LOCKIE HOMES builds homes that are a cut above most! we are building homes that emit class and elegance, says owner Todd Lockie, Our homes are truly one of a kind and will not be reproduced by others at any cost point. We build world class residences. Our homes are not inexpensive to build, any finely build home will cost more. You get what you pay for! Here at LOCKIE HOMES we are building our fine homes for the educated and discerning home buyer!  Most people that have owned one or more new homes have experienced the disappointment of discovering the house they purchased is not what they thought, between the mediocre craftsmanship, materials and style to the lack of follow through by the builder they soon realize (usually within the first couple of weeks) one disappointment after another. Todd says he recalls seeing a very large percentage of the builders he worked with (as a finish carpenter for over 16 years) take short cuts in craftsmanship and customer service and it was not just in the moderately priced homes, many high end builders are selling you a house lacking true integrity of craftsmanship. I recall attending a recent Street of Dreams and seeing one of the homes with such horrific craftsmanship I was embarrassed for the builder. this home sold for over $2,000,000. Real craftsmanship and integrity of a build are attributes not defined by any particular cost point, you either have these core attributes or you do not!

Set forth from the conception of his company, Todd says, that LOCKIE HOMES will continue to build houses like they should be built. We build our fine homes to a standard that the majority of builders either ignore or are just plain ignorant of, usually because of the dollar, We too want to make a nice profit but we know it has to be earned through building homes that our clients can take pride in, we also believe they will abele to say with much pride that their beautiful home was built by LOCKIE HOMES!

We use first rate materials and of  even greater importance first rate contractors that answer directly to our way of building. We stand behind what we build and if we make any mistakes we make it right... 100% right. We encourage people to shop the competition. Talk to their customers, then talk to ours you will notice a vast difference with LOCKIE HOMES.

By: Ryan Reed

Molding & Millwork
Material choices key to a fine finish
"Finish work is usually an afterthought for most builders,” says Merlin Berhold of Handcraft, a finish contractor in Sammamish, WA. "But it’s really what people relate to most in a house.” Berhold has an occupational bias, of course. But he’s been around long enough to see the transition from the craftsman-builder to what he calls "the telephone builder”—ones with little field or design experience—and doesn’t like what he sees. Most builders defer to suppliers on both material and style, he says, especially since many (but not all) production-oriented finish contractors have little design training or interest. That can leave design details up to an inexperienced millwork salesman.

"You got these guys with the experience of a K-Mart clerk making important decisions on trimwork,” he says. The result can be moldings with little stylistic integrity or improperly scaled to the room size, or a home full of what Berhold calls "look at me” areas—elegant sections that are uncoordinated with other areas. With the decline of traditional craftmanship in the trades, a basic understanding of style and scale can be lost in the selection process, says Jonathan Hart, marketing director for the California-based millwork company WindsorONE. When launching a line of interior trim last year, his company decided not to offer a catalog of individual profiles but to market collections of trim in distinct historical styles. The company teamed up with historic millwork specialist Brent Hull to produce lines of Colonial, Colonial Revival, Greek Revival, and Craftsman details, leaving no room for stylistic guesswork.

Material choices
"Good trimwork is really a testament to the builder’s quality,” says Hart. "If you start with good material, you’re going to look that much better.” For paint-grade trim, the choice is fairly simple: medium-density fiberboard or finger-joint. There are more variables to the choice than meet the eye. Finish contractors, though they generally have little voice in the matter, often dislike MDF for practical reasons. Its lack of lateral strength makes for more breakage of lineal pieces, and often two or more carpenters must carry and set the floppy material in place, especially for crown moldings and other horizontal, off-the-floor applications. Those doing quality details complain that MDF miters and scarf joints can be difficult to glue. And the dust can be noxious.

"We prefer to stay as close to real wood as possible,” says Daniel Schnell of Precision Enterprises, Lake Oswego, OR. "Breathing MDF dust gets old.” Some finish contractors dislike it enough to raise per-foot prices on lineal installations. Builders, on the other hand, see mostly pluses to MDF. It’s always had a straight cost advantage, but recent price hikes for finger-jointed wood have pushed even more to MDF; Tom Jappert of Bright Wood Quality Millwork in Madras, OR, says high worldwide demand for radiata pine (mostly grown in Chile, Brazil, and New Zealand) has pushed the price up 150% in the past six months. But as OSB consumers have found, increased demand for engineered products can quickly outstrip capacity, and MDF is in short supply in some regions. Jappert expects the volatility to last through the end of this year. More importantly, MDF seldom requires finish prep, takes paint at a uniform rate, doesn’t have grain to raise, can’t warp or split, and has no natural defects. "It’s brittle but hard, so once it’s installed it won’t dent like soft pine,” says Warren Brown, SierraPine’s molding division. MDF has the greatest advantage in flat trim areas such as mantles, wall panels, and wainscoting.

Carpenters used to complain about MDF’s "graham cracker” texture, but quality has improved steadily over the past decade, says SierraPine’s Jeff Baker. MDF also used to be heavier and more susceptible to soft cores and "blows” (hidden delaminations). These days. molding-quality MDF is typically 40-lb. double or highly refined material that is pressed to ensure cores that will mill properly. Ultralight MDF, made in Chile from radiata pine, weighs in at just 32 lbs. and also has good milling characteristics.

Some other MDF concerns:
Unprimed MDF can swell and decompose in moist environments, and some builders will switch to finger-joint material for base molding in bathrooms or other wet areas. Moisture-resistant MDF is available and is used for trim in Southern states, but doesn’t get into the molding supply chain in the West.
» Most MDF is bonded with urea formaldehyde, which can off-gas fumes for months. The industry downplays the dangers, but builders should know that many environmentally conscious consumers, as well as green building programs such as LEED, spurn regular MDF as harmful to indoor air quality. The SierraPine company makes an MDF called Medite II with "no added formaldehyde.” So far, no molding company regularly works with the material, but it has been special-ordered for commercial projects and green-built homes.
» Like wood trim, MDF has to acclimatize to the site’s environment; 48 hours is the usual recommendation.
» While most trim contractors have worked with the material, they should be equipped with the newer pin nailers designed for the material.

Finger-jointed quality
Despite the price hikes, finger-jointed wood molding is still an affordable and versatile option. Many companies are using radiata pine, plantation-grown in the Southern hemisphere, which has a wide, even grain with barely visible growth rings. The material takes paint well and has few blemishes. Pre-primed finger-joint can save jobsite time, but for various reasons, prepainted is widely available in the Pacific Northwest but not in California and the Southwest. Steve Bowman, Arizona purchasing manager for Molding and Millwork, a division of Sauder, says it’s just a matter of market experience. Painters often have a preference, since they’ll have less work to do with quality pre-painted molding, but poorly primed material, with splatters or uneven coats, can mean added prep work.

The type of primer matters, says Jappert. A thick gesso-type coat can fill up holes and cover flaws, but is often a sign of cheaper product. He recommends builders avoid molding with thick precoats, which may be there to hide the uneven quality of a "mystery substrate.”

Stain grade and hardwoods
Wood finishes go through cycles of popularity. "We’re probably at the end of the paint-grade cycle,” says Jappert. "We’re starting to sell a lot more stain-grade material.” Solid stain-grade softwood molding can represent a very similar end cost to paint-grade, despite the higher material costs. Jappert says door prehangers and some retail lumberyards are pre-staining material that needs little touch-up after installation. As for hardwoods, the exotic market keeps bringing new species to the fore. Oak remains burdened by the popularity of simulated oak—"It looks cheap to a lot of people,” says Schnell. Brazilian cherry, ipe, and jatoba are currently trendy, he says, but they can seriously darken a home. Cherry remains a standard.

Builders need to find out and relay specs on exotic species, says Berhold, including how to handle, glue, and finish them. Special considerations can catch a trim crew off guard and ruin material.

Urethane moldings
Molded polyurethane molding and millwork has been catching on for exterior trim and details, where its durability can shine. But its cost—two to three times the price of MDF—and limited lengths generally restricts its use indoors to specific applications. For large built-up crown molding, one-piece urethane sections can save installation time and expertise. Style Solutions even offers "miterless” outside corner crown molding that allow dentals to cover up the splices in the field. High moisture areas are another appropriate setting. Urethane is also often used in place of plaster or carved wood for ceiling medallions and other decorative flourishes.

Stairway shortcut: Pre-built options saves time and money
Staircases offer builders a chance to make a design statement, but not all have subs up to the task. Some builders are rethinking the process and turning to pre-built stairs. According to a Gale Group Report, 40 percent of builders surveyed said they would install pre-built stairs, while 29 percent said they already were.

Pre-built spiral staircases, which can fit into a space six feet in diameter, are gaining popularity in smaller homes. Where space and budgets permit, however, straight-up stairs can increase your options. Popular materials include metal, glass, marble, and exotic woods. There’s the standard 14-step or, if you have the depth, a dog-legged-shaped flight, which turns back on itself halfway up; single and double winders; or staircases with either one or two 90-degree turns.

Pre-assembled or not, curves sell, but some builders think twice about building curved stairs due to their tricky installation. Using pre-built product, the cost of upgrading from a typical L-shaped stairway to curved stairs can range anywhere from $3,500 to $4,000. Pre-built isn’t always an option, though. Ron Sylvester, Staircrafters, Vancouver, WA, relays one instance. "We once pre-assembled a beautiful oak-curved staircase and railing and shipped it to Japan,” he says. "We marked everything, and even set up a color code. The installers still put it in backwards—during monsoon season, without a roof. It was ruined.”

Some part prefabrication makes sense and can be cheaper and less time-consuming. They pre-frame the subcurve on the jobsite, then pre-assemble and pre-bend the stair parts in the shop. "When we get to the job, our assembly time is cut down. We’re controlling the whole process.” The latest styles include hammer-forged metal balusters with a Gothic, Mediterranean, Southwestern, or contemporary look. Oak balusters with oak stairs are still a standby, but builders are also offering customers wrought-iron balusters as an upgrade. Exotic woods remain a popular choice for stairways. Many stair manufacturers are offering cherry, white maple, black walnut, and mahogany—usually from the Philippines, Honduras, India, or Africa.

Eye for Detail: Interior Molding
Interior molding is in demand with style-savvy homeowners.

Mike Sloggatt has installed it all. The Long Island, N.Y.-based remodeler has worked for homeowners who wanted to trim to the hilt -- fireplace mantels, cornices, medallions, and more, in addition to traditional crown molding and window and door casing.

Although having such an elaborate mix of elements is rare, builders and remodelers say consumers are requesting more ornate molding treatments to make rooms stand out.

"Many homes don't have enough detail and people are becoming more aware of the possibilities of molding because they see it in so many magazines," says architect Susan Pierce, co-owner of Vienna, Va.-based Commonwealth Home Remodelers.

Most molding projects for existing dwellings consist of base molding, two- or three-piece cornices, and window and door casing, and are part of overall remodeling jobs that focus on one or two rooms. Pierce estimates that molding accounts for 1 percent to 2 percent of her clients' overall remodeling budgets (about $200,000 for an average two-story addition with a new kitchen and bedroom).

Of course, the choice of molding materials makes a difference in the cost of the project.

Moldings carved from finger-jointed wood, which doesn't contain knots and imperfections like solid pieces can, are widely used in remodeling applications. But Sloggatt, who once created an entire teak library complete with ornate molding, says you can fashion unique looks with moldings made from mahogany and maple, for example. He also notes that poplar is a stylish species in his area.

Nevertheless, polyurethane, composites, and other synthetics are gaining ground because they look like or close to wood when painted or stained and don't have the problems associated with wood, say their manufacturers.

"For very simple moldings, some types of wood are initially less expensive than synthetics. However, for all complex moldings, synthetics are very competitive and often a better value when you take into account long-term maintenance of wood," claims Mike Reed, corporate director of marketing for Style Solutions, which produces urethane moldings.

Synthetics and composites, unlike their wood counterparts, resist insects, cracking, peeling, chipping, swelling, splitting, or rotting, making them most appealing for exterior applications.

What's more, they're lighter than wood products, so they're easy to install, especially in very large sizes, comments Sam Korsak, president of Nashua, N.H.-based Korsak Realty, a development and decorating firm. Korsak's company uses wood and urethane molding for interior projects.

Although molding is a focus of many remodeling jobs, it's common in new construction, although in very basic profiles. In tract housing, MDF often is the trim material of choice because it's much less expensive than solid wood.

Whether your clients want to highlight every room or enhance a small area, molding can make the difference. "If you put molding in even a simple kitchen, you change the perception immediately," says Connie Edwards, a certified kitchen and bath designer with Timberlake Cabinets.

From ornate carvings and profiles to simple streamlined baseboard details, molding will continue to evolve, predict the pros.

"We will in the near future probably see moldings that incorporate home security functions such as passive motion and sound detection capabilities," says Style Solutions' Reed.

Georgia-Pacific. MDF molding is available for ceiling, floor, door, window, and wall trim applications. Pieces include crowns, bases, base shoes and caps, screen molds, brick molds, casings, mullions, half rounds, chair rails, battens, and coves. The components can be combined to create custom designs, says the firm. 800-284-5347. www.gp.com.


Courtesy Old World Mouldings
Old World Mouldings. Specializing in historical reproductions, new profiles, and custom designs, the firm can mill molding to match an existing profile sample, an artist's rendering, an architect's drawing, or a photo. Profiles are available in poplar, red oak, white oak, maple, cherry, mahogany, walnut, and pine in curved, radius, or elliptical forms. 631-563-8660. www.oldworldmouldings.com.

Royal Mouldings. The firm's polymer molding selection includes crowns, casings, bases, corners, and chair rails. The pieces come ready to install with nails or adhesives and are available in a full range of hand-carved architectural designs. The company has five molding collections to meet every taste and price point. 800-368-3117. www.royalmouldings.com.


Courtesy Architectural Products by Outwater
Architectural Products by Outwater. Hand-carved fireplace surrounds in unfinished solid maple and cherry-finished solid mahogany are crafted from a single piece of wood in historical and classic designs. Detailed, deep-relief designs adorn each piece. The firm also manufactures polyurethane moldings, medallions, surrounds, louvers, columns, and more. 800-835-4400. www.outwater.com.

Windsor Mill. Based on original molding and trim patterns found in historic American homes, the WindsorOne collection features four distinct styles: Classical Colonial, Greek Revival, Classical Craftsman, and Colonial Revival. The finger-jointed wood styles feature crown and baseboard molding as well as a variety of other pieces for each profile. 888-229-7900. www.windsorone.com.

Style Solutions. Made from a pliable polymer, the Flexible Moulding collection can be used in interior and exterior applications. It's ideal for jamb extenders, arched jambs, custom-shaped arches, crown applications, and curved walls, says the maker. It installs with the same tools used to apply wood products and coordinates with the firm's linear molding profiles. 800-446-3040. www.stylesolutionsinc.com.


Courtesy Balmer Studios
Balmer Studios. The waterproof polymer Grapevine cornice is perfect for kitchen or dining room applications, says the maker. The 5-1/2-foot-wide cornice comes in 8-foot lengths and can be mitered. Door trim, capitals, friezes, wall panels, panel corners, wall niches, rosettes, and ceiling domes also are available. 800-665-3454. www.balmerstudios.com.

Enkeboll Designs. The newest products include Enkaflex resin moldings, the Cabinet Parts collection, the Sub Zero Overlay Panel collection, and the Circular Design collection. The flexible resin collection includes many components for a variety of applications; the wood collections are geared for kitchen islands, hoods, refrigerators, and general kitchen and bath design. 800-745-5507. www.enkeboll.com.


Courtesy Azek
Azek. The firm's cellular PVC trim was used throughout the interior of this Santa Cruz, Calif., home. The builder, Marc Picard, selected the material because it met the style requirements of the Arts & Crafts dwelling and because it installs the same as traditional wood molding. The product also was used for all the exterior trim and to create built-up window tables. 866-549-6900. www.azek.com.

Interior Products. EconoKore two-ply flexible molding consists of a kerfed MDF core with a high-density overlay. It installs with traditional woodworking tools and is available in 1/4- and 3/8-inch thicknesses and in 4-foot-by-8-foot panel sizes. The recommended bending radius is 6 inches. 800-637-3539. www.interiorproducts.com.
Pioneer Millworks. This manufacturer salvages a wide variety of wood species and recycles them into casings, baseboards, paneling, crown molding, wainscoting, and more. Stock and custom profiles are available. The firm says it can match period looks and create historically accurate profiles. Flooring, complete stair systems, and stair treads also are available. 800-951-9663. www.pioneermillworks.com.


Courtesy Architectural Paneling
Architectural Paneling. Hardwood species are hand-carved in a deep-sculpting process to create this product line. Shown here in cherry, Corinthian capitals are combined with egg-and-dart trim on paneled library walls. The firm also designs and produces paneling, cabinetry, moldings, and fireplace mantels. All pieces are available in walnut, mahogany, cherry, oak, and maple. 212-371-9632. www.apaneling.com.

Melton Classics. Made from high-density polymer, the classic fluted Scamozzi columns and pilasters shown here are just two types of trim in this firm's lineup. The manufacturer says it can duplicate any pattern or create custom millwork to spec in its Architectural Urethane line. The company also makes a wide range of exterior balustrade systems. 800-963-3060. www.meltonclassics.com.

Historical Accuracy

Windsor Mill is capitalizing on the past to set its wood molding collections apart in the present.

"We partnered with a millwork expert to bring back historical accuracy because modern profiles often are lifeless. Craftsmen from the past had it right," says Craig Flynn, vice president of sales and marketing for Windsor Mill.

For the company this means detailed designs based on the Golden Ratio, an ancient Greek concept that says every design element is in ratio to the next, unifying the entire theme.

"Our moldings bring the proper scale and proportion to a room to make it feel right," says Flynn.

Windsor Mill offers four styles: Classical Colonial, inspired by Georgian and Federal styles; Greek Revival, which features radiuses based on egg and elliptical shapes; Classical Craftsman, which reflects the Arts & Crafts movement; and Colonial Revival, which features classic themes on a reduced scale and has ogee detailing on each component. Each group includes crown and base molding and many additional elements.

"The historic authenticity makes these moldings unique to the industry," says Gary Katz, a finish carpentry specialist in Southern California. Plus, he says, "The availability of a packaged moldings collection is a bonus to builders."


Source: BUILDING PRODUCTS Magazine
Publish Date: 2003-10-02