If there is only 10% of the original Old Growth redwood left, then how can you use Redwood to make your products?

This is a great question and I'm glad it was the first because the whole philosophy of Craftsmanship and of being a craftsman is held in its answer.

I grew up in the Redwood forests of this area camping, hiking and later working, I worked as a surveyor for 12 years and have seen rural parts of this county that have rarely, if ever been visited by people. The sense of peace and magic that one feels in a forest has been a vital part of my life. During the past 27 years that I have run Blue Ox, first as a logging company and the last 24 years as millworks manufacturer, I have personally addressed this question from all angles and sides. Do I think we should ban all logging? ... NO - but in the same breath I am vehemently opposed to clear cut logging and the other short cuts used today to maximize corporate profits at the expense of the forest.

As for our products here at Blue Ox, all our Old Growth Redwood comes from logs that were felled and left by the original loggers 100 years ago. Because Redwood does not rot, these logs have lain on the forest floor all this time and are as sound today as they were then. I saw these logs on our sawmill on an "as needed" basis. By knowing the project and its needs, I can choose just the right cuts for that job with no waste. This is a key aspect of handling the resources with reverence, Another aspect of handling the resource with reverence is building to last. If we build our houses to last 200 to 300 years and then go back to the forest and ask for more, the forest has no problem putting up with that, It's this building junk that only lasts 20 to 30 years and then tearing it down and going back for more that the forest can't maintain!

So as the consumer, the responsibility is in a large part, yours. Demand a quality product that will last, a key element of true craftsmanship. back to top

We will take possession of a 1906 Victorian / Arts and Crafts home by mid-December. It has the original Chestnut trim and doors throughout. None of the woodwork has had any sort of refurbishing and, as a result, the varnish has dried and become "pebbled." Is there a process by which the finish can be "refreshed" without stripping?

Yes, you are in luck. If the "bright" finish is original then it is Shellac, which is derived from the Lac bug. Shellac is dissolvable in strong alcohol.

Go to your drug store and have them order you a gallon of 99% rubbing alcohol. Next wet a rag with the alcohol and in an inconspicuous spot see if this won't dissolve the old finish. If it does then get a quart can of Amber Shellac and in another container thin a small amount of the shellac with equal parts alcohol and paint this onto a small spot of woodwork. This should dissolve the old finish right into the new and then should dry smooth. Next with FINE steel wool polish this spot when dry and put another coat of shellac right from the original can (not the thinned mixture). You can repeat this until the desired smoothness and finish is reached. This is why I think shellac is the finest wood finish there, because years from now it will still be workable. back to top

We purchased a house last summer that we just found out was built in 1875! We still have all the original windows & a VERY high gas bill! (We also have a 70 year old steam boiler!) I don't want to lose the unique windows, but would also like more energy efficiency! I read that you were building wooden replacement windows for an old house. Would it be worth the trouble of replacing them? (We have a LOT of windows!)

Yes you can get the insulating value of thermal pane and still keep your wooden windows. It requires that you have new sashes (the frame that holds the glass) made to replace your existing. These have a deeper rabbit and profile to accept the wider glass and instead of putty to glaze the window we use wood stops. Once you receive these you can then order thermal glass units made to fit from your local glass company, install these in the new sashes and then trade out the new sashes for the old. This is much less expensive than replacing the whole window with new metal clad, and you can do all of the installation yourself. back to top

I am about to replace the windows in our home. I have gotten several estimates and the best one came from a company using Moss vinyl clad windows. I can't learn much about these windows. How would you rate these windows?

There are a few things all windows have in common. The questions should be 1) How long is the warrantee against "fogging" if they are thermal pane? 10 years is minimum and 15 is about the best. Those that say "as long as you own your house" are banking on the fact that you are going to move before the windows fog in 15 years. 2) If a glass pane is broken can the sash be taken out and the glass replaced without removing the entire window unit? This means you can do most of your own repair work. 3) On single and double hung units how long are the balances warranted and are they easily replaceable? These are the mechanical devices that help overcome gravity when opening the sash. These three questions should arm you with the information needed to make an informed decision. back to top

I have 60 year old redwood gutters that are leaking at the joints. We have had them repaired a number of times but wonder if it has been done correctly. How do you fix joints so that they don't leak and need constant attention? Should fiberglass tape be used? Are you familiar with ProFlex Geoseal product that was used with tape last time. Now someone recommends taking that out and cleaning and using Henrys seal. Also, when they work on joints how do I tell if it is time to replace the gutters versus just repair them? Can red cedar be used instead of redwood if I need to replace since it seems to be hard to locate old growth redwood and it is very expensive?

You are in good company!! There was a "secret" way that the joints were handled before WWII, this was abolished and now all the very old gutter joints are still working and the "newer" joints are failing. The " secret" was that after cutting the miter joint (either a 90' or running scarf) the installers would carve a relief in the bottom of the gutter trough of both pieces so as to create a small lake bed when the pieces were put together. This lake was then filled with calking and gave the flexibility to allow the gutters to expand and contract and not have the calking fail. You can create this lake after the fact with a pineapple bit rasp on a drill motor. You must first clean the gutter trough down to bare wood, since nothing should be put inside the gutters. Then rasp a small relief at each joint line and fill this relief to the level of the bottom of the gutter trough with a good grade of calking. This will solve your problems (providing your gutters are still sound). back to top

Where can I get some prints or templates for the making fancy gingerbread brackets for my porch? I also need ideas for the spandrels.

This is a question that comes up a lot. As it turns out there are no drawings for architectural details from the Victorian era, save for a few blueprints saved by mistake in private collections. We at Blue Ox have some 200 to 300 such blueprint drawings that I found over the years in dusty drawers of local Redwood Sawmills that were closing down. However, until we get time to scan these and put them on disk they remain in the safe.

So until then please feel free to visit our web site and use any of the designs found there, also look for the "Painted Ladies" series by Baer-Pomada-Larsen, "A Gift To The Street"by Olwell & Waldhorn, or "The Victorian Design Book" by Lee Valley. The hunting is half the fun. back to top

I have four sets of huge heavy pocket doors and they are all off of their tracks. I've looked at it from every angle and can't figure how to re-hang them without tearing off the woodwork.

The problem you are facing is in the design of the rolling hardware itself and probably will require taking off the casing molding on at least the first door. All the pocket door hardware I have seen consists of a flat bar in edge ( this is the rail ) and a cast hanger mounted to the door which holds the wheel . This hanger does not hold the wheel ridge however, the wheel can float down into the hanger more if the door runs up onto something left on the floor. This is to prevent the door from derailing, in this case however if the door does derail, the wheel falls down to the low spot on the hanger and has to be held up again in order to re-hang. To do this you need access to the wheels. Sorry, but the casing should be able to be coaxed off and replaced.... I also just yesterday saw a pocket door that was only rolling on a track built into the floor, and moved freely in a wooden box at the top. This design would be easy to re-rail when it jumped the tracks but then you have the problem of the floor being uneven because of the rail. back to top

We are remodeling our "modern" home to look more victorian. I will be adding siding to the outside of the house along with a lot of trim and millwork. I can't seem to find the historically correct width for the siding. A lot of the websites I have been looking at appear to sell only wide siding. (Looks more colonial in style) Most of the historical pictures I see of Victorian homes seem to have thinner siding. Do you have a suggestion of the width and length of the planks we should be looking at and any manufactures?

You didn't say where you were writing from so I will talk about the siding used for most all Victorians here in the west. During the time of the Victorian era, approximately 1875 to 1910, siding was one of the few items that was mass produced by bigger mills. Back then sawmills not only produced lumber but also made finished products such as siding. They chose to make sidings rather than many of the other more specialized mouldings because every house needed siding. The sizes ranged from 4" to 12" with the vast bulk in the 6" and 8" size (8" being the most common). This is peculiar for today, as 8" is an orphaned size for most sawmills and hard to find. As for the styles, the vast majority of all Victorian siding was a variation of ship lap. This worked the best in shedding water and held up well to the warping effects of sun light. The patterns varied from sawmill to sawmill and because each moulder man hand ground their own knives there was a difference even in the same patterns. (I have ground four set of knives to reproduce the same drop-lap siding for four different jobs. Each looked the same but were a little different). Once you have picked your pattern the next decision will be to choose the grade of material you will need. 'Clear all-heart' is best, with 'clear' next best. Both of these are expensive so for a little less, you could use a "sound, tight-knot" product. The millwork shop that you have make the siding, can help you decide. Hope this helps. back to top

How do i join a PVC gutter to a wooden gutter?

Well, I must say that you win the "Head-Scratcher Question of the Year Award" for this one. I have given it a lot of thought and here's my suggestion. First, if you are joining the wood gutter to the down hill side of the water run I think you will have better success. Either way the PVC will need to lay in the trough of the wood gutter. I believe one can accomplish this by heating the PVC with a heat gun and forming it to the shape of the wood gutter trough. This will require care and probably some experimentation, but should work. Once formed, it will be a mater of simply applying a bed of caulking into the wood gutter trough, placing the pre-formed PVC over the caulk bed, and nailing it down with small brass brads. Hope this helps and good luck. back to top

I am attaching pictures of two pieces of wood working tool ( 1, 2 )to see if you can help me identify them. Eventually, I am selling them, but I want more info about them. The wood lathe has an insignia on it that says "patent pending 1826". The drill press also has "1826" on it. I would appreciate any help in beginning a search for its origin and value.

These are great and I must tell you I would like to have them. Having said this I think that I can still be fair in a worth assessment for you. I don't know the manufacturer and without some sort of identification, tracking down the original maker may prove way more trouble than necessary. There is a good chance that the tools were made somewhere within your region. If that fails, check the patent office and search for lathes and drill presses from 1826. Chances are that they didn't get a patent but the paperwork might show up. Each patent needed drawings and you could match the drawings to your tools. Having said all that I would think that to the right museum setting each of these would be worth $1500 to $2500. I happen to know a state park that is trying to recreate a 1840's wood shop and if your interested I could put you two in touch with each other.I hope this is of some help. back to top

I live in an 1887 Victorian home in Kansas City with very thin hardwood flooring. I was curious how they were able to make floors that thin back then? What machine did they use? Is it possible to recreate that flooring with a decent table saw and good routers and a planer? My understanding is new hardwood flooring is cut with saws that have very fine precision, much more exact than running through a table saw by hand, but did they have that same precision back then?

By 1887, the Industrial Revolution had been in full swing for about 30 years. Four sided moulding machines were already on the market and had been for 20 years. A four-sided moulding machine is like four planers. There's a top-head, a head for the outside edge as well as one for the inside edge, and a bottom head for underneath the board. The four sided moulders we use here are from 1902 and 1912. These machines still produce class 1 work today, the reason they could make such thin flooring for your house is because of the quality of the raw material they had access to, old-growth lumber. This is not to say that you can't do it today with a table saw, router, and planer. I would encourage you to make it yourself as any slight imperfection that may occur will be cured with a sanding. If you get any edge imperfections once you put the boards together, allow the sanding dust to fill those edge gaps , then float a first coat of floor sealer over it. This will harden the sanding dust and fill your edge imperfections. Good Luck! back to top

Hi Eric. I have two questions for you.My husband and I are purchasing a beautiful 107 year old Victorian home. Throughout the house I see wood trim, especially doorways, that seem to be varnished in either a glossy, translucent black or a very deep black/brown. It's beautiful, but I have no idea how to go about reproducing that effect on other woodwork that has been painted. My parents' home has this same interior trim varnish, but they also have no idea how to reproduce it. My grandfather built mom and Dad's house in 1902, before Dad was born. Is this a time-worn effect or was the wood likely black/brown from the beginning? My other question is what to do about some door frames that have become almost flush with the walls because the walls have been drywalled out over the original plaster. Is there nothing to do but remove the drywall and replaster? Thank you for your time and have a great day,

We have pocket doors in our home. One set is wood panels and the other set is glass panes. The set with glass panes has 4 lines of etching on EACH individual pane. I think it is quite unsightly and am interested in replacing the doors. What brands would I look for that would have clear panes with maybe one pane having the tempered glass information instead of each pane?

I know how unsightly the tempered etching can be.You can order tempered glass without the etching and the glass manufacture will write a letter stating that the glass is indeed tempered. We have found that in some locations the building inspector will accept this letter as proof of tempering. If not another route you can take is to order laminated glass instead of tempered. This is the same glass that your car windshield is made from and meets the specs for safety glass without the etching.
Hope this helps. back to top

I had you copy and make some corner blocks for my floor trim from a 1895 house in Cleburne Texas and they are all installed and look great. I am looking at what to do about my crown mould and was wondering if there are any victorian corner blocks for the ceiling so that you do not have to make miters. I am looking for something that is original victorian and not a new concept like they sell at Home Depot. I have found some crown mould pieces in my walls and none on the outside or anywhere else in the house and I am guessing this is what the house had originally and I do see it in your catalog.

Looking forward to your answer.

Well I have been in this business many years now and to the best of my recollection I have never seen a corner treatment for a crown moulding other than mitering. Now this is not to say they never existed but I have never noticed one , and the more I think about it the better an idea it sounds. I could see a face design set into the corners or a flower or leaf design or grape clusters standing proud and the crown dying into them. It would take a big room to pull off this kind of look for the corners would be large and predominate but WOW what a look it would be!

If you ever see a crown corner block please send me some information. back to top

I have a Redwood tree next to my house in the historic part of Woodland, CA. The tree has dead branches and each year looks a little worse. My house is over 100 years old and I bet the trees (I have one good one remaining) at about that old also, they are over 100 feet tall. How can I sell the tree for harvesting instead of paying to have it cut down for firewood?
Any suggestions would be helpful.

Because of the timber harvesting laws in California, and the fact that it is only one tree it would be difficult to find a large mill interested. You may want to look for a small portable sawmill operator that can bring the mill to site and work the tree up there. The phone book would be a place to start, if no luck there look up the number of a forester in your area and ask them for names of small operators. back to top

I came across your name in the September 2007 issue of Country Living. We purchased our home in Red Bluff, CA (Dec. 2003) and have been doing repairs to get it water tight and cleaned up mostly. We don't have a picture of what the widow's walk would have looked like and the home has a wrap-around porch with a flat roof above that we are sure had some type of railing when it was built. We would love to have your insight or pictures of what you think should be there.

Thank you for your time. I can send you a picture if you would like.

It's hard without seeing a picture of the house but one insight I can give you is that to look proportionate the widows walks were shorter than a standard ( porch) balustrade, usually about 26 to 28 inches instead of 36 inches. This can still be done legally if there is no door access to the roof. back to top

I have an 112 year old victorian house in Boston with a wrap around front porch. The porch roof ends at a two story bay window. The roof's wood gutter terminates perpendicular to crown moulding that runs around the rest of the house. It's a nice looking detail, but not surprisingly I have water problems at this spot. When the snow started to melt after last weeks snow storm, water started coming through the wall above the window and into the house.

I shoveled all the snow off the porch roof and cleaned the ice dams out of the gutter. I discovered that although it looked intact, the crown moulding had rotted where it meets the gutter. I pushed my finger through the rot and realized that there was no flashing behind the crown moulding or against the sheathing. There was only a lead skirt covering the mitered joint where the gutter meets the crown, and that had separated.

I realize I have to strip away the house shingles and cut out some of the crown moulding in order to install some kind of ice and water shield behind the gutter.

Do you have any recommendations?

This detail where the crown coming down the rake meets the end of the gutter and transitions the line from horizontal to the rake pitch is very beautiful, however it is a bear to try to stop for water. They originally used lead as the end cap you said and that would have worked however I'll bet they used steel nails to attach the lead. This sets up electrolysis and eats the lead in no time. I would use sheet copper for the end cap and copper nails to attach it. This should solve your problem. P.S. remember to save the end of the crown that you cut off so you have it as a pattern to male your new connection, this joint is very tricky.. Good Luck back to top

Heck NO. I have seen often balusters installed with the thick end up, I have even seen balusters that every other one was reversed. We must remember that the Victorian era was a time of experimentation and every millwork outfit was trying different things. Those that tell you that your balusters are upside down just haven't seen enough different samplings yet. back to top