Architrave and Skirting issues

[rshort1987]

Hi

I have been going through my house stripping/sanding door frames back to wood. The house was built around 1900 and some of the original frames are still there. However, some of the architrave is new and was added by a builder prior to us buying the house. I had wanted the frames to be natural wood but I assume that matching a stain/varnish between the two woods would be pretty much impossible?

I have resigned myself to the fact that they will have to be painted. However, I still intend to strip back as much as I can to have a 'fresh start'. I will then paint and install new doors.

One of the door frames has some damage and gaps that have appeared over time, including coming away from the skirting. I have included some pictures. When i stripped part of this frame back there were some patches of something resembling a plaster type material? I have taken a picture of this too. Will this be ok to just leave?

Does anyone have any advice about whether this damage is beyond repair or ideas about how it can be fixed?

Thanks
Richard

 

[TheVictorian]

I'd strip everything back and see what you are left with, the plaster looks like it is where the old keep for a rim lock would have been and would probably be better replace with a suitably coloured wood filler. Remember that if you are looking for originality, the Victorians hated bare wood and always painted it!

 

[rshort1987]

Thanks for your reply. I am going to strip them all back, nice fun job. If I intend to paint it is it ok to just leave the plaster? I do remember reading that somewhere, possibly on here. It was more about the style we wanted but I don't think it will be possible with the mismatch wood and damage.

Any thoughts on how to repair the cracks/gaps damage?

 

[rshort1987]

I have now stripped this frame back to the wood. I have some linseed oil putty, is this ok to use as a filler for the small holes, scrapes and dents in the wood and then be sanded down? Or is another product better?
Thanks

 

[Gerrydelasel]

Don't use putty -it will stay soft for ages. Use polyfiller or proper wood filler. You may like to read this:
http://www.thejoyofmoldings.com/how-to-paint-moldings/
(NB: In America, Polyfiller is called Spackle)

 

[Deleted member 174758]

That pinkish stuff in your first photo looks like wood filler, albeit badly applied to far too large a defect area. It looks like there might have been a box lock latch or keeper in the recess, so unless you are going the whole hog and replacing your mortise sets with face mounted box lock sets (a la Victorian terraces all over the place) the most sympathetic way to deal with that defect is to chisel it out, clean up the resulting hole, fill it with a new piece of pine cut to match the recess precisely and then glued-in and finally shape the resulting "blob" which will stick out from the frame to match the frame and possibly a bit of the architrave. This might be difficult unless you are an experienced woodworker with some tools. I believe the traditional stopping (filler) used for pine was a mixture of whiting and boiled linseed oil, but it wa made as and when required, not bought-in. The nearest over the counter product I can think of is Brummer stopping, a very traditional material which I used as an apprentice (still available, too). Requires a thin, flexible stopping knife (with the corners rounded to stop them digging-in) to apply and can be sanded down after 30 minutes or so in a warm environment.

 

[rshort1987]

Ok i will go with filler.

Gerrydelasel - thanks for the link. Really helpful as I'm planning to tackle a number of skirting/architrave/molding issues

JobAndKnock - just to clarify, do you mean fill the recess with wood which matches the architrave or just use a piece to fit the majority of it and then use filler to shape a match to the existing architrave?

Thanks for you replies

 

[Gerrydelasel]

do you mean fill the recess with wood which matches the architrave or just use a piece to fit the majority of it and then use filler to shape a match to the existing architrave?

It depends how skilled you are as a woodworker! A pro would be able to fit a piece of near identical wood, seamlessly, and shape/carve it to match the moulding. The rest of us mortals just glue in a lump o' wood and do the best we can; filling in the shoddy shaping and gaps with filler. After all, it's going to be covered up with paint. It's just a way of avoiding really large cavities full of filler.

 

[rshort1987]

I will be going with the second option then. I'm sure I have a few bits of wood lying around which will fit and I'll just have to give it my best shot!

There are also a few gaps between the architrave and the plaster on the walls (approx 5mm - 10mm max in some places) any thoughts on what to use for these. would the wood filler be ok or, as in the link you provided is joint compound the way to go?

 

[foxhole]

Less hassle and much quicker to just replace the architrave.

 

[Gerrydelasel]

There are also a few gaps between the architrave and the plaster on the walls (approx 5mm - 10mm max in some places) any thoughts on what to use for these.

Use polyfiller, like the link says. Wood filler isn't always suitable for larger gaps (although you can do it in stages). Whatever you do, don't use caulk for big gaps. The previous ownder of my house was a 'builder' and he did this. It shrinks/sags and looks awful. I'm now in the process of replacing all my architrave!

Nevertheless, I agree with foxhole. Your architrave is in a poor way, and not a fancy design -it's just ogee, which you can still buy. It would be easier and look better if you replace rather than repair.

My house is full of torus which the previous 'builder' put in. Badly. (Despite some of the original being ogee *face palm*). Torus always looks naff, IMO. I am going to replace it with some home-made stuff, inspired by that website I linked to. I will also put plinth blocks back in (after he-who-shall-not-be-named ripped the original ones out). I always think a door looks somehow naked without plinthblocks. Solves the problem of how to marry architrave and skirting, too.

 

[chappers]

Torus always looks naff, IMO. I am going to replace it with some home-made stuff, inspired by that website I linked to. I will also put plinth blocks back in (after he-who-shall-not-be-named ripped the original ones out). I always think a door looks somehow naked without plinthblocks. Solves the problem of how to marry architrave and skirting, too.

I agree torus is fine as a skirting molding, but looks rubbish on an architrave.

I too am a fan of plinth blocks in the right buildings and as you say gives you options when matching skirts to archs.

To the OP for all the time and effort you are going to have to put in I would replace the archs, get them off, put your efforts into sorting the linings and then fit new architrave.

 

[geraldthehamster]

I have been going through my house stripping/sanding door frames back to wood. The house was built around 1900 and some of the original frames are still there. However, some of the architrave is new and was added by a builder prior to us buying the house. I had wanted the frames to be natural wood but I assume that matching a stain/varnish between the two woods would be pretty much impossible?

Before you paint - I've fitted glass into the top panels of four-panelled stripped Victorian pine doors, using new quadrant moulding. When fitted, the moulding stuck out like a sore thumb - much lighter. After a couple of years exposure to the light, it was indistinguishable from the doors. Doors are finished with wax.

Cheers
Richard