Do you know who the builder is so you could ask? Chances are, a local carpenter bought the trim at a nearby lumber yard or Home Depot. Suppliers change in 20 years so it may not be possible to find an exact match. Take a piece to a local yard first and see if you can find the match.
It could be anything. Take a couple of pictures of it and stick them on a web site. At least one closeup and one to get an overall feel of the trim. Perhaps they have oak trim and replaced with pine (cheaper). Or it could be cherry or walnut.
I bought unfinished trim and hired someone to stain and varnish it. The match wasn't perfect, but it isn't glaringly different.
I purchased a raised ranch in CT. The house was built in 1986. It has dark wood trim around the doors and windows. The previous owners replaced a few pieces of trim, and the new trim isn't close to matching the old trim. Does anyone know what type of wood was used in 1986, or where I could find this information (or just how to determine what wood it could be)? Searching for "wood trim 1986 house connecticut" gives me hundreds of links to houses for sale, but none that discuss replacing the trim.
Thanks.
What he said- carefully pry off one of the original pieces, and take it to a real lumberyard, and tell them you need to match it (profile, species, and finish) . 1986 house shouldn't be any big deal to match. They will be able to sell you the wood, and make a good guess as to what finish will look the same. While you are there, buy more than you need, because you will have oopsies while installing it (since you sound like you haven't done this before), and 10 years from now, it may be handy to have a couple spare prefinished sticks in attic for the next time something gets damaged.
(as a kid, my fathers company always left a few spare feet of trim, the extra half-box of tiles, a few switchplates, etc, for the new owner, for just this reason.)
aem sends...
The profile isn't that important to me. They replaced a window sill (bottom trim piece, that's parallel to the floor) and trim around the bathroom door. Both of these are terrible -- they don't look at all like the other trim.
Thanks, these are good ideas. Now, I just need to find a lumberyard.
That's a good idea. The trim that the previous owners used is really poor, but I may be able to find someone who could do this.
"Bob M" wrote
Are you speaking of the profile, wood species, or stain? If it's the profile you may be SOL unless you're willing to have a mill ship run you some at a premium price with you footing the bill for retooling for blades. Not cost efficient at all considering the era.
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