XI
CONSTRUCTION OF THE TRIM
The wood trim, the doors and windows, and the built-in furniture of the small house can make or mar its appearance more than any other one factor. Indeed, in no other form of architecture is the study of these details more important, and yet in no other type of building is the limitation of cost more exactingly imposed upon the architectural treatment of the trim.
The kind of stock trim which some mills
continue to keep on hand
A good Stock Trim
From “Curtis Co.”
By the very economy demanded in the small house, the architect must make the mouldings of his casing in the simplest possible forms. The trim around doors and windows on the exterior and interior can boast of no special mouldings. In fact the selection must be made from stock material or else the cost will be too great. Most planing mills have standard types of trim, but generally they are very badly designed. However, one cannot go wrong in using a plain board casing ¾ inch by 3⅝ inches, which has slightly rounded corners. The tops of doors and windows which have this simple casing should be capped with a fillet ⁷/₁₆ inch, a head casing ¾ inch by 5 inches, and a cap mould 1⅛ inches by 2 inches. This eliminates the mitred corner, which is of such doubtful value in cheap work, since most wood trim is not properly seasoned and will quickly open all mitred joints.
To match this simple trim the window apron should be a plain board ¾ inch by 3⅝ inches, and the stool 1⅛ inches by 3⅝ inches. A plinth block at the base of the door trim in size 1⅛ inches by 3¾ inches by 7¼ inches will match up with a plain base-board, ¾ inch by 7¼ inches, or one of similar size, with a cyma recta moulding on top.