A glimpse of what I do for a living

[Zeke]

THIS THREAD IS DATED 2003. IT WAS REVIVED, I DON'T KNOW WHY. I HAD THE SURGERY AND AM FINE.

This is not a commercial for my business. Not looking for any work. If you've been here on the OT BBS, you know I'm going in for hernia surgery early Jan. These pics might be the swan song as far as heavy doors are concerned.

It's hard to find millwork like this anymore. Thought you'd enjoy pics of someone's handywork.


It's nice to end on a good note. The toll on the old body is getting too high. Stop while you're at the top of the game. Anyone else in carpentry?

[nostatic]

thank god for wood doors and windows. This painted/vinyl metal crap is for the BIRDS. When we redid some of the windows in our old mediterranean crafstman house in Pasadena, we had to hunt to find someone that would do wood frame windows.

[pwd72s]

Wow!

[Moses]

This is one of my passions. Beautiful work!

[DByers]

Very nice work. Being in construction myself that level of work is hard to come by and worth the price.

[WOODPIE]

Zeke

Nice job! Quarter-sawn fir doors or glue-lam core with veneer? Did you run the siding as well? I don't see a lot of cedar out this way; most folks can only manage pine or cypress.

Not a carpenter, but I produce mouldings and such. I've been slinging lumber and grinding HSS for over twenty years, and my shoulder joints are starting to bother me. Not like a hernia, though. Sorry to hear that, and I hope all turns out well for ya'. Keep us posted!

Ed

[Jim Richards]

Milt, I always get a thrill out of looking at this stuff. Millwork like this doesn't make it into too many of today's corporate-built houses.

I've been an owner-builder on one house and renovated two others. Too bad our bodies don't hold up to this type of work. These days, I spend my working hours sitting at a desk and only tackle construction projects when my wife decides she wants a wall moved.

Best wishes on your hernia surgery.

[trj911]

Very nice work. Come out to Indiana and do some work at my place please!

[turbo6bar]

Nice, very nice. Craftsmanship is becoming a lost art. The closest I come to being a carpenter is installing shoe or crown moulding when remodeling rental properties. That work requires a lot of patience or skill (can't figure out which yet ).

How is the siding finished in the inside and outside corners? Mitered joints or just butted together? Looks very clean.
Jürgen

[MarkP]

Beautiful!

Milt is it too hard to train some younger guys/girls and scale it into a business that you just manage?

Good luck with the surgery

[vash]

holy crap ZEKE! that is nice. may your surgeon be as artistic. screw getting outta the business now! i hear that little fire down there, made you valuable!

cliff

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

Wow,

Those are some really nice windows and doors. I love old school carpentry. There is a zen-like quality to it, i love it all the feel of the wod, the smell, etc..

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by Zeke
. Anyone else in carpentry?

I'm not sure what I do ?

I'm the routine over educated blue collar baby boomer. I do wood, cement, bricks, electrical, cars, boats, etc., etc.

The cedar closet has marine SS 1in tubing and SS fittings for the clothes hanging. I'm a kinda extremest. My home windows are soundproof and use kripton gas instead of the routine argon and weigh 2x that of Anderson.
My buddy has been doing custom woodwork fireplaces because he's as old as me. The work is finnese and he gets extremely big bucks for the work because there is nobody else around doing it.
A few simple kitchen cabinet machines and he gets $5k-$20k. It's a great area to eyeball for a wood mechanic.

anyway

[pwd72s]

Are these windows/doors as "quality" as advertised? Thought some of you are qualified to know. This is an Oregon Company..
http://www.jeld-wen.com/

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by pwd72s
Are these windows/doors as "quality" as advertised? Thought some of you are qualified to know. This is an Oregon Company..
http://www.jeld-wen.com/

Look up "Hurd", it's what I use... although some prices are high because of the designer aspect.. how about getting the weght of different mfgs. especially for wood windows

[tabs]

I wish you well with your surgery Zeke. Your work looks superlative.
One of the things I appreciate most in life is CRAFTSMANSHIP. In my estimation you are an artist at what you do. I have been fortunate to have been associated with a number of people in diverse occupations that can be called artists at what they do.

[JavaBrewer]

Very nice Zeke - I felt a wave of relaxation hit me just looking at the pictures. Wood is a fav. It's rare to find a craftsman with that level of commitment and detail these days. What kind of upkeep does a house like that need? Our home is stucco and vinyl/metal windows. I've always wanted those big wood frame doors and windows as a replacement but my builder did not offer that as an option. Yes good luck with your surgery - should be no problems.

[joehahn]

wow! looks $$$

[Zeke]

Thanks for the accolades. I'll answer some qusetions:
WOODPIE- solid vertical grain fir, no lumber core crap.
Turbo6- compound mitres at outside corners, inside butted. I did not run the siding. I just do windows and doors.
Mark- Yes, it's impossible to train today's youth. Only a small percentage of home improvement tradespersons are non Hispanic in SoCal. I don't speak Spanish, hence unable to train.
Paul- Jeld-Wen owns Pozzi, those are as good as Andersen.
Joe- Yes, big bucks. Custom wood French door units as shown in the four door combo run almost $3500 each full unit. All doors are active, the sidelights have wood screens and are operated by cranks.

One more thing I didn't show is that all the doors have original antique hardware installed that the owner sourced from house salvage yards. What a PITA to install a full mortise lockset. The house is in a registered historic district in Hollywood one block south of Sunset Blvd at Fairfax. It was built before Hollywood was Hollywood. Circa 1920. I've done a lot of these old homes. At least the addition shown was plumb and level. The rest of the existing house where I installed similar doors and windows was anything but plumb, level or square. That's what separtes the men from the boys, when you work to line things up as they go downhill an inch in 8 feet and the walls are leaning out or in as much. Hah!

[Moneyguy1]

Jeld-Wen...famous for replacement interior doors made of pressed masonite (hollow core). No complaints, I have used them and they do look better in most cases to whatever they are replacing (usually 40 year old slab doors)