Curved Mouldings Done Right!

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This house was built for an established commercial builder in the upscale Upper Arlington neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. Because of its location, close to the exclusive Scioto Country Club, most of the homes in this neighborhood have historic value along with a certain amount of prestige. Many of the homes were built before the "Great Depression" using the limestone dug from the nearby Scioto River. Today, when a new home is being built in this area there are certain "unwritten" specs that must be met. Exterior design, interior design, there are certain expectations that the homeowners are willing to build in to the construction. One of these expectations is the interior wood products, high quality and uniqueness is at the top of the list.

When high quality wood products are expected, Arched Casings, Inc. receives the call.

This house had a few "standard" curved wood mouldings, but also presented some challenging curves at the same time. Items that we consider "standard" would be traditional "segmented circles", "half rounds", "backbands" and "jamb extensions". Some of the more challenging aspects of this home were the tight ovals that needed casings and backbands. Being able to make precise templates of the ovals and holding the tight tolerances is always a "high" importance to the craftsmen at ACI. Profiling the casings and backbands with a tight radii presents a challenge because distortion of the profile is a reality. Maintaining the profile to match the rest of the house is very important. We were able to achieve this and the customer was extremely happy.

The family room presented us with two potential challenges. The first one is a center window with two more windows to the left and to the right of the center. The owner wanted a casing and backband to cover the top curve of all three windows with one continuous arch. Unfortunately the two side windows are never (and I mean never) parallel to the center window. The radius will be the same for all three windows but the fact that they are not parallel to each other makes the reveals vary from one to the other. We have to be able to find a radius that is conducive to fit all three windows and to maintain a reasonable reveal that the home owner is happy with. Making templates and giving options is the best way for all those concerned. We were able to achieve a good look and very nice finished project.

At the other end of the family room was a convex curve above the wine bar. The entire room had very large, "stain grade" crown with a 1-5/8 x 8-5/8" profile. This area required 8' of linear curved crown, stain grade and had to match the existing crown to the tee. The carpenters do not like to get out sand paper and make the curve match the straight. They want to make the miter cuts and know that it is going to fit their straight crown. It did, the carpenters were very complimentary about the crown fit the curved wall and the fit to the straight crown. We were pleased, the carpenters were pleased but more importantly the home owner was very pleased. The finished stain curved crown was a success and is a focal point of the room.

The study presented itself with some challenges of its own. This room had a 74-3/4" radius curved wall with a diameter of 149-1/2" half round. Two layers of Crown 1x 3-1/2", 3/4 x 3-1/2" profiles, curved window sill, curved base with cap and shoe mold and curved panel molding. There was also concave casing with backband around the windows. All the woodwork in this room was to be a stained. Since we use the "lamination" style of production we were able to produce "stainable" curved wood products that look natural and fit with the rest of the straight line trim. We have no finger joints, no butt joints and no visible seams. This creates beautiful curved wood and happy customers. The study is the focal point of the house as far as the trim is concerned. The dark stain, panels and the curved wood make for an elegant room and place of conversation.