Wood Panelling An Arch

The last couple of days I've been panelling an archway to look like some of the other doorways in this old farm house. When I got given this job I knew I was going to enjoy it and the finished project was going to look good.

The bare arch. Here I've added the first piece of veneered MDF as the backing



The beginnings of the panelling. Sapele strips added to build up the look of panels and bendy ply added to the curve.

A tricky bit of wood here. This Curved piece had to be laminated out of thin strips then glued up in a jig and left over night



Attaching the beading to the inside of the panels

A thin architrave is added around the outside. I used a laminate trimmer in the router to make this flush with the arch. I then routed the moulding on the inside edge

Kerfing out the back of the beading then adding boiling water to get it to bend around the tight curve

The finished arch with another layer of architrave added around the outside

This curved beading was the hardest part of the whole project but it was worth it for how it looks now it's in!

The finished arch

 

At the end of today I was really pleased with how it all looked now it's finished. I'm also looking forward to seeing the customers reaction when they come up next week.

All that's needed now is for the painters to give it a coat of paint and hopefully people will think it's an original feature of the house.

I do love being a carpenter!

Building A Walk In Wardrobe

This is a continuation from the Building A Stud Wall Step By Step post I did a while ago. The stud wall was built to divide an odd shaped room into a bedroom with a large walk in wardrobe. The customer wanted two long shelves with hanging rails under and a set of large shelves at the far end.

Finding good fixings was the most important part of fitting these shelves as they're so big they need to be secure



With a timber fixed round the outside I added the timbers to carry the inside edges of the shelves

Check everything is level (I used a laser level around the outside so I was fairly confident!)



Add the MDF forn long shelves and the sides to the rack of shelves at the end, along with timber supports

I also completed the second fix carpentry work hanging the door and fixing the skirting and architrave



All the shelves fitted ready for some varnish



The wardrobe from the outside - looks like it's always been there. Just need to stain the woodwork to match in with the old

A nice job and the customer is really pleased.

 I also agreed to paint/stain it all for the customer so I've made quite a few visits in the evenings to try and get it done but its tricky as I don't get back till late and all my other time is booked up, mind you it's better to be busy than not!

Replacing handrail

We're getting through the second fix upstairs now and during this week I've replace the old handrail with some that matches what is in the rest of the house.

What was left of the old handrail

 I decided it was best to rip it all out and start again, this way I could make sure I got some solid fixings and make sure it won't move.

Ripping it all out and starting again

The first job was to add the newel post at the top of the stairs. This one had to be strongly fixed as it's what everyone will grab and swing on as they walk down the stairs. The old newel post ran right down to the floor, so I cut it off flush with the top of the stairs and then made a 12" long halving joint to fit the new newel with. As the old post was 3"x3" and the new one is 4"x4" I had to make this halving joint more like a giant L shaped rebate so it would fit over the top of the old post, glued and screwed it was rock solid when I finished.

Adding the newel post, this has to be solid

 The rest was fairly plane sailing, the newel posts already had mortises in them but the tenons on the handrail had to be added on, taking a bit of time (I did these by hand as it's sometimes easier this way), I fixed all the handrail and newels in position then replaced some of the flooring and added the spindles. The flooring I replaced so it finished in line with the new newel posts, it also had a round over moulding on for the apron lining to butt into, giving a nice detail. By doing this all my spindles could also be fixed from the underside giving a much better fixing.

The finished handrail from the top

It was then a matter of adding the apron lining and doing all the finishing touches like pelleting the screw holes, sanding them down and punching in any nails. The bottom of the old newel post also had to be packed out so that it was the same size as the new one



I decided at the start to replace the apron under the handrail as well and it looks much better all being new

The joint connecting the new newel to the old post.

Anyone else had a hand railing project they've done lately?

Completed Curved Architrave (almost)

The underside now re-skimmed and the architrave filled and painted

The Plasterer, Justin, has now re-skimmed the curve under the architrave to a mirrow like finish and the woodwork has now had it's first coat of undercoat. So although it's not completely finished it gives a good idea of what the finished product will look like.

Justin the plasterer trying to show off the "guns" under the freshly coated arch

A near mirrow finish on the plasterwork sets the architrave off great, just a couple of coats of paint needed then it'll be finished.

Good feature for the room