Carpentry and Trim Work

Trim carpentry is about tight joints and straight lines. We install baseboards, crown molding, door and window casing, chair rail, and wainscoting. In Florida's humidity, we use solid wood or primed finger-joint pine — MDF and particle board will swell and fall apart if they get any moisture.

Baseboard installation means removing the old if it's there, cutting and fitting the new, nailing it to the studs, caulking the top edge where it meets the wall, and filling nail holes. Inside corners get coped, not mitered, so they stay tight even when the wood moves with humidity changes. Outside corners are mitered and glued.

Crown molding is trickier because the angles are compound cuts and the walls and ceilings are rarely perfectly square. We scribe and adjust as we go. A room with crown takes longer than baseboard because of the cutting and fitting.

“Inside corners get coped, not mitered, so they stay tight even when the wood moves with humidity changes.”

Door and window casing replacement is common when someone's updated doors or windows and the old trim doesn't match or got damaged during the swap. We match the profile if you want consistency with the rest of the house, or install a new style if you're updating the look.

Custom shelving and built-ins are quoted separately because they're design and build work, not just installation. We'll build what you need — closet shelving, garage storage, floating shelves, entertainment centers — but expect that to take longer and cost more than trim work.

Accent walls — shiplap, board-and-batten, reclaimed wood — are popular right now. We install the boards, make sure they're level and evenly spaced, then caulk and paint or stain. A single accent wall takes a day or two depending on the pattern.

Wainscoting and chair rail add visual interest and protect walls in high-traffic areas. We install the panels or boards at the correct height (usually 32-36 inches), cap with chair rail, then caulk and paint. It's a multi-step process but the result is a finished look that holds up better than plain drywall.

Trim painting is included in most installs. We prime bare wood, caulk all joints and nail holes, then apply two coats of semi-gloss or satin paint. If you're staining instead of painting, we'll apply stain and clear coat after installation.