Have you ever seen this before?

"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot) 11/04/2015 at 08:00 • Filed to: Homelopnik

0

46

In a house, have you ever seen planks of wood used as trim before? Here,it’s namely 1x4’s used as trim. It’s actually quite amusing.

I’m not sure if this is a specific artistic appeal, or they did this to keep costs down; but it’s weird and/yet fascinating at the same time. I have never seen this before I moved into this house, and I wonder if this is a thing or not.

Most of the windows have this style of trim.

Any doors leading outside have this trim.

We even have some floor trim like this too.

Not sure how well you can see it, but the stairs are made in a similar fashion, just planks of wood, screwed together.

Oddly, the trim gives it a ‘cabin in the woods’ feel, at least to MrsZtp and I. I mean, we do live in the country, and we do have a room that the walls and ceiling are made of wood, so the wood trim really brings it out. It makes it seem ‘simple’, which is why we like it.

So oppo, has anyone ever seen this done in a house before? I’m curious if there is.

Tohru > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 08:06

1

The trim around my bedroom door is 1x4.

When I finally rip out all the junk single-pane windows and replace them with modern ones, I’ll retrim the whole house like that.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 08:07

6

Yes, it's a thing. It's to give that exact "cabin in the woods" feeling you're getting from it. Rustic & simple. I like.

McMike > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 08:11

1

When my basement was finished (probably in the mid-80s) they used weathered barn board trim for everything. Beadboard, door/window trim, etc.. It was awful.*

*It must not have been that awful, since it took me 10 years to replace it..

BloodlessWeevil > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 08:12

1

Yep, and you got the reasoning dead on. It’s cheap and adds rustic character. As for the stairs, well what did you think stairs were made out of? For most of the country, every part of a house is made of wood.

zeontestpilot > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 11/04/2015 at 08:13

1

Huh, curious. Surprised it took me until 27 years to first see it.

zeontestpilot > Tohru 11/04/2015 at 08:15

0

Don’t do the bathroom window unless you have some kind of protective coating on it. Ours has no protection, and soap scum and being constantly wet has made the wood go bad. It needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, that's one project my wife said she didn't want me to do.

pip bip - choose Corrour > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 08:18

0

looks half arsed to me.

zeontestpilot > McMike 11/04/2015 at 08:20

0

I’m gonna push to keep as much of this trim as possible. Trim can get expensive, 1x4 shouldn’t be that bad in price.

zeontestpilot > pip bip - choose Corrour 11/04/2015 at 08:22

0

Well I’m cheap, so it flows naturally for me, :).

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 08:22

0

you ain' ne'er been t'ah vermon'h have yah, Eh bucky?

BigBlock440 > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 08:23

1

Yep, it’s a thing. Most of my house is trimmed like that, partly because I didn’t feel like taking a router to all of it and partly because I like the look better.

zeontestpilot > BloodlessWeevil 11/04/2015 at 08:25

0

I knew they were made out of wood, I have just never seen one designed like this. Usually they are made with less pieces. In the pic, below the support beam, I count at least 6 pieces.

vondon302 > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 08:26

1

Yea seen this in my old house no less. At least it wasn’t 2x4s like mine. They actually torched the boards a little bit to give it that vintage look. Plus have you priced nice trim? Ouch

Ash78, voting early and often > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 08:30

1

Even the high-end new construction in my area (for the past 10 years or so) has used squared-off plank wood for almost all trim — rather than the routed, ornate trim of decades past. It’s not just a rustic thing, I see it as a not to a Craftsman style cleanliness (or maybe Shaker style). I’ve never seen it unpainted before, typically gloss white like normal trim.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 08:35

0

Guess the previous owner didn't want to cough up the Benji for a Harbor Freight router and table??

Meatcoma > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 08:40

1

Normally the 1x4 is cheaper than trim as well. Sometimes they want you to think it’s a ‘cabin in the woods’ styling but actually it’s just about cost.

zeontestpilot > Ash78, voting early and often 11/04/2015 at 08:44

0

Ah, that might be why I've never seen it before, mines unpainted.

zeontestpilot > vondon302 11/04/2015 at 08:46

0

And that’s the issue, trim is expensive. I’m too cheap to just pour in money willy-nilly like that.

zeontestpilot > Meatcoma 11/04/2015 at 08:47

0

Well, we have some walks made from wood, so it really does feel like a cabin here, :).

zeontestpilot > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 11/04/2015 at 08:48

0

Nope, just West Virginia.

random001 > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 08:49

1

It’s called Shaker style. Usually it’s painted. The stained wood is for the shaker style cabin in the woods. Not bad, though...

zeontestpilot > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 11/04/2015 at 08:49

0

Most likely.

zeontestpilot > BigBlock440 11/04/2015 at 08:50

0

Yeah, I really like the raw wood look.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 08:57

1

Yep. 1x4 pine or others, usually with clear finish - very much a thing. My dad did it in part of our house.

zeontestpilot > random001 11/04/2015 at 09:07

0

Yeah, since I moved here, I've started to really enjoy wood, lol.

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 09:32

1

Given that MDF trim has taken over new construction, I think having a solid wood product, although in rough form, is better. If you wanted to upgrade the look a bit, you could pull the trim off, sand it smooth and use a router to create a more interesting profile.

http://www.familyhandyman.com/woodworking/ti…

This picture is from the article linked above. He cuts down full sheets of MDF to create trim-sized pieces, then routes them himself. The costs don’t include his labor.

Big-box home stores sell pre-primed MDF trim from $0.50 to $1.50 per ft. It’s cheap and easy to work with if you have a cross-cut saw.

Patrick Nichols > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 09:37

1

Coating the bathroom ones in polyurethane should solve that issue, I would think. Personally I would coat all of them in poly to keep the rustic look but keep it protected and look a little more finished.

zeontestpilot > Patrick Nichols 11/04/2015 at 09:46

1

I’ll have to do that with the replacement pieces.

smobgirl > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 10:13

0

Painted white here, but that’s the trim poor people could afford 110 years ago when this place was built. Some of mine here has been replaced with the trim poor people could afford in the 1980s and that looks horrendous.

E92M3 > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 10:21

1

My first house had stained wood trim. I always thought about painting it white, but never did.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Ash78, voting early and often 11/04/2015 at 10:22

1

My entire building, from circa 2007, ostensibly a high-end development, is all done in white-painted square wood trim like this.

Brickman > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 10:42

1

My sisters house is like that except theres so much lacquer you can use it as a mirror :P It was built in the 40s or 50s

desertdog5051 > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 11:36

0

Yes.

zeontestpilot > E92M3 11/04/2015 at 11:45

0

Actually, I like the contrast in the pic.

zeontestpilot > smobgirl 11/04/2015 at 11:46

0

You keep saying poor people, I think you mean normal people, :),

smobgirl > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 12:12

0

Fair enough! Though my house was originally 3 rooms with no running water so I guess I'm happy it's still standing :)

zeontestpilot > smobgirl 11/04/2015 at 12:19

1

Ha! I’m doing maintenance on my house now, in my spare time. I have nothing but respect for people who do this for a living now.

smobgirl > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 12:59

1

I hear ya. I need to get my shit together and refinish my floors before Christmas.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Ash78, voting early and often 11/04/2015 at 13:19

0

Square stock is becoming common as people want cleaner lines, but leaving it unpainted is for the rustic look. Actually, the trend is towards no casing at all.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/04/2015 at 13:25

1

MDF has NOT taken over new construction, it’s taken over CHEAP construction. New/not new is irrelevant. Solid wood is always better. Paints better, tougher, more moisture resistant. And yes, you absolutely CAN tell when it’s MDF under the paint.

As far as adding a profile goes, I’m not sure that would be an upgrade. These days, it’s all going towards cleaner lines/no profile at all. But then, whatever floats your boat. It’s a house to live in, not as an investment.

Source: ...this is kind of what I do.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 11/04/2015 at 14:37

1

We were in the market for a home not so long ago. EVERYTHING we saw that wasn’t a full-on custom home, had MDF trim, MDF built-in shelving in the closets, etc. The only place they didn’t use it was in the kitchens and bathrooms.

As I said, solid wood is better and I completely agree that MDF is cheap. It is also an easy way for someone who is new to home improvement and is learning on his own to make some changes without making a costly mistake. When learning, I’d rather screw up some cheap trim than screw up a nice piece of solid trim. It’s a less expensive way to learn a new skill.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/04/2015 at 14:52

1

MDF shelving??? I’d have at least expected particle board. Then again, they’re pretty much the same quality level except one has a nicer finish.

Fair enough on the learning part. Still, I’d personally rather use cheap wood (ie a finger joint pine) than MDF.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 11/04/2015 at 15:18

1

I’m sure you’d fire the crew that built our house. I had to move the shelf in my daughter’s closet so we could add another shelf at the right height for hanging dresses. I discovered the MDF shelving in the closets were just held in place and nailed with 3” brads straight into the drywall until they didn’t fall down. I had to pull over 40 brads out of a 7’ shelf just to get it off the wall. That’s also when I discovered that the drywall isn’t flat. They put studs on 24” centers and used warped drywall. They used caulk at the back of the shelves to fill the gap....

South Louisiana is full of houses built this way. Most were built during the housing boom following Hurricane Katrina.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/04/2015 at 15:27

1

Yup. Fired. Immediately.

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 16:26

2

Another thing you can do to dress it up a bit is add some quarter-round to the bottom for a base shoe and a small base cap. Leave them bare or paint them to dress it up a bit more.

The base moulding in our house is build up this way with a base board made from MDF plus a quarter-round base shoe made from pine. The base board is 1x6 with the top inch routed to look like a base cap (it’s not really a cap since it isn’t a separate piece). It would be easier with a miter saw, but you can accomplish the same thing with a good back saw and a miter box.

MM54 > zeontestpilot 11/04/2015 at 18:00

1

Not really uncommon - when done right it can look really good, and when done poorly it looks awful. Bonus points for roughsawn trim