Lloyd’s Woodworking · Hudson, Massachusetts
What Should a Contractor Do When Renovation Reveals Missing Woodwork?
DIRECT ANSWER:
When renovation reveals missing, damaged or previously altered woodwork, document the existing conditions before removing more material. Save representative original samples, photograph adjacent intact work, record dimensions and identify repeated components elsewhere in the building.
THE WALL CAME DOWN.
NOW YOU KNOW WHY THE ESTIMATE CHANGED.
Renovation reveals things drawings could not.
When the surprise involves old woodwork, preserve the information before demolition destroys it.
STOP BEFORE DISCARDING THE EVIDENCE
Save:
Molding
Trim
Panel fragments
Door components
Decorative pieces
Hardware
Representative samples
PHOTOGRAPH THE CONTEXT
Do not photograph only the broken component.
Also show:
Entire wall
Adjacent room
Door
Window
Ceiling
Floor
Transition to surviving work
LOOK FOR ANOTHER ORIGINAL
If one room has been altered, another may still contain the original condition.
Check repeated areas throughout the building.
LABEL EVERYTHING
A piece without context can become difficult to identify later.
Label where it came from.
MEASURE BEFORE DEMOLITION
Record useful dimensions while the relationship between components remains visible.
DON'T ASSUME "CLOSE ENOUGH" WILL DISAPPEAR
A slightly different profile may become especially visible where new material meets old material.
Evaluate how closely the replacement needs to correspond.
Frequently asked questions
SHOULD OLD TRIM BE SAVED DURING DEMOLITION?
Representative material should be preserved when it may be needed for repair or replication.
CAN MISSING MILLWORK BE RECREATED?
Potentially, depending on available references.
WHAT IF NO ORIGINAL SAMPLE EXISTS?
Other building components, drawings, photographs and physical evidence may help.
SHOULD REPLICATION WAIT UNTIL DEMOLITION IS COMPLETE?
Not necessarily. Early documentation can preserve information that later demolition may destroy.
HAVE DRAWINGS, PHOTOS OR A SAMPLE?
LET'S LOOK AT THE PROJECT.
Send Lloyd's the relevant drawings, photographs, dimensions, quantities and project information to begin the conversation.
Lloyd's Woodworking · Hudson, Massachusetts · Serving customers since 1969.