Finish Carpentry

General carpentry holds your house up – studs, joists, and rafters. You may not see it but you’re glad it’s there.

Finish carpentry, on the other hand, is what gives a room its “look.” A house is a collection of walls before the finish carpenter starts. It always has been, and always will be. Finish carpentry is what finishes a home.

Finish carpentry is about making things look right – cutting the molding so the joints are tight and each part is the right length. Installing crown molding can look “right” to the eye even if the wall and ceiling aren’t exactly square. It’s a matter of tricks, practice, and patience.

A little mystery

Some of the techniques of finish carpentry might have you scratching your head until you understand the logic. Does it make sense to miter a piece of molding and hold it in place upside down to mark the exact length? How about making a cut upside down and backwards or drawing lines up and away from the corner to lay out the slope of a joint? None of these techniques will make a lot of sense in the beginning, but if you follow the instructions you’ll begin to understand why learning the tricks of the trade leads to a great looking room.

Getting the look

The look comes after the tricks, and after the patience. In this chapter it comes after you learn installation basics for each of the major projects – crown molding, chair rail, baseboard, doors, and windows. Once you understand the basics you’ll learn how to apply them to your style.