Georgian Architraves

[ljn]

How are Georgian architraves built?

I need to have 3 door sets made to match original one shown in the pictures below.

Does anyone have a drawing that shows how the components are assembled and fixed?

Can the components be bought from a specialist supplier or do they have to be bespoke?


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[middi]

A few years ago most of the profiles that make up the typical Georgian wide architraves could have been purchased off the shelf from most retail outlets, nowdays only a few builders merchants carry a selection of architraves that may be suitable to build up a " neo-georgian" architrave set. The most difficult to find (off the shelf ) is the exact match for the molding as shown by your pic. between 3 to 5 in. Easy to run off of a spindle molder in an average woodworking shop.

It must be worth shopping around your local wood suppliers first.

 

[ljn]

Would architraves of this kind be cut from one piece of wood, or made of different components?

 

[middi]

The Typically wide Georgian architrave arrangement varied anything between 3 and 9 inches ( depending on status of building), the wider ones would have been made up out of different sections. Your example has at least two sections.
It would be very rare to find anything wider than 4" ornate architrave molding , plenty of "flat" single piece molded "flat planks" are available larger than 4 " such as skirting boards.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Talking to your local joiner is the very best option, and would probably be very cost effective

However, you might be interested in looking at in http://www.architecturaljoineryltd.co.uk

The Georgian Group produce some excellent leaflets on aspects of Architectural features, as does SPAB.

 

[GK]

That moulding would not be cut out of the solid - there would be too much waste quite apart from the size of machine required to remove all that wood. It's two mouldings.

Take a piece of planed 5" x 3/4" (say). The shallow rebate 44mm wide could be done on the table saw and cleaned up by hand. The d-bead on the inside edge could be done with a standard router or a spindle. The sides and top are then mitred and planted on the door casing.

The outer edge is a separate moulding. This off-the-shelf cutter would probably do it:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=24091&name=cutter&user_search=1&sfile=1&jump=44

This cutter profile will produce a small flat groove where your tape is on 11cm; it would be simple to just grind the cutter to a point to get the vee-groove you need.

The outer moulding is then planted on top of the 5" x 3/4".

So, even if you can't find the outer piece as a standard mould, someone with the right tools and skill could get very, very close without resorting to specially made cutters.

 

[Moneypit]

Your example has at least two sections.
It would be very rare to find anything wider than 4" ornate architrave molding.

I don't see two sections in ljn's pictures so I think they will have been from single planks, as are our 5" ones from a 1886 Victorian, some of which have been stripped by previous owners, see pic.



Others we are gradually cleaning up to recover the sharp detail from under thickly applied paint. Once taken back to the wood it is a delight to see and work with the quality of timber, unknown today but presumably 'run of the mill' at the time. The same quality wood is found in our original windows, many of which seem to be in as perfect a condition as when first installed.

As GK says, however, it would be possible for a suitably tooled up joiners machine shop to make up a combination to nearly replicate most profiles.

 

[ljn]

Thanks all for the rapid response

Moneypit, your's does look incredibly similar. Although the building is in neoclassic style, it actually built between 1830 and 1850, so more Victorian than Georgian in construction. The

Thanks GK's for the possible solution. It could be a way of achieving the same moulding. The end product will be well coated in paint.

When I showed the architrave to a builder today and he looked like he was going to be sick. I knew I needed some periodproperty forum backup.

 

[Penners]

The outer edge is a separate moulding. This off-the-shelf cutter would probably do it:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=24091&name=cutter&user_search=1&sfile=1&jump=44

GK knows a great deal more about this kind of thing than I do, but that outer section looks pretty much like a standard ogee moulding to me. So, unless you wanted your architrave to be an absolutely perfect copy of the existing, here's how I would create a reasonable facsimile, without the need for too much complex machining.

First I would do as GK suggested:

Take a piece of planed 5" x 3/4" (say). The shallow rebate 44mm wide could be done on the table saw and cleaned up by hand. The d-bead on the inside edge could be done with a standard router or a spindle. The sides and top are then mitred and planted on the door casing.

Then I would plant on top of that, on the outer edge, a standard ogee moulding - available from any decent builders merchant/timber yard.

As I said, it won't be millimetre-perfect, but I'll bet nobody will notice the difference. Why not buy a couple of test pieces and see what you think?

 

[Feltwell]

Have you had a look through Dresser's catalogue? Lots of mouldings in there, you may find something that's close enough.

http://www.dresser.uk.com/images/catalogue/DresserCol2007.pdf