Gumwood Columns, other Trim Work

Two years ago (2007) I knocked down three walls in my house after finishing a porch that was connected to the house. For the columns left behind, I wrapped them in gumwood to match the original 1920s trim in the house. There are four columns, though only two are shown.

Finding the wood was a HUGE challenge. To this day, I don’t know that the real name of a “gum wood” tree is, and I got many opinions. It has beautiful streaky grain—very unusual. Some wood I had to recover from architectural salvage, which taught me how to use a metal detector!)

The columns are butt jointed so they can expand and contract. The corners are chamfered with a lambs-tongue detail where they transition back to sharp corners.

In the end, I also needed to match the color to the existing woodwork. I used stain to match the new raw wood to the color of aged wood, and then I reversed engineered the finish. Lucky for me it was simple: three coats of amber shellac. The new stuff is indistinguishable from the old.

I had to create the railing as well. I bought the top and bottom and made the spindles myself since it saved a bundle of dough.

Also, I need to patch the floor. When I did, I inlaid a strip of walnut to define the edge. Looks nice.

Lastly, I did the whole room behind the columns. I had intended just to replace the windows, but when I got into the walls I found that they were built dangerously poorly. I cut them down (leaving the roof) and reframed them, new wiring, etc. including new sheathing and siding on the outside! WAY more work than I planned.

-- Laziness minus Apathy equals Efficiency