# 17th Century Jacobean Oak paneled room



## woodwkr (Feb 1, 2008)

*Preface*



This was an interesting project that I worked on a few years ago. The photo above show the panels in the original room at Henwood Priory, Warwickshire, England. It is the only thing I had to go on. One wall had a fireplace that someone must have blacked out before the auction because it was not part of the sale.
( a note: the photos that I use in this blog are rather large so you can see some of the detail. just click on them to see the whole photo and click again to see them actual size ) 
The story of the panels journey as best I can find is--They were built in the second quarter 17th century. They were bought by William Randolph Hearst at some time in the past, and shipped stateside and forgotten. Reading some history of William Randolph Hearst, I find that he was a voracious collector and bought so much stuff during his life, that allot of it was lost or forgotten. His heirs found the panels in a barn and had them auctioned at Sotheby's in New York on April 16,1998. They were bought by our client and stored in a climate controlled cave in Missouri until they found a wood shop capable of sorting the mess out. That was us. They are all made of English White oak.
I found some history of the building the panels were built for - -
THE PRIORY OF HENWOOD
In the beginning of the reign of Henry II, when Walter Durdent was bishop of Chester (1149-1161), Ketelberne de Langdon founded a priory for Benedictine nuns, dedicated to the honour of St. Margaret, in his lordship of Langdon, in the parish of Solihull. It was built near a fair spring lying to the east of Langdon, and was at first termed Estwell. He granted to the nuns considerable lands at Langdon, with free court and all customs and liberties, with pasturage and pannage, together with the right of taking timber for building their church and dwellings from the woods of Langdon, and leave to erect a mill on any suitable site opposite his own lands. After a time it came to be called Heanwood or Henwood,' by reason of the tall oaks there growing, the word bean in our old English signifying high.' (fn. 1)

The Black Death wrought much havoc in the priory. On 19 August, 1349, there was no prioress, ' and of fifteen nuns which lately were there, three only remain.' Lady Joan Fokerham, one of the three sisters, was appointed prioress in the following month. (fn. 10)

In 1540 the site and the possessions of the priory were sold to John Higford by the crown for the sum of £207 5s. (fn. 15)

From: 'Houses of Benedictine nuns: Priory of Henwood', A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 2 (1908), pp. 65-66. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=36491&strquery=Priory of Henwood. Date accessed: 02 March 2008.

This project had several challenges.

#1 - Try and preserve as much of the original woodwork and layout as possible. Like a doctors oath, "first- do no harm" 

#2 - Go through the pile of parts and sort - - - measure - - - figure out what part of the panel system that they belonged - - sort out and discard recent repairs - - - and plot the pieces on the computer. I don't know if the repairs were made to the panels in england, or if an attempt to install them in America was made. I think it was the former because the repairs, while poorly done, were at least made with English white oak.

#3 - Measure the clients room and adapt the panels to his space - - - which had 3 doors and two windows - - and no fireplace.  Some of this was started by our designer before I took over.

#4 - Figure out a system for the installation, (which we were not going to do), that would make the installers job as easy as possible and the chunks of assembled panel as large as possible.

#5 - Determine how much was missing and had to be replaced. Build, distress, and finish all of the new woodwork so it completely blends with the original woodwork.

#6 - Have fun !!! 

This is the Sotheby's auction flyer - 


I will start it up with the next post.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *Preface*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


lol love #6. 
and did you?


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *Preface*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Do you and Les ever say no to anything. This is a project most pros would defer to someone else simply because it is so unique. I admire your willingness to take on a challenge like this. The next posts are going to be interesting, to say the least.


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## Chipncut (Aug 18, 2006)

woodwkr said:


> *Preface*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It looks like you've got a really interesting puzzle going for you
.


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## woodwkr (Feb 1, 2008)

woodwkr said:


> *Preface*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Debbie - - 
>>lol love #6. and did you?<<

Actually, I was #6'en all through the other #'s


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## dennis (Aug 3, 2006)

woodwkr said:


> *Preface*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wonderful! I'm turning green with envy.


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## DinoWalk (May 24, 2011)

woodwkr said:


> *Preface*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sounds like a challenging yet very rewarding project. Nice post!


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## woodwkr (Feb 1, 2008)

*Sorting and Layout*

We never thought at the time to chronicle this project with photos, so I will try to muddle through with the few I have. I wish we got a photo of the pile of lumber and panels when they arrived in our trailer, but I can tell you that the site of them caused me to think - - *&$#)@ WHAT ARE WE DOING !!!!*-- 

Below are some shots of some parts layed out on the floor in an attempt to make some sense of it all. Click on the photo to get a full size view.


Above is an attempt to figure out the fireplace layout. you can see some of the auction stickers still on the wood.


This is the left side of the fireplace that shows a column and some adjacent paneling.


This is a close up of some of the fireplace mantle carving. It became difficult to stay focused and not just stand there and stare at all of it. To think that it was carved around the years 1625 - 1650, - - and had such a long journey to get here, - - I was amazed that it was in as good of shape as it was.


A closeup of a panel.

I was able to determine that the paneling consisted of four horizontal bands that were separated horizontally by moulding and vertically by columns.


The bottom band I called the *wainscot panels*.


The next band are the *main panels*.


Next comes the *skirt panels* with a rope mould.


And at the top are the *coffered panels*.
Thats all for now. Got to get to work.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *Sorting and Layout*
> 
> We never thought at the time to chronicle this project with photos, so I will try to muddle through with the few I have. I wish we got a photo of the pile of lumber and panels when they arrived in our trailer, but I can tell you that the site of them caused me to think - - *&$#)@ WHAT ARE WE DOING !!!!*--
> 
> ...


Marshall,

I grow more impressed each time I see the progression of blogs on this project. I have no doubt that you had a few choice words about the wisdom of initially taking on this project- unless you have a particular fondness for jigsaw puzzles. But the immense scale of this puzzle would be enough to intimidate even seasoned pros.

I am curious about the initial layout. Did you have enough space to do a full layout?

And to give me a sense of scale what are the dimensions of the paneled room. I am guessing it is at least 16-18' in height.

Wow.

Keep the posts comings.


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *Sorting and Layout*
> 
> We never thought at the time to chronicle this project with photos, so I will try to muddle through with the few I have. I wish we got a photo of the pile of lumber and panels when they arrived in our trailer, but I can tell you that the site of them caused me to think - - *&$#)@ WHAT ARE WE DOING !!!!*--
> 
> ...


Must get mighty scary working with something that old. It's not like you can go buy a replacement
anywhere.


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## Tangle (Jul 21, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *Sorting and Layout*
> 
> We never thought at the time to chronicle this project with photos, so I will try to muddle through with the few I have. I wish we got a photo of the pile of lumber and panels when they arrived in our trailer, but I can tell you that the site of them caused me to think - - *&$#)@ WHAT ARE WE DOING !!!!*--
> 
> ...


Wow!!!!!!


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## woodwkr (Feb 1, 2008)

woodwkr said:


> *Sorting and Layout*
> 
> We never thought at the time to chronicle this project with photos, so I will try to muddle through with the few I have. I wish we got a photo of the pile of lumber and panels when they arrived in our trailer, but I can tell you that the site of them caused me to think - - *&$#)@ WHAT ARE WE DOING !!!!*--
> 
> ...


Scott, 
>> I am guessing it is at least 16-18' in height. <<
Nope - more like about 13ft high.
The room dimensions were 230 3/8" X 218 3/4" X 157 1/4" high. The width and length of the room was fixed but I was able to tell them the height that the ceiling had to be built - - - to fit the panel assy.

>>>I am curious about the initial layout. Did you have enough space to do a full layout?<<<

No where near enough room. One I got a sense of how things went together, I measured everything, assigned a number to each one and plotted all the pieces on the computer. Much easier to drag around and piece the puzzle together. (also much less likely to break some very old and brittle wood) 
17th century meets 21st century.


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## Chipncut (Aug 18, 2006)

woodwkr said:


> *Sorting and Layout*
> 
> We never thought at the time to chronicle this project with photos, so I will try to muddle through with the few I have. I wish we got a photo of the pile of lumber and panels when they arrived in our trailer, but I can tell you that the site of them caused me to think - - *&$#)@ WHAT ARE WE DOING !!!!*--
> 
> ...


*Fantastic!!!*


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## woodwkr (Feb 1, 2008)

*More layout*

We did not have enough space to layout the entire room on the floor, so once I got a sense of how things went together, I measured everything, assigned a number to each one of the parts and plotted all the pieces on the computer. Much easier to drag around and piece the puzzle together. (also much less likely to break some very old and brittle wood) 17th century meets 21st century. 

Some of the notes appear below.


-

-


*Then a rough draft layout by our designer.* (click to enlarge)


*Followed eventually by my CAD renderings.* (click to enlarge)


Next - What to keep and what to replace.


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## Tangle (Jul 21, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *More layout*
> 
> We did not have enough space to layout the entire room on the floor, so once I got a sense of how things went together, I measured everything, assigned a number to each one of the parts and plotted all the pieces on the computer. Much easier to drag around and piece the puzzle together. (also much less likely to break some very old and brittle wood) 17th century meets 21st century.
> 
> ...


Holy Cow! Naw, great project, keeps the mind limber.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *More layout*
> 
> We did not have enough space to layout the entire room on the floor, so once I got a sense of how things went together, I measured everything, assigned a number to each one of the parts and plotted all the pieces on the computer. Much easier to drag around and piece the puzzle together. (also much less likely to break some very old and brittle wood) 17th century meets 21st century.
> 
> ...


This is growing even more impressive with each post. I simply cannot imagine taking this jumble of panels and molding and piecing them together.  I can only imagine how difficult it would have been if you didn't have picture to go by. I can see that having the ceiling built at a specific height would help but, I will be honest, I do not like jig saw puzzles and it seems to me that is what this was- but on a more massive scale.

Keep the post coming. Thomas is right in a way. To me rather than a mind limbering project it would appear to be more of a mind numbing one.

But I am enjoying this.


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## Dadoo (Jun 23, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *More layout*
> 
> We did not have enough space to layout the entire room on the floor, so once I got a sense of how things went together, I measured everything, assigned a number to each one of the parts and plotted all the pieces on the computer. Much easier to drag around and piece the puzzle together. (also much less likely to break some very old and brittle wood) 17th century meets 21st century.
> 
> ...


Excellent post Marshall. I really could get into a project like this. Question though…The room dimensions obviously have to differ so how did you overcome coming up a half panel short, or for that matter…half a panel too long?


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## woodwkr (Feb 1, 2008)

woodwkr said:


> *More layout*
> 
> We did not have enough space to layout the entire room on the floor, so once I got a sense of how things went together, I measured everything, assigned a number to each one of the parts and plotted all the pieces on the computer. Much easier to drag around and piece the puzzle together. (also much less likely to break some very old and brittle wood) 17th century meets 21st century.
> 
> ...


Dadoo,
>>>Question though…The room dimensions obviously have to differ so how did you overcome coming up a half panel short, or for that matter…half a panel too long?<<<

I hope to answer some of this as I get farther into the blog.  Because the project was completed just under 5 years ago, I am still sweeping away some of the cobwebs in my head to remember just what I did.

Your questions ( and others ) help me to do just that.


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## motthunter (Dec 31, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *More layout*
> 
> We did not have enough space to layout the entire room on the floor, so once I got a sense of how things went together, I measured everything, assigned a number to each one of the parts and plotted all the pieces on the computer. Much easier to drag around and piece the puzzle together. (also much less likely to break some very old and brittle wood) 17th century meets 21st century.
> 
> ...


proof that planning is the center of the project


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## woodwkr (Feb 1, 2008)

*What to keep and what to replace.*

First, let me say that this project was not an historical renovation. I tried to approach it that way as much as I could, but we did not have an unlimited budget and the client wanted the job done as soon as possible.

Ok. I will start at the top and work my way down.
Below is one of the few pieces of the original crown that survived.


I believe that the original ceiling must have leaked, or been damp, because the crown and coffered panels needed allot of work. We did not have the time to hand carve new crown for the whole room, so we ordered some custom white oak carved crown from Enkeboll. We also ordered an additional carved mould from them that was placed directly below the coffered panels. Enkeboll is a great firm that does a fantastic job with carved mouldings. The moulding was about $30.00 a foot but saved us in the long run.

I don't have a closeup of them, but I have a pic from their web site of the patterns we used.


Below the crown was the arched mould. Almost none of this survived also. This one I made myself with our pin router and carving tools. The pic is a closeup of the original mould.


After allot of hand work and distressing, I was pleased with how they blended in.


You can see in the photo above that there are carved figures between each coffered panel. Here are some closeups of a few.






There were 23 of these. - - - We needed 35. It was suggested that I make plaster casts of the 12 that were needed - - - - but I just couldn't. The replacements were all carved in white oak.

If you are trying to get a handle on how the crown and coffered panel assemblies were arranged - - below is the CAD rendering of the area.


Next - - farther down the wall.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *What to keep and what to replace.*
> 
> First, let me say that this project was not an historical renovation. I tried to approach it that way as much as I could, but we did not have an unlimited budget and the client wanted the job done as soon as possible.
> 
> ...


Marshall,

This is better than a reality show. Keep the posts coming.


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## Tangle (Jul 21, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *What to keep and what to replace.*
> 
> First, let me say that this project was not an historical renovation. I tried to approach it that way as much as I could, but we did not have an unlimited budget and the client wanted the job done as soon as possible.
> 
> ...


What a job!!!


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## Mario (Apr 23, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *What to keep and what to replace.*
> 
> First, let me say that this project was not an historical renovation. I tried to approach it that way as much as I could, but we did not have an unlimited budget and the client wanted the job done as soon as possible.
> 
> ...


Looks like it will be very time consuming.


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *What to keep and what to replace.*
> 
> First, let me say that this project was not an historical renovation. I tried to approach it that way as much as I could, but we did not have an unlimited budget and the client wanted the job done as soon as possible.
> 
> ...


Hi Woodwkr;

Looks like you have that "if it's not impossible, I'm not interested" affliction also!

Great job.

Lee


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## woodwkr (Feb 1, 2008)

*Farther down the wall*

Below the coffered panels are the skirt panels. These were in better shape than the coffered panels and had a "rope" mould along the top edge. The rope mould was mostly new construction, ( poorly done ) and was replaced with new mould that I ran and distressed. It started to look like this was at least the second installation of these panels because some of them were cobbled together and mis-matched. It became easy to find where they originally belonged, because their length matched up with the width of most of the main panels.

Below is a shot of a piece as it was on arrival. 


These panels were structurally weak and brittle. They would only be exposed at the carving, so I decided to build new frames for them. The wide piece at each end is where the top of the columns will eventually overlay them.


The layout of the panels in the new room worked out *very* well. The total lineal feet of coffered panels was much longer than the main panels because there must have been some large openings in the original room that the main panels stopped and started, while the coffered panels continued over the top. The new room had much of the same. The frame holding the coffered panels was toast and most of the coffered panels were in pieces, so they took some work. They were a variety of heavily carved beveled pieces and flat panels with applied carvings and figures. These were fun to arrange and repair.





CAD layout of a couple of walls. 


The panels with miter lines are like the panels in the photos above, and the rest are flat with a relief carving or applied figure. The photo below shows a pile of the flat panels ready to be installed into a coffered panel frame.


Next - - Devise an installation system.


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## teenagewoodworker (Jan 31, 2008)

woodwkr said:


> *Farther down the wall*
> 
> Below the coffered panels are the skirt panels. These were in better shape than the coffered panels and had a "rope" mould along the top edge. The rope mould was mostly new construction, ( poorly done ) and was replaced with new mould that I ran and distressed. It started to look like this was at least the second installation of these panels because some of them were cobbled together and mis-matched. It became easy to find where they originally belonged, because their length matched up with the width of most of the main panels.
> 
> ...


cool. i can't wait for the next installment. keep up the great work,


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *Farther down the wall*
> 
> Below the coffered panels are the skirt panels. These were in better shape than the coffered panels and had a "rope" mould along the top edge. The rope mould was mostly new construction, ( poorly done ) and was replaced with new mould that I ran and distressed. It started to look like this was at least the second installation of these panels because some of them were cobbled together and mis-matched. It became easy to find where they originally belonged, because their length matched up with the width of most of the main panels.
> 
> ...


I agree. I am waiting for the next post. This is getting really interesting.


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## dennis (Aug 3, 2006)

woodwkr said:


> *Farther down the wall*
> 
> Below the coffered panels are the skirt panels. These were in better shape than the coffered panels and had a "rope" mould along the top edge. The rope mould was mostly new construction, ( poorly done ) and was replaced with new mould that I ran and distressed. It started to look like this was at least the second installation of these panels because some of them were cobbled together and mis-matched. It became easy to find where they originally belonged, because their length matched up with the width of most of the main panels.
> 
> ...


Extreme refinishing! I just glad someone bothered to save this bit of history.


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## Chipncut (Aug 18, 2006)

woodwkr said:


> *Farther down the wall*
> 
> Below the coffered panels are the skirt panels. These were in better shape than the coffered panels and had a "rope" mould along the top edge. The rope mould was mostly new construction, ( poorly done ) and was replaced with new mould that I ran and distressed. It started to look like this was at least the second installation of these panels because some of them were cobbled together and mis-matched. It became easy to find where they originally belonged, because their length matched up with the width of most of the main panels.
> 
> ...


Those 17th century carvers, must have carved on this project for an awful long time.

I wonder what kind of pay they received.


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## woodwkr (Feb 1, 2008)

woodwkr said:


> *Farther down the wall*
> 
> Below the coffered panels are the skirt panels. These were in better shape than the coffered panels and had a "rope" mould along the top edge. The rope mould was mostly new construction, ( poorly done ) and was replaced with new mould that I ran and distressed. It started to look like this was at least the second installation of these panels because some of them were cobbled together and mis-matched. It became easy to find where they originally belonged, because their length matched up with the width of most of the main panels.
> 
> ...


Scott,
Thanks for following along.
Dick, 
>>>Those 17th century carvers, must have carved on this project for an awful long time<<<
On the next entry, I will get into some of the techniques I believed they used.


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## woodwkr (Feb 1, 2008)

*Devise an installation system*

Before I could layout the panels accurately, I needed to come up with a system for the installers to hang them in the new room. Before I got involved with the project, a bunch of 1/2" plywood sheets were bought to skin the sheet-rock walls in the room so the installers could shim and nail the pieces up. It became clear to me that this was a bad idea for several reasons. First, it would make the installation very complicated and time consuming. - - A long and drawn out installation would also be unacceptable to the client. It could also increase the chance that a 300+ year old carved panel could be mis-cut. 

Another problem to complicate things was the way the panels were built. It looked to me that the lumber was milled from the logs by a process called Rivinghttp://www.greenwoodworking.com/RivingArticle. This means basically that the lumber is split from the logs in a quartered/rift cut and smoothed, carved, machined and assembled in a green or near green state. The way the wood and carving appeared upon close inspection lead me to be convinced that this was probably true. The face of the style and rails of the paneling were remarkably flat and smooth with almost no tooling marks. The grain, however had the look of a piece that was weathered or lightly sandblasted. This is the way a planed piece of green wood can look after drying - - with the softer grain sunk below the harder grain - - just like sandblasting will do. 
Below is the only photo I have that shows a little bit of this.


Because of this construction process, the back side of the paneling was rough. I don't mean "rough_sawn", - - I mean rough- split-chopped with an axe. The thickness of the styles and rails varied from 5/8" to 1 3/8". And that change of thickness could be within 12" apart on the same style!
The method I came up with to bring all of the main panels to a uniform thickness, simplify the installation, and still use all the 1/2" plywood that was purchased, is as follows.

I built a platform illustrated in the bottom of the drawing below.

I could then lay the panels face side down on spacer blocks. The spacer blocks would allow the clearance of any face mounted mould. I could then route a 1" groove along the length of the sides and ends of the panels that would leave a uniform thickness. Then I glued a strip of white oak lumber in the groove that left a 1 1/2" overall thickness. The strips also help to firm up some weak or broken tendon joints.


The panel then could be centered and screwed to a sized piece of 1/2" plywood that would both support the panel, center it in position, and provide a place where it could be screwed on the wall.

The drawing below shows some of the wainscot panels positioned on the plywood at the proper spacing.

Below is the sequence of installation of the panels in the room.
2X4 blocking was screwed to the walls at specific heights all the way around the room. A line was drawn around the perimeter of the room with a laser. ( this is shown by the red line on the second from the top 2X4)



The skirt panels are then screwed to the blocking with the top edge of the plywood lined up to the red line.
I left a 1/4" space between the plywood to give the installers some fudge space. The plywood is shown by the colored areas around the panels.


Then the coffered panel assemblies could rest on the edge of the skirt panel plywood and screwed to the blocking. The main and wainscot panels would mount below. The dashed line shows where the columns surface mount between panel assemblies.


Finally the columns are installed, the doors hung, and the lineal feet of moulding is nailed up.


I should say that the installers did a great job and I believe were in and out in less than a week.
Next- - Last post


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## teenagewoodworker (Jan 31, 2008)

woodwkr said:


> *Devise an installation system*
> 
> Before I could layout the panels accurately, I needed to come up with a system for the installers to hang them in the new room. Before I got involved with the project, a bunch of 1/2" plywood sheets were bought to skin the sheet-rock walls in the room so the installers could shim and nail the pieces up. It became clear to me that this was a bad idea for several reasons. First, it would make the installation very complicated and time consuming. - - A long and drawn out installation would also be unacceptable to the client. It could also increase the chance that a 300+ year old carved panel could be mis-cut.
> 
> ...


wow, this whole thing looks very difficult. i can't wait to see the installation and the finished room. its so cool to see things progress like this and this one has been so interesting and I've learned a lot. thanks for the post.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *Devise an installation system*
> 
> Before I could layout the panels accurately, I needed to come up with a system for the installers to hang them in the new room. Before I got involved with the project, a bunch of 1/2" plywood sheets were bought to skin the sheet-rock walls in the room so the installers could shim and nail the pieces up. It became clear to me that this was a bad idea for several reasons. First, it would make the installation very complicated and time consuming. - - A long and drawn out installation would also be unacceptable to the client. It could also increase the chance that a 300+ year old carved panel could be mis-cut.
> 
> ...


This is getting better with each post. Putting an oak strip into a dado on each of the panels was a very innovative solution to the installation problem. To tell the truth I am beginning to think that the challenge of the project for you all was the most deciding element with respect to the logic of taking on this herculean task.

Very well done and I am looking forward to the climax of this series.


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## Tangle (Jul 21, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *Devise an installation system*
> 
> Before I could layout the panels accurately, I needed to come up with a system for the installers to hang them in the new room. Before I got involved with the project, a bunch of 1/2" plywood sheets were bought to skin the sheet-rock walls in the room so the installers could shim and nail the pieces up. It became clear to me that this was a bad idea for several reasons. First, it would make the installation very complicated and time consuming. - - A long and drawn out installation would also be unacceptable to the client. It could also increase the chance that a 300+ year old carved panel could be mis-cut.
> 
> ...


Great process


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## woodwkr (Feb 1, 2008)

woodwkr said:


> *Devise an installation system*
> 
> Before I could layout the panels accurately, I needed to come up with a system for the installers to hang them in the new room. Before I got involved with the project, a bunch of 1/2" plywood sheets were bought to skin the sheet-rock walls in the room so the installers could shim and nail the pieces up. It became clear to me that this was a bad idea for several reasons. First, it would make the installation very complicated and time consuming. - - A long and drawn out installation would also be unacceptable to the client. It could also increase the chance that a 300+ year old carved panel could be mis-cut.
> 
> ...


Thanks all, 
>>> I am looking forward to the climax of this series<<<<<<
Yes, I need to button this thing up. It doesn't seem to be generating much interest.


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## woodwkr (Feb 1, 2008)

*Last Post*

The last post discussed the installation system of the panels. I have been asked how the door panels were fabricated. All three door openings were built using new frames that housed original panels. There was one original main panel assembly that the main frame was in pieces. It had been a 6 panel assembly that allowed me to use the original panels in the 3 door frame panels.

Below is a drawing of one of the door frame panel assemblys. 


Here is a plan view of the same door panel assembly. 


The door jambs were sized to fit the existing office jambs exactly - - the existing office doors were removed from the original jambs, - - skinned with white oak style and rail assemblys,- - - rehung on the new door panel assembly, - - - and door stop that was wide enough to cover the original hinge routing and finished to match the office hallway was installed.

The main panels in the room were separated vertically by a space that was covered by several column assemblys. There was a total of 12 columns that were all different widths, heights, and arrived in pieces. After figuring out what piece went to which column, all were plotted on the computer -


The gap between the main panels also had a depth of 1 1/2", so it was possible to pre-assemble the columns to a 3/4" X 3" strip of white oak. Below are some shots of the column assembly.

Parts ready for assy- - - 


Repair - - -


Assembled columns - - - 


Closer view - - -



Note the new wood at the top of the lower column panels. These were spacers that brought all of the columns to a uniform height. They would be covered by the chair rail. I assume that they originally varied in height to fit a rough wood or stone floor.

Below are some photos of the panels in process.

Wainscot panels - - -


Main panels - - - 


Me at my bench - - - 


Here are CAD views of all four walls
West wall - - -


North wall - - - this is where the fireplace was originally, - - Now a couch.


South wall - - - Below the window is a grate that hides a heat radiator.


East wall - - - 


The client wanted the finish to be as minimal as possible. To bring the new wood surface to a state that matched the old wood, it was lightly hand scraped and moderately wire brushed. The wire brushing wore down the soft part of the grain and made it look like green wood that is smoothed and allowed to dry. I used 5" wire brush wheels spun by a drill. [ we wore out 4 wheels and one drill.  ] In finish, all of the original finish was cleaned, the new wood colored to match, and everything coated with shellac.

It took our shop about 1500 hours from start to job-site finish touch-up. I believe that it was bid at 1586 hrs.

Here are some shots after install, but before touch up. The flash on the camera makes the flat parts of the wood appear lighter in color than the carvings, but I am told that they really match better than that.

I have not seen them in person.









And a couple of shots after the client had moved in.




If I find that the client had some professional photos taken, I will post them.

Marshall


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *Last Post*
> 
> The last post discussed the installation system of the panels. I have been asked how the door panels were fabricated. All three door openings were built using new frames that housed original panels. There was one original main panel assembly that the main frame was in pieces. It had been a 6 panel assembly that allowed me to use the original panels in the 3 door frame panels.
> 
> ...


That is nice. I am speechless.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *Last Post*
> 
> The last post discussed the installation system of the panels. I have been asked how the door panels were fabricated. All three door openings were built using new frames that housed original panels. There was one original main panel assembly that the main frame was in pieces. It had been a 6 panel assembly that allowed me to use the original panels in the 3 door frame panels.
> 
> ...


Wow. I have followed this all along and enjoyed it immensely. To tell the truth I could not get anything done in that office. There is simply too much wood to look at. I would find myself staring at the wood and moldings.

Marshall, thanks for the entire post. I know it was long and took a great deal of time and effort but I, for one, really appreciated seeing the project.


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## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

woodwkr said:


> *Last Post*
> 
> The last post discussed the installation system of the panels. I have been asked how the door panels were fabricated. All three door openings were built using new frames that housed original panels. There was one original main panel assembly that the main frame was in pieces. It had been a 6 panel assembly that allowed me to use the original panels in the 3 door frame panels.
> 
> ...


What a beautiful master piece to be brought back for all to enjoy. Thank you for posting.

Tom


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## Phishead (Jan 9, 2008)

woodwkr said:


> *Last Post*
> 
> The last post discussed the installation system of the panels. I have been asked how the door panels were fabricated. All three door openings were built using new frames that housed original panels. There was one original main panel assembly that the main frame was in pieces. It had been a 6 panel assembly that allowed me to use the original panels in the 3 door frame panels.
> 
> ...


Awesome post! Nice work on it.


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## bbrooks (Jan 3, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *Last Post*
> 
> The last post discussed the installation system of the panels. I have been asked how the door panels were fabricated. All three door openings were built using new frames that housed original panels. There was one original main panel assembly that the main frame was in pieces. It had been a 6 panel assembly that allowed me to use the original panels in the 3 door frame panels.
> 
> ...


Such beautiful work. What a chore, but also a treasure for someone to enjoy for many years. Well done.


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## Dadoo (Jun 23, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *Last Post*
> 
> The last post discussed the installation system of the panels. I have been asked how the door panels were fabricated. All three door openings were built using new frames that housed original panels. There was one original main panel assembly that the main frame was in pieces. It had been a 6 panel assembly that allowed me to use the original panels in the 3 door frame panels.
> 
> ...


That was a very cool blog series. Thanx Marshall. Do you know off hand of how much your client paid for these at the auction?


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## woodwkr (Feb 1, 2008)

woodwkr said:


> *Last Post*
> 
> The last post discussed the installation system of the panels. I have been asked how the door panels were fabricated. All three door openings were built using new frames that housed original panels. There was one original main panel assembly that the main frame was in pieces. It had been a 6 panel assembly that allowed me to use the original panels in the 3 door frame panels.
> 
> ...


Dadoo, 
>Do you know off hand of how much your client paid for these at the auction?<
I believe it was somewhere around 35 - 40 grand.


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## Dadoo (Jun 23, 2007)

woodwkr said:


> *Last Post*
> 
> The last post discussed the installation system of the panels. I have been asked how the door panels were fabricated. All three door openings were built using new frames that housed original panels. There was one original main panel assembly that the main frame was in pieces. It had been a 6 panel assembly that allowed me to use the original panels in the 3 door frame panels.
> 
> ...


What kind of origional pieces do you have left over that some LumberJock could turn into a box?

And hey! Thanx for the replies!


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## woodwkr (Feb 1, 2008)

woodwkr said:


> *Last Post*
> 
> The last post discussed the installation system of the panels. I have been asked how the door panels were fabricated. All three door openings were built using new frames that housed original panels. There was one original main panel assembly that the main frame was in pieces. It had been a 6 panel assembly that allowed me to use the original panels in the 3 door frame panels.
> 
> ...


Dadoo,
>What kind of original pieces do you have left over <
Every piece of original wood that was not included in the room was was loaded up and stored in the clients climate controlled cave somewhere in Missouri. There really wasn't that much left over.

And Thanks To Everyone for the Kind Words


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