Before you dig the foundation! As you start gathering information on floor plans, exterior design, and interior elevations, think about the moulding styles and the desired size or proportions that the mouldings will have. If you decide on a wide casing or a tall base (larger than what might be considered standard trim), there are considerations that may need to be given to wall structures, hall widths, distance back from doors to adjacent walls or possibly even ceiling heights that will affect how the house is designed and built.

For example: Let’s say you decided to use casing F130 in red oak which is 3 ½” wide. You chose this pattern because you want your mouldings to have a heavier look that imparts richness and warmth to a homes interior. If the framers didn’t know you were planning to use a wider casing they may not leave enough  room around a door or cased opening where the wall intersects another wall. An extra framing member needs to be added to the framed opening to give enough space for the wider casing.

Or, let’s say you want to install a “Topper” (a frieze board with an attached crown that rests above the doors) on the main floor. The crown's projection and its return to the wall will necessitate leaving additional space on the side of the door for the crown to return to the wall. This will amount to an extra 2” to 3” more on each side of the door. If that door is at the end of a hall, the hall will need to be 6” wider to accommodate the topper. This same consideration needs to be given for any opening which comes close to an intersecting wall.

A customer decides he wants an impressive built-up ribbon of crowns and other mouldings at the ceiling line. He also wants the toppers previously described over a transom window in the living room. The ceiling is 9 feet. There isn’t enough height to do what the owner had envisioned.

The owner decides after the house has been drywalled that a “heavier moulding package would be nice and decides to put in an 11” mopboard-style base and wide casing. The air handling grills are 7” above the floor. It’s either time to tear into the drywall in order to move the grills or abandon the desire for a mopboard base.

The point is to bring the moulding decisions into the early planning stages of a project to be sure that installation goes smoothly and with the desired products.