call today and get started!

Have Questions? Contact us or call (888) 209-9307

pixel Home Restoration or Home Renovation?
lg share en Home Restoration or Home Renovation?

{ 6 comments }

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →