All,
We’re installing four “eyebrow” arched doorways. The casing/molding will be mitered at the corners – no blocks. When I’ve done this in the past, I’ve had my local flex molding supplier reproduce the casing in resin to form the molding for the arch. The resin molding was very close, but not an exact duplicate of the wood casing. As such, the miters were good, but still showed some subtle differences between the wood and resin profiles. My question is whether I would generally get better results going to a large molding manufacturer (like White River) who already stocks its own profiles in both wood and resin. My thinking is that White River would have perfected its resin molds so that the resin/wood profiiles are nearly perfect. The casing on this project has not yet been selected. If the consensus is that this would achieve a more uniform profile, I will recommend selecting the casing from the White River catalog (or other recomended supplier). Any experience you have would be greatly appreciated. I realize blocks in the corners are easier, but that is a non- starter.
Frank R.
Replies
Frank
I dont like the blocks in the corners either, looks like you didnt know how to miter it.
How far off are your moldings from the resin ones? Can they be sanded in. I've never seen any moldings, including wood that match up 100%.
If your eyebrows are a constant arch then you shouldnt have much difficulty getting the arch made of wood. I prefer that to the resin molds but sometimes thats not an option.
Doug
Doug,
Thanks for the reply. The casings haven't been selected yet so neither wood nor resin has been ordered. I thought if guys had good luck with matching resin/wood that both came from the same distributor (like White River) I would recommend that route instead of picking a casing from my local supplier and then having the local flex supplier try to match the profile afterwards. I know Gary Streigler uses a lot of White River material. I have seen arches in his projects that were made with White River casing and the miters look really clean. I know Gary is really talented, but I wasn't sure if the good results on the miters were helped along by using White River hardwood and White River flex in the same profile.
By the way Doug, you may not remember, but you helped me on another project a few months ago which is almost done. The 7 1/4 crown is up, 3 part casings are all milled, biscuit-mitered and installed on all 11 doors, wainsoting is nearly done. The painters have started on the ceiling/crown and are working their way down. We had to move a bunch of outlets/HVAC to avoid breaking up the wainscot. I'll post some pictures when it's done.
Thanks again for your help.
Frank R.
Frank
I remember you and I also remember that you owe us pictures when its done!
I've used White River products and have always been very pleased with them. I've never used them for there resin moldings so cant coment on that part. I wouldnt hesitate to use them for resin moldings because of the quality that I see from them.
Doug
You can experience "match-up" problems if have wood arches made and pull straight stock out of the bin. My company always offers the customer the option of having a set of "straights" run by the same knife that makes the arch casing. You will always get an acceptable match that way. You can also buy straights in the flex moulding, however, it gets pretty expensive. I would have the moulding supplier quote the wood arches with matching straights.
Great advice. For the dining room/living room, I would do just that (e.g. get straight runs of flex for the side casing. My hesitancy of using flex on the sides of this project is that the archways are in a relatively tight hallway that connects the garage, laundry room, basement and kitchen. Wasn't sure how they would hold up over time if they were kicked or hit by the kids, groceries laundry baskets, etc. Thanks Winstall.
Frank R.