Plaster vs wood dado

[Coles]

Hi,

I have a situation where I need less than 1 meter of dado, as it was removed. It's in wood and the cost just too much to replicate, so I was just wondering if replicating it in plaster would be a cheaper option?

I have looked the same profile but to no avail.

 

[a twig]

As per @Stevers excellent suggestion in this thread on my dining table you could consider a couple of cheap second hand moulding planes to do the moulding yourself?

https://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/threads/moulding-question-router-bits.19428/post-253149

 

[Stevers]

You'd make it up out of smaller sections, bit of a faff, but then you don't need much of it. The reeding and rectangles look like they could be made up from cut down parting bead. The outer section looks it could be made with one of the bits commonly found in cheap router bit sets. The Cheshire Mouldings rack in your local DIY store is the place to start.

 

[Coles]

You'd make it up out of smaller sections, bit of a faff, but then you don't need much of it. The reeding and rectangles look like they could be made up from cut down parting bead. The outer section looks it could be made with one of the bits commonly found in cheap router bit sets. The Cheshire Mouldings rack in your local DIY store is the place to start.

Thank you. I will see what I can do. It's sometimes this restoration is a painful business trying to justify the costs. I have just removed an awful 1980's fire surround to discover the lovely original it was hiding, but they cut out about 6inches of the original skirting to make the surround fit. So now I have a gap I need to fill. I can't believe I am the only person locally to replicate their wood work, so frustrating not to be able to find these profiles.

 

[ThornhillMike]

Thank you. I will see what I can do. It's sometimes this restoration is a painful business trying to justify the costs. I have just removed an awful 1980's fire surround to discover the lovely original it was hiding, but they cut out about 6inches of the original skirting to make the surround fit. So now I have a gap I need to fill. I can't believe I am the only person locally to replicate their wood work, so frustrating not to be able to find these profiles.

Have you any 'traditional' joiner firms in your area? Then ones I'm using for my windows are happy to machine match skirts and architrave I throw at them at a reasonable cost. Might be worth a try (they obviously have all the requisite machinery...)

 

[Coles]

Have you any 'traditional' joiner firms in your area? Then ones I'm using for my windows are happy to machine match skirts and architrave I throw at them at a reasonable cost. Might be worth a try (they obviously have all the requisite machinery...)

Thanks but we have tried that and I will keep looking. One very local was established in 1865 so I hoped they would have something, but even they have a really limited number and the cost to replicate was huge. 13 meters of picture rail was nearly £400. There are other cheaper places, but still around the £300 mark. I think we will just have to suck it up at one point.

My partner saw there were old cutters on Ebay, but I would not know where to start.

 

[fernicarry]

I think you could replicate that with multiple passes of a router. But unless you already have the kit and the right sized cutters then cost-wise it would work out even more expensive that having a joinery shop do it.

Is the extra section to extend an existing piece? A join will look quite obvious due to the thick layers of paint on the existing pieces. Maybe move a longer piece from elsewhere in the room or another room and get a replacement for that made up?

 

[Coles]

I think you could replicate that with multiple passes of a router. But unless you already have the kit and the right sized cutters then cost-wise it would work out even more expensive that having a joinery shop do it.

Is the extra section to extend an existing piece? A join will look quite obvious due to the thick layers of paint on the existing pieces. Maybe move a longer piece from elsewhere in the room or another room and get a replacement for that made up?

Thanks. The dado is only on one side, it originally went up the stairs but was replaced with a handrail. It isn't in any other room. I could just remove what we have and replace one piece so there is no join. I guess I could also try reclamation yards to find something.

 

[a twig]

The other option is to make an “honest repair” - choose a moulding that is clearly different and make a clear transition between the two, perhaps even paint it a different colour.

Absolutely not everyone’s taste but it is an option

 

[paulc]

I think you could replicate that with multiple passes of a router. But unless you already have the kit and the right sized cutters then cost-wise it would work out even more expensive that having a joinery shop do it.

Two router cutters would do it. A roman ogee, and a sunken bead. £40-60 each if you go for Trend or Orange. £10 each if you use cheap Chinese bits. Regardless of where the cutters are sources, the bead cutter would probably need grinding back on the sides.
Would still need a router table though...

 

[Stevers]

Surprisingly I couldn't find a wooden moulding plane or a 1/4" shank router bit that would do that nice little ogee.

With that in mind the photo was loaded into, scaled and traced it in a CAD package, by which means I have established that the radiuses of the ogee are 1/4". My cheap router set has a 1/4" cove that would start the ogee, and a 1/4" roundover bit that would need the end ground down to finish the job. The reeded bit I'd still knock up out of sash window parting bead. Whilst routers have been put in vices and used with the included fence, I have just mocked up that arrangement and I'd advocate looking for a cheap router table instead! All sorts of options open up to the owner of even the cheapest router table...