Trim Materials - excerpt from book, Working for Subs

Trim Materials:

Plan for your millwork package (see Appendix E – Trim Order List) to be delivered at least two days before the trim subcontractor is to begin, just in case there might be a delay in shipping. Your trim man’s time is too valuable and rigidly scheduled to risk not having materials on the job when he arrives. You will lose his respect, and your job may suffer if he leaves to begin someone else’s work instead. He will resent you, as his other customer probably was told to hold on his millwork order, and he will have to wait to begin that work.

Photo 21: Built up fireplace surround by trim subcontractor, shown unpainted under construction and finished product.

We rarely lost any trim materials to theft, perhaps since the expensive items, like doors, are too difficult to haul and specially sized. Theft is therefore usually not a reason to worry and delay your order. The only materials your trim sub will furnish are nails and staples.

Before ordering meet with the millwork company’s estimator after meeting with the trim sub, since you will have a better idea of what is needed at that time. Your trim sub can advise you on what to order for unusual items, like the scroll on a mantel leg or built-in shelving. Be sure to get precise prices on every piece of trim to be ordered before placing a purchase order. Let the estimator prepare a written quote, and then edit your purchase order to suit your own takeoff, since the supplier will over estimate materials to be cautious, to prevent extra deliveries, or to sell more product. Ask the cost of deliveries. We always got as many free shipments as we needed, even for just one or two missing pieces, since the millwork supplier had trucks making rounds daily just shipping odd pieces.

An unscrupulous salesman we dealt with once delayed faxing his quote, but gave an oral quote. We needed the order right away and had to trust his word. When we received the bill, it was a thousand dollars high. His boss assumed we were bilking him, since we did not have written proof, and our working relationship suffered as a result. Eventually the crooked salesman was fired (probably for multiple complaints,) and we received a credit, but we never recovered our reputation with the owner. Always get your quote in writing.

Some items that may surprise you in price include: flexible rubber molding for curved walls (some pieces can exceed $18 per lineal foot), extra height doors, fiberglass doors, or over sized wood veneer shelving (Photo 22.) Get accurate written prices on everything before ordering. Another expensive piece is a curved casing over an arched-top window. There are online videos showing building some of the more intricate moldings from old historic homes, duplicated with plaster molds and templates. If you are handy and somewhat artistic, you might attempt to fabricate these yourself, using a mold or a sculptured trowel. We had some trim men who could fabricate specialty items at home from wood rather inexpensively.

Ordering doors requires more detailed specifications than most finish items (See Appendix E - ...Door Schedule, & Door Hardware List.) We bought our doors from the lumber company rather than the millwork supplier, because the latter's were more expensive. A mystery to me at first was how to tell the difference between a “left-hand” and “right-hand” door swing. Our salesman had a silly but effective phrase to remember which; he said, “It’s comin’ at cha.” This meant when you are opening the door toward yourself, the side that the knob is on determines the swing of the door. Opening your front door from the inside with the knob in your left hand indicates a left-hand door.

Most of our doors were called “six-panel” even if stamped from one piece of Masonite hardboard. This is due to the original way doors were built with six different beveled edge panels of wood joined together in a frame. There are four-panel, solid slab, two-panel doors, and other variations, but the six-panel doors we ordered were traditional and seemed to never go out of style. Interior doors can be built of a hollow-core frame, sandwiched between two hardboard faces, or they could be built of more costly high-density fiber (HDF), or even more expensive and non-environmentally correct wood. The wood doors are more sound proof, but only truly so if weatherstripped, which is impractical for interiors; thus specifying wood doors alone to prevent sound transmission is ineffective. Exterior doors come in many different configurations and materials. Fiberglass veneers over a foam core are very weather resistant and durable, but they are more costly than many other types and less secure. Metal clad foam core, insulated doors are not attractive, but can serve for garage or rear yard access and are inexpensive. Wood six-panel exterior doors are attractive, but not weather resistant, and require more protection and maintenance to prevent warping, splitting, and discoloration.

Cabinets - excerpt from the book Working for Subs

Cabinets:

This book  (Working for Subs see link in other posts) is not intended to give extensive design or decorating pointers for your home. There are many other reference sources available for these endeavors. The aim of this writing is to give a step-by-step method for scheduling subcontractors and materials for the job. Some decorating decisions, however, must be made by the builder in selecting colors and shapes, since cabinets will be the backdrop for other accessories placed in the space. When it is time to select your kitchen finishes, you should prepare to visit several showrooms and read extensively to understand all the variations of cabinets, faucets, appliances, counter tops, sinks, and other components involved. Some specific items, like sink selection, may be discussed in this Chapter's pages, since they affect the schedule. The layout of cabinets and general sizes and shapes should have been at least sketched in the early drawing development stage of design for the entire home (Chap. 3.)

Some kitchen cabinets have a life expectancy of up to fifty years.⁶⁵ I have found that kitchen styles and tastes change about every decade. Cabinet designs change from traditional natural wood grain surfaces with ornate polished brass knobs to smooth-lined European types with hidden hinges and no handles at all, and cycle back again. Regardless of what type of cabinet you choose, it will probably be rehabbed after ten years during a kitchen redo. At that time resurfacing the doors and frames may suffice, and interior construction can often remain.
For my second home in the Colorado mountains I drove to Denver and hand-selected rough-sawn, random length and width mahogany planks from the lumberyard. These were then planed at the yard, and I delivered the odd assortment in a pickup truck to the job. A young neighbor architectural student who was also a talented carpenter built cabinets (Photo 16) on site from these planks.

  Photo 16: Author's son with stick-built mahogany cabinets in Colorado mountain house.

The same guy built my decks and a butcher block top on a mahogany island out of 2” hard rock maple (photo 17) from the mill. Once he had glued, clamped, and belt-sanded the maple top a couple of bottles of mineral oil were poured and smoothed over its surface for a sealer. Any other oil may contain degradable products or vegetable oils that would become rancid. This maple top could be sanded many times and used for decades.

Photo 17: Hard Rock Maple butcher block island top & Mahogany Cabinets.

Recently a more open cabinet has been the style for uppers, but when we began building in Tennessee the framer was expected to build a drop soffit from the ceiling to abut the cabinet tops. Be sure to have the framer include this if you want a connected look, and the drywaller will encase them.

Countertops:

Tops can come in many different materials including granite, marble, tile, concrete, laminate, or even wood, like butcher blocks. Stone tops can last a lifetime, but cultured marble vanity tops may only have a life expectancy of twenty years.⁶⁵ You can call the countertop estimator to come measure on the day before the cabinets are scheduled to arrive, and tell him when they will be installed. This will insure that he can possible set up an appointment to arrive the following day, and you won't lose a day of construction waiting on their delivery. Be sure to call him back if the cabinets are not installed as planned. The lead time on tops is usually about two weeks, so plan accordingly.

You will need to know the dimensions of sinks, whether your faucets are 4” or 8” on center, whether you want a soap dispenser built in, dimensions of drop-in range tops, lavatories, and appliances. Composite sinks make excellent kitchen basins, and they look good as well as save money over enameled cast iron sinks. If the accessory items and appliances are not on the job when the estimator arrives, it may be advantageous to have cut sheets available. Cut sheets are manufacturer's catalog pages, showing dimensions and other considerations for the items.


Natural marble does not make a good kitchen counter top, since it is permeable and porous, not like granite. Cultured marble for a built-in lavatory works well in a bathroom vanity. Your marble whirlpool tub supplier can supply these tops in integral lavs. Formica makes a good inexpensive top. Corian will burn and discolor with hot skillets placed upon it, and works best for bathroom vanities. Tile tops require a 3/4” treated plywood substrate and some sort of nosing for the edge. We have successfully used 1x2 stained and varnished oak nosing for this, fastened to the plywood base by casing nails prior to installing the tile. Twelve inch mat squares of small tiles can make a perfect backsplash on the wall above the top.